Institutional Factors Affecting Students' Intentions to Withdraw From Distance Learning Programs in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia the Case of the Arab Open University (AOU)

Abstract

This paper focuses on the relationship between institutional factors and the intention of undergraduate students to withdraw from or complete their distance education courses in the Arab Open University (AOU). The model was examine on a pilot sample of 127 students and then re-examined on the field study of 587 students. Mixed paradigms were selected, the quantitative approach was, the dominant technique, using factor analysis followed by discriminant analysis. The qualitative approach used content analysis for the in-depth interviews and open ended questions to explore the problem details. This study seems to suggest that, the intention to stay in the Arab Open University (AOU) distance learning (DL) programs depends critically on the quality of instructors and the variety of technology used to support and deliver these (DL) programs . Introduction Distance learning (DL) may be a new phenomenon in the developing economies but it is certainly not a new trend in the field of education in the developed economies such as the USA and the UK . In fact, distance learning can be traced back to the late 1800's when correspondence courses were first introduced ( Willis , 1994). Nowadays, there is a vast and rapid growth of distance learning at all levels of education to the extent that it moves from being a marginal to becoming an integral part of the overall educational and training provision ( Moore , 2002; UNESCO, 2002). This means that a significant number of learners all over the world receive their education by means of distance learning programs. Meanwhile, the recent advancements in technology offer many options for delivering and receiving education over geographic distances. Although it is clear that DL widens the scope of educational opportunities for those learners who already have an access to educational facilities, the high attrition in DL universities is regarded as a dilemma for which an appropriate solution has yet to be found. Problem Definition It has always been the concern of educators to retain the greatest possible number of learners in distance learning. The percentage of students who withdrew from traditional higher education remained steady between 40-45% over the past 100 years (Tinto V., 1982). In the context of online learning, some scholars found that the attrition rate of distance learning students is significantly higher than that in traditional classes ( Carr , 2000; Diaz , 2002; Frankola, 2001 ) . Student retention and attrition rates have all along been a concern of administrators of educational and training institutions in not only Asia and Latin America but also, as pointed out by Rwegasira (1988), in Africa . This problem is, in this research, re-examined in the context of the Arab world. Do the factors, which account for this phenomenon in the Middle East , differ from what has been found elsewhere? In addition, if so how and what are the theoretical and policy implications? The major problem discussed and hence analysed in this research is: Why do students fail to complete their distance learning programs and thus fail to persist with the degree completion or fulfilment of their educational goals? A variety of terms has been used to describe non-completion and these terms have been defined in different ways in different education sectors (McGivney, 2004). Gallie (2005) defines attrition as the number of students at the start of the course minus those who complete the course. Attrition refers to the decrease in the number of students enrolled in some courses; and such decrease can be attributed to one reason or another. Attrition may refer to stop-outs or dropouts. Stop-outs are those students who leave universities and return to it sometime later. Dropouts are students who leave and do not return to universities. According to Astin (1970) , students cannot be classified as dropouts until they die. An antonym of attrition is retention. Retention describes students who are promoted from one phase of education to the next and are enrolled over a considerable period ( Martinez , 2004). In this study, and fo r the purposes of developing a model of attrition of students in distance learning, a dropout is considered any student who is enrolled at an Arab Open University (AOU) for one semester but does not intend to be enrolled the next semester. Retention will be any student who is enrolled at an AOU for one semester and intends to continue to be enrolled the next semester. Attrition or retention is the predicted or the dependent variable. There are many independent variables or the predictors, which are responsible for either attrition or retention . In this study, we are interested in institutional variables either social or academic. The model developed is based on intentions of the students to leave or stay in the program rather than actual numbers of stop-outs or drop-outs. The predictions of a model based on intentions are likely to give opportunities and time for remedial actions for pre-emption of the attrition problem.