Module 6: Costs and Economics of Student Support In Module 6, we discussed the costs and economics of student support.

In Unit 1, we focused on Perratons paver and the glasshouse of student support. There are three measures of student support which includes (1 teaching and tutoring (course!content support , (" advising and counseling (non!content related support and (# administrative and technical support. Universities should $e aware of the cost and $enefits of student support. %& is descri$ed to $e cost efficient $ecause of its cost compared to that of a traditional course and cost effective is determining if the outcome of a %& environment is worth the cost. %& also provides the $enefits. It provides the economies of scale. The performance of students in a %& environment is similar to that of a traditional environment. 'hen evaluating the cost formula for student support, it is noted the fi(ed costs () , varia$le costs (* , and num$er of students (+ are not independent of each other. ,owever, I have learned that universities such as UMU- can reduce varia$le costs if there is no (1 tutoring services (" writing coach (# teacher assistances (. visiting professionals. In /M%& 601 (2earner 3upport in %istance &ducation , I learned a lot a$out the components that ma4e up student support and the effect it has in a distance learning environment In Unit ", the topic was drop!outs and cost!effectiveness. Universities should tr5 to organi6e wa5s to reduce drop!out rates in schools and increase student retention while remaining cost!effective. In most instances, the universit5 is responsi$le for 4eeping the students involved and providing them with tools and content to 4eep them engaged in their learning environment. If universities ma4e the drop!out rates pu$lic it will allow other students to see the schools success rate of various programs and if the5 should consider enrolling in a specific course. There is no wa5 to measure the success rate in a distance learning environment. It isnt necessar5 to use drop!out rates to measure whether or not students will graduate. )actors such as student support, self!motivation and independence, and stud5 time are also a component of whether or not a student will graduate. &nvironmental factors such as famil5 support, organi6ational support, and technical support also contri$ute to students that drop!out. )or e(ample, I 4now someone who dropped a course $ecause of the lac4 of support and frustration with the new 2M3 s5stem. It caused her to lose focus and not want to continue with the course. 7ut 8ust $ecause one student drops a course doesnt mean that other will do the same.

9eference: ,ulsmann, T. ("00. . 2ove -ost %istance &ducation 3trategies: The use of appropriate information and communication technologies. The International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning.5(1 . /lden$urg: 7i$liothe4s!und Informationss5stem der Universitat /lden$urg,