COST VS. BENEFITSThe Challenge of Making Distance Education Work

WHAT IS COST?-An amount that has to be paid or given up in order to get something.

-In business, cost is usually a monetary valuation of (1) effort, (2) material, (3) resources, (4) time and utilities consumed, (5) risks incurred, and (6) opportunity forgone in production and delivery of a good or service.

FACTORS THAT AFFECTS THE

COST OF DISTANCE EDUCATION

FACTORS THAT AFFECT THE COST IN DISTANCE EDUCATION1. The number of learners enrolled

The greater the enrolment, the more the fixed administrative costs of the system, and the resources invested in developing the curriculum and learning materials, will be spread across the student population, thus bringing down the unit cost of per student.

FACTORS THAT AFFECT THE COST IN DISTANCE EDUCATION

2. The size of the curriculumThe broader the curriculum on

offer, the more courses will need to be offered, and the greater the volume of course materials that will need to be developed.

3. The number of years over which courses are offered without change

It makes economic sense to reuse the materials from year to year, so that the cost of developing the materials can be spread over more and more years and more and more students.

FACTORS THAT AFFECT THE COST IN DISTANCE EDUCATION

4. Containment of course development costs

The range of materials to be developed can be reduced by using existing textbooks in conjunction with wraparound materials, materials that act as a commentary on a commercially produced textbook.

FACTORS THAT AFFECT THE COST IN DISTANCE EDUCATION

FACTORS THAT AFFECT THE COST IN DISTANCE EDUCATION

5. Sharing course development costsAnother approach is to try to

share the costs of developing course materials. One way is to design the materials so that they can be published in book form.

6. Technology choiceSince distance education methods first

emerged in the 1840s, the range of media and technology employed has widened. The cost of a given technology will depend on the equipment used (and the extent to which that equipment has to be sourced from abroad), the running costs of the technology, and the labor costs involved in the development, production and delivery of materials carried by the technology.

FACTORS THAT AFFECT THE COST IN DISTANCE EDUCATION

AUDIO-CASSETTE AND RADIO

AUDIO CONFERENCING

7. The level of student supportAll the evidence indicates that successful

distance education systems require three elements: excellent teaching materials, efficient logistical systems, and responsive and where appropriate individualized student support systems. The difficulty with this is that the cost of student support tends to be driven by the number of students in the system, so that the absolute cost of providing student services increases rapidly with increases in student numbers.

FACTORS THAT AFFECT THE COST IN DISTANCE EDUCATION

8. Working practicesWorking practices can affect costs

significantly. Courses that take students many hours to study tend to require more materials, and the range of materials on such courses is often such that several people will be required to develop the materials.

FACTORS THAT AFFECT THE COST IN DISTANCE EDUCATION

9. Labor market practicesThis can reduce costs significantly,

particularly where they are combined with the employment of staff on short-term contracts where payment is on a per student, per hour, or per script basis.

FACTORS THAT AFFECT THE COST IN DISTANCE EDUCATION

10. Structural practicesDistance learning systems require a range of

activities to be accomplished if they are to succeed, including the development, production and distribution of materials, the administration, teaching and examination of students, and the management of the organization. While many institutions are organized around an integrated structure, others rely on external suppliers to fulfil some of these tasks. Thus it is not uncommon for open and distance learning institutions to work alongside media production agencies, printers, colleges and schools, etc. to provide services and facilities.

FACTORS THAT AFFECT THE COST IN DISTANCE EDUCATION

DIFFERENT TYPES OF COST

DIFFERENT TYPES OF COSTJamison (1977), Wanger (1982), Markowitz (1987), Curran (1991) and Bates (1995) distinguish between different types of costs of distance education technology:

1.fixed costs2.variable costs3.average cost and 4.marginal cost

DIFFERENT TYPES OF COSTFixed costs The initial costs of purchasing the equipment. These costs do not depend on the size of audiences or number of courses in the programme.Variable costs The costs that depend on the size of audiences and number of courses in each programme (e.g., costs of teachers, materials, etc.).

DIFFERENT TYPES OF COSTAverage cost The cost of a programme for each student per study hour.

Marginal cost Marginal costs are the costs of adding one or more units of output (student) to the program.

REFERENCEmediasite-mx.com/sites/default/files/wp7-cost-effectiveness-efficiency.pdf\http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/cost.htmlhttp://portal.unesco.org/education/en/ev.php-URL_ID=26860&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html

PREPARED BY: Pabricante, Bombie T. 3D3

Romans 8:28And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love

him, who have been called according to his

purpose.