Abstract
Online study is generally associated with the terms flexible and flexibility. Many students choose to study online specifically for the flexibility that is offered, hoping they can combine their studies with multiple other responsibilities in their lives. For students living in regional and rural areas, such flexibility can be even more important, given the additional difficulties they face in accessing campus facilities. While a flexible learning environment has the potential to contribute positively towards equity in higher education, this equity can be compromised when university policies and processes that have been designed for on-campus students are applied equally to online students. This paper examines the experiences of a group of regional and rural Education students who have chosen to study online, to a large extent because of online learning's promised flexibility. Their experiences demonstrate that equal treatment may in fact undermine flexibility and result in an inequitable student experience.
Highlights
With ever-increasing numbers of Australian higher education students choosing to study as external, online students (Department of Education and Training, 2017a), it is becoming increasingly clear that the online student cohort is significantly different from the traditional oncampus cohort, containing many more “who are older with responsibilities of family and work” (Stone, O’Shea, May, Delahunty, & Partington, 2016, p. 163), plus a higher proportion of those who are first in their families to undertake higher education (Stone & O’Shea, 2019)
While a number of significant themes arose from the data, some of which have been discussed in a separate paper (Muir et al, 2019), this paper focusses on the understandings and experiences of these students in relation to the degree of flexibility offered within their studies
Investigating the extent to which on-campus students’ experiences of flexibility affect equity is clearly of ongoing relevance. These findings indicate that flexibility has an important role to play in enhancing equity in online education
Summary
With ever-increasing numbers of Australian higher education students choosing to study as external, online students (Department of Education and Training, 2017a), it is becoming increasingly clear that the online student cohort is significantly different from the traditional oncampus cohort, containing many more “who are older with responsibilities of family and work” (Stone, O’Shea, May, Delahunty, & Partington, 2016, p. 163), plus a higher proportion of those who are first in their families to undertake higher education (Stone & O’Shea, 2019). The online cohort contains higher proportions of students from regional, rural and remote areas, as well as from other Australian Governmentidentified equity categories such as low socio-economic status (SES) backgrounds, students with disability, and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (Indigenous) students (Stone, 2017). Various studies have shown that for external, online students, retention is poorer by at least 20 per cent (Greenland & Moore, 2014); 40 per cent fewer were found to have completed their degrees over a nine-year period (Department of Education and Training, 2017b); and withdrawal without a qualification is 2.5 times more likely (Department of Education and Training, 2017c). Other researchers point to the importance of sufficient communication and contact with tutors and other students (Lambrinidis, 2014), including the “presence”, “accessibility” and “responsiveness” of the online teacher (Vincenzes & Drew, 2017, p. 13), to avoid online students experiencing a sense of isolation and “aloneness” (Resop-Reilly, Gallagher-Lepak, & Killion, 2012, p. 104)
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