Wide Open Listening

What is it really like to be a distance student?

Abstract

In 2013, Student Learning and Academic Development (SLAD) at The University of Tasmania (UTAS) surveyed distance students as part of the development of online learning support. One goal was to hear direct from UTAS distance students themselves, to discover what it is like to be a distance student: to uncover any commonalities, both negative and positive, in the experiences of distance and online students in general. Results suggest that a large portion of UTAS distance students feel isolated and see the primary benefits of this mode as serving a practical or necessary function, rather than being attractive in its own right. A comparably high number struggle with resources and feel unconsidered or overlooked. A reasonably high number struggle with balancing other life commitments and with the autonomy or self-reliance required to manage distance study. Thus this research provides evidence identifying key gaps between rhetoric and reality regarding distance education.