Research team
- Dr Olugbenga David Ojo (Lead Researcher)
- Dr Johnson A. Opateye
- Dr Augustine C. Ukwueze
Duration: 20I2 – 2013
Funded by: Commonwealth of Learning
Project objectives
The project was a research titled “An Expository Study of Quality Assurance Practices in the Single and Dual Mode Distance Learning Institutions in Nigeria”. The objectives of the research project are to identify the areas of operations of the institutions that are quality assured; analyse the standard of quality assurance adopted by the institutions; evaluate the appropriateness of the quality assurance indicators being implemented and also identify the challenges militating against the quality assurance that is put in place by the institutions.
Summary of the outcomes
The outcomes of the research revealed that both the single-mode and dual-mode open and distance learning institutions in Nigeria quality assured their operations and programmes using adopted strategies of the two different modes although there is the inkling that the strategies adopted by the single-mode institutions are better than that of the dual-mode institution when compared with current best practices. The research also showed that there are challenges faced by the single and dual modes institutions in Nigeria in terms of quality assurances of their operations and programmes. Although the need for assuring the quality of operations and services between dual and the single-mode ODL institutions in Nigeria does not differ significantly, the single-mode institution showed more concern for the need to always quality assure their operations and programmes than the dual-mode institutions. It was also discovered that the single-mode systems benefited from an institutional commitment to distance and open learning mode and the urge to achieve professional standards and quality despite the need for expensive infrastructure that supports a cost-effective model of education through high enrolment volumes that will result in significant and observable economies of scale. Dual-mode institutions, in contrast, were characterised as potentially offering courses on campus and by distance education that met the same quality standards. The study also revealed that dual-mode distance institutions are faced with formidable impediments such as disinterested faculty members and teaching tasks that are less valued and less effective than what they offer on the campus.