How can we help?: student support in tertiary distance education

Abstract

Support of students engaged in education is a matter that has been and continues to be of concern for educators at all levels from primary school to the tertiary sector. The need for support is not in question, but appropriate means of providing that support will vary with age groups, areas of learning, student backgrounds, and delivery methods. Increasingly, with the social and economic changes of recent years and rapid advances in technology, adult students are undertaking tertiary education by distance and open delivery. Because of factors such as isolation and lack of face-to-face contact, these methods of delivery have traditionally suffered from a higher rate of attrition than face-to-face teaching programmes. The purpose of this study was to investigate student support in one specific programme of study which had an unusually high retention and completion rate, using a multi-variate framework for examining persistence and success. The key research findings were: that a wide range of support mechanisms were needed and valued, including some face-to-face or equivalent contact, that tutor attributes such as availability and approachability were almost universally regarded by students as crucial, that personal knowledge of students via or through the tutors increased students' sense of identification with the programme and the likelihood of their completion, that the effectiveness of support systems can be enhanced by the creation of an intimacy of scale within an institution. This research was evaluative in design and highly contextualised. As with any programme of study, there were unique features which could be evaluated but not generalised. However, while immediate applicability elsewhere may be limited, this research does provide ideas and procedures which are capable of being tested in other contexts. In addition, the results complement the research literature of student support in distance and open learning.