An Initial Evaluation of Student Withdrawals within an e-Learning Environment: The Case of e-College Wales.

The proliferation of e-Learning programmes on offer within the UK raises critical issues that have yet to be fully addressed in terms of the nature of learning, effective pedagogy, learning expectations and student profile. The amalgamation and influence of these factors is also having an impact upon student retention. This paper examines student withdrawals associated with the online BA Enterprise programme initiative designed by the University of Glamorgan, which aims to help improve the entrepreneurial capacity of Wales. Utilising content analysis of student questionnaires at one of the University’s delivery partners, eight prime cases for student withdrawal were identified including factors such as technical problems, pressure of work and lack of time. The paper concludes by identifying strategies to manage these barriers to e-Learning.

[1]  R. Bennett.  Determinants of Undergraduate Student Drop Out Rates in a University Business Studies Department , 2003 .

[2]  Jennifer Rowley,et al.  Conducting a Withdrawal Survey , 2001 .

[3]  Sally Brown,et al.  Education in Transition: What Role for Research? SCRE Publication No. 102. A Collection of Papers To Mark the 10th Anniversary of the Founding of the Scottish Council for Research in Education. , 1988 .

[4]  Kate Fry,et al.  E‐learning markets and providers: some issues and prospects , 2001 .

[5]  P. Honey.  E‐learning: a performance appraisal and some suggestions for improvement , 2001 .

[6]  Sharon A. Wall,et al.  The Online Educator: A Guide to Creating the Virtual Classroom: Lynch, M. M. (2002). New York: RoutledgeFalmer , 2003, Internet High. Educ..

[7]  Robin Mason,et al.  Factors affecting students' satisfaction on a web course , 2000 .

[8]  S. Alexander.  E‐learning developments and experiences , 2001 .

[9]  Noriko Hara,et al.  Students' Frustrations with a Web-Based Distance Education Course , 1999, First Monday.

[10]  Cheryl Hunt.  Distance learning: short‐term gain, long‐term commitment ‐ a case study , 1998 .

[11]  Martyn Sloman.  The E-Learning Revolution : From Propositions to Action , 2001 .

[12]  John Daniel,et al.  Why Universities Need Technology Strategies , 1997 .

[13]  S. Gilbert,et al.  Great Expectations: Content, Communications, Productivity, and the Role of Information Technology in Higher Education , 1995 .

[14]  Curtis J. Bonk,et al.  ONLINE TEACHING IN AN ONLINE WORLD , 2001 .

[15]  Adam Bosworth.  Learning from the Web , 2005, ACM Queue.

[16]  Marguerita McVay Lynch,et al.  The Online Educator: A Guide to Creating the Virtual Classroom , 2002 .

[17]  Azza A. Arif.  Learning from the Web: Are Students Ready or Not? , 2001, J. Educ. Technol. Soc..

[18]  J. Hillage,et al.  Exploring E-Learning. IES Report 376. , 2001 .

[19]  Susan M. Powers,et al.  Student Perceptions and Performance in a Virtual Classroom Environment , 1997 .

[20]  Diana Laurillard,et al.  Rethinking University Teaching: A Framework for the Effective Use of Educational Technology , 1993 .