Distance Learning going the extra mile


Inside NAU Home \| NAU in the News \| Archives \| Submit a News Tip	Vol. 3 No. 12 \| March 22, 2006

Northern Arizona University earns a great report card for bringing quality education to the doorsteps of its Distance Learning students.

Ninety-two percent of students reported they are very satisfied with the job NAU Distance Learning is doing and would give it an “A” or “B” grade, according to a survey conducted by NAU’s Social Research Laboratory in October 2005.

Students also gave “A” grades to the business assistance they receive from the Distance Learning staff, the ability of the staff to help students achieve goals and objectives, and the knowledge the staff has regarding students’ degrees. Students reported they are very satisfied with the availability of courses that are required for their degree and would rate course availability with a “B” grade.

The survey evaluated the attitudes of 407 enrolled Distance Learning students and sought input about the quality and availability of services the program provides. NAU maintains campuses throughout Arizona that offer numerous alternatives to the traditional learning experience including evening, weekend and accelerated classes.

“I am very pleased with the overall student satisfaction with our services,” said Fred Hurst, vice president for Extended Learning and dean of Distance Learning. “There is no comparable national data to compare with the NAU findings, but the survey provides us with a benchmark for improvement.”

When asked to rate three types of learning settings: a traditional classroom, web-based classrooms and instructional television classes, students rated traditional classrooms with an “A” grade and web-based and ITV classes earned a “B” grade.

Other findings reveal that students are likely to be full-time employees who access their Internet from home and prefer additional office and course hours during weekday evenings. More than half of Distance Learning students receive advising from their local NAU campus and 20 percent utilize the academic department offering the degree they are seeking. The majority of students utilize online course searches, LOUIE or the Distance Learning pages to find classes for their schedules.

The survey was taken from students at 30 Distance Learning campuses. The “sampling error” associated with the 407-person sample drawn from a population of 5,456 adult students is +/- 4.67 percent at a 95 percent confidence level.

To view the complete results go online to http://www.distance.nau.edu/News/index.aspx