S.N.D.T. Women's University Survey of Distant Learners |
VOL. 5, No. 2, 91-92
In 1979, S.N.D.T. Women's University set up its Department of Correspondence Courses and Distance Education. The Department offers B.A. and B.Com. degree courses as well as certificate courses in English, Gujrati, Hindi, and Marathi. It also conducts, under its Open University Programme, a University Entrance Test for those women who are 21+ but who have not completed their formal education up to Standard 12. A candidate who successfully completes this test qualifies for entry to the degree course. Among the Certificate Courses run by the Department some are job-oriented while others aim at personal enrichment; they include "Improve Your English," "Family Savings and Investment," "Women and Law," "Basics of Diet Therapy," and "Techniques of Translation."
A major survey of the Department's students was undertaken in 1989. It had the following objectives: (i) to gather information about the socio-economic, cultural, and educational background of the Department's clientele; (ii) to collect the students' general impressions and reactions to the services offered by the Department; (iii) to elicit from the students suggestions for future programs; and (iv) to establish how far the Department has succeeded in reaching out to the really needy.
Information on the above four points was intended to be used in framing future policies concerning the types of study course to be introduced and possible improvement of the present system.
The data for this study were gathered by way of a questionnaire which was mailed to students. In addition, personal interviews of 120 students at different places were conducted. The questionnaire consisted of 34 main questions which were grouped into 4 sections:
Section I (containing 23 questions) related to the respondent's personal background, familial, social, economic, educational, and status related matters.
Section II (containing eight questions) related to the respondent's subject/ medium choice, reasons for joining correspondence courses, reading facilities available, and use of the facilities by the students.
Section III (containing only one main question which was further subdivided into several questions) was largely concerned with gathering the respondent's reaction to the student support services offered by the Department.
Section IV (containing two questions of which one was subdivided into three) established preferences in courses. The last question was an open question inviting the respondent's suggestions for further new courses.
The questionnaire carried with it a general appeal to the respondent. The questions were framed in two languages, English and Hindi, in view of the varied linguistic backgrounds of our students at large.
Out of the total 3000 questionnaires dispatched, 1534 were usable for collection of data. The survey gave valuable information about our services to women who study via distance education. A paper based on this survey is published by the Department under the title Look Back-Look Forward. A Survey of Distant Learners. Further information can be provided by the authors.