Student involvement in enhancing student, retention, persistence and success in open and distance learning at Zimbabwe Open University

Abstract

The study sought to establish how student involvement could enhance student retention, persistence and success in Open and Distance Learning at Zimbabwe Open University for it to become a world class university. Open and Distance Learning (ODL) systems in Sub-Saharan Africa institutions are grappling with fiscal challenges of low state funding and low student numbers against a background of increasing proliferation. African ODL systems are pursuing world class visions to effectively determine and monitor variables that affect student retention, persistence and success. With Open and Distance Learning, students are now being considered as the largest stakeholders. Investing time and money in learning, Open and Distance Learning institutions ought to orient partnerships to retain their students throughout the course of their learning. This research sought to find out how student persistence and success in Open and Distance Learning could be enhanced through customer feedback approaches at the Zimbabwe Open University. The case study survey design was used to gather data from randomly selected forty final year students and ten alumni members. The interview and the questionnaire were used as data collection instruments. The study established that assignments contribute much to students’ persistence and success to learning, hence the commenting need to be thorough. Tutorial sessions were found to be theoretically based and lacking practical activities, and some concepts in modules were viewed difficult to be conceptualized by students. Academic advisory services being given to students were enhancing learning; however, they lacked the social aspects.

Keywords: Student retention, student persistence, student involvement, distance learning.