SCHOOL OF EDUCATION: Financing in Distance Education

This Unit, shall discuss the various aspects of financing distance education. This will include an analysis of the different sources of finance, the budgetary mechanisms and the factors that should be taken into account while forecasting the resource needs of distance education.

Ideological arguments are made for open learning, economic ones for distance education. If it can produce similar results to those of conventional education at a lower cost, then distance education has a powerful appeal.

The issue of the price and cost of distance education courses has been discussed in the past in numerous publications including the Chronicle of Higher Education and Inside Higher Education. There is a long-held belief among legislators, governors, and other leaders that distance courses should cost less to produce and deliver. Therefore, the price paid by enrolled students should also be less.

For some, distance learning or online learning can work out cheaper or more affordable than studying an equivalent degree course, on campus. The exact tuition fees you’re charged will vary depending on the course and provider, and the nation you live in, so check this directly.

This Handbook addresses one of the most important issues of Costing of Open & Distance Education in the light of the experiences gained in the years of evolution of ODL system.

This study is a product of field work conducted in Tanzania after finishing the face- face session at the Institute of Education, London. The data collected aimed at assessing the private financing of higher education in Tanzania, specifically with distance programs. The rationale for choosing this theme was based and influenced by my personal learning experience as a student in distance learning at ordinary secondary school level and during Masters Level at the University of London, while working full time.

Although our perceptions regarding distance education (DE) have changed significantly, there still remains a perceived lack of quality in the development, management and delivery of DE programmes. Unfortunately, DE offered in developing countries depends largely on first and second-generation delivery modes and relies heavily on print as form of information dissemination.