Abstract
<p class="3">This study investigated the impact of face-to-face contact sessions and online discussion forums on the academic performance of students at an Open Distance Learning (ODL) university (N = 1,015). <em>t</em>-Tests for independent samples indicated that students who attended a written assignment preparation contact session performed significantly better in the written assignment than those students who did not attend this contact session [<em>t</em>(813) = 4.64, p = 0.00]; students who attended an examination preparation contact session did not perform significantly better in the examination than those students who did not attend this contact session [<em>t</em>(892) = 1.12, p = 0.26]; while students who used an online discussion forum performed significantly better in the final examination than those students who did not use this forum [<em>t</em>(1,013) = 4.04, p = 0.00]. Reasons for these mixed results are subsequently discussed. The study also found that the attendance of contact sessions and the utilisation of an online discussion forum by students were extremely low, and possible reasons for this are also given. Implications for the use of contact sessions and online discussion forums to improve the academic performance of ODL students are also discussed.</p>
Highlights
Distance learning institutions globally are facing challenges to transform their policies and procedures to accommodate the growing number of learners (Roberts, 2014; Van Zyl & Spamer, 2013)
During this study descriptive statistics in the form of means and standard deviations were calculated for the assignment and final exam scores obtained by students in all six samples
Students in these samples obtained high maximum scores. This indicates that factors other than the attendance of contact sessions or the use of online discussion forums contributed to the academic success of students
Summary
Distance learning institutions globally are facing challenges to transform their policies and procedures to accommodate the growing number of learners (Roberts, 2014; Van Zyl & Spamer, 2013). This is especially true of the University of South Africa (Unisa), an Open Distance Learning (ODL) institute that has shown a nearly 25% increase in student enrolments from 263,559 students in 2009 to 328,864 students in 2011 (Unisa, 2012). Organisational Behaviour (OB) is a one-year module that forms part of a Human Resources Management (HRM) qualification offered by the Department of Human Resources at Unisa. Formative assessment consists of two assignments, one multiple-choice question assignment and one written assignment, while a summative assessment consists of a two-hour open-book examination at the end of the year
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