Evaluation of student support services at the Namibia University of Science and Technology Centre for Open and Lifelong Learning

Quality and effective student support service (SSS) is a critical demand in the ever-changing landscape of distance education. It is common knowledge that distance education students need continuous support during their studies in order to cope with academic demands while attending to other key activities. This study set out to evaluate the implementation of SSS at the Namibia University of Science and Technology Centre for Open and Lifelong Learning (NUST COLL) at different regional centres across Namibia. The objectives of the study were to: identify problems and challenges experienced with the current implementation of SSS, determine the needs of the distance students and propose recommendations for the improvement of SSS at the regional centres. In an attempt to realise the objectives of the study, the study incorporated both quantitative and qualitative research design to collect data, by making use of questionnaires, open-ended questions and interviews. The participants included 8 regional coordinators (RC) who were purposively selected and 109 distance students who were selected through stratified and convenience sampling techniques from seven COLL regional centres. It was evident from the findings that most students opted for distance education as it allows them to work and study. Furthermore, many students have been studying for many years without getting any qualification. While NUST was providing different SSS, the findings brought to light some challenges such as the shortage of technological tools, understaffed regional centres, and unavailability of support services on weekends and public holidays and lack of collaboration between marker-tutors, lecturers and regional face-to-face tutors. It is proposed that the current model of SSS should be redesigned to respond to challenges facing distance education students at the regional centres. A model for implementation of SSS was developed to pave the way for effective implementation geared towards reducing the dropout rates and increase success rates. Key terms: Implementation of student support services, technological tools, model for implementation, regional coordinators, academic demands, increase success rates, regional centres, distance education, regional centres, and dropout rates.Educational Leadership and ManagementD. Ed. (Education Management

Exploring student support services of a distance learning centre at a Namibian university

Effective student support services (SSS) are a vital means of enabling students to cope with the academic and personal pressures of distance education. This research explored the implementation of SSS at eight regional centres of the Namibia University of Science and Technology, in order to identify the challenges experienced and determine students’ needs. It adopted a mixed methods approach and used a questionnaire to collect data from 109 students and semi-structured interviews for textual data from eight regional coordinators (RCs). The findings indicate that most students opt for distance education because it allows them to work and study at the same time. However, many of them take longer to obtain qualifications due to high failure and repetition rates. This could be linked to a shortage of resources and their underutilization by students, lack of collaboration between marker-tutors and lecturers, and poor attendance of tutorial classes by students and lecturers/tutors. The research proposes a model for effective implementation of SSS in order to improve students’ academic experience and success rate