Date of Award
6-1999
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy
Department
Public Affairs and Administration
First Advisor
Dr. Peter Kobrak
Second Advisor
Dr. Elizabeth Hansen
Third Advisor
Dr. James Visser
Abstract
Distance learning technologies are increasingly used within public post-secondary institutions as a way to deliver courses to students remote from the home campus. Many proponents of distance learning argue that its use provides a method for reaching the educationally undeserved, i.e., those who lack access to higher education. If a distance learning program decreases access barriers, then it is congruent with traditional American values of providing universal access to education to all citizens. Distance learning program evaluation strategies, therefore, need to include a means of measuring the extent to which access goals are met.
The purpose of this study is to test the viability of selected access variables as part of an overall program evaluation model for distance learning. These variables were selected based on an extensive review of distance learning program evaluation literature and have been clustered into four dimensions: proximity, affordability, asynchronicity and technology.
Data were collected from 414 adult residents of 35 central and northern Michigan counties through telephone interviews. The findings suggest that access is an important measure of a distance learning program’s effectiveness.
Access Setting
Dissertation-Open Access
Recommended Citation
Richardson, Carole A., "The Role of Access in Evaluating Distance Learning Program Effectiveness" (1999). Dissertations. 1529.
https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/dissertations/1529
Included in
Online and Distance Education Commons, Public Affairs, Public Policy and Public Administration Commons