The Campaign for Learning joined the professional services firm KPMG to conduct a survey to determine how both providers and consumers of distance learning feel about it. Individual learners, providers of online learning and organizational users of e-Learning were all surveyed. Overall most people appeared to have a positive experience with online learning experiences. In this study, 86% reported that their online learning experiences have been positive, though a little over 50% also said that they have had some negative experiences as well. The Director of the Campaign for Learning and Information was quoted as saying that “E-learning evidently offers a wealth of potential for increasing participation and motivation, and current users appear to be making great use of it at work and at home.”

The survey provided a host of percentages and comparisons. It found that even though most of the e-learners learned at work, nearly 30% of them reported that they studied from home. Additionally, virtually everyone in the study (about 96%) reported that they wanted support for their studies, which could stem from the fact that, at least in this study, a full third of the employers reported that they do not offer support for employees pursuing e-Learning. However, a third of employers do not offer support for employees studying via distance learning. Interestingly, 40% of employers did not know how many of their own employees were taking e-Learning courses.

60% of e-learners surveyed reported that they believed it was possible to learn as effectively through online learning as other means. About 30% of individual learners thought their employers used e-Learning to make them undertake learning in their own time.

More than half of employers who took part said the proportion of their training budgets being spent on e-Learning initiatives was increasing. Just under half (46%) of employers said they believed e-Learning was more cost-effective than traditional methods.
The study also found that a common theme among employers’ responses was that e-learning was beneficial because it could be tapped into at the workplace, which meant that employees did not have to take off of work. This is an interesting reaction because it suggests that while employers do want their employees to further their skills and education, they would be happier if the learning did not affect their work productivity. If employees could use specified times of the day as “learning time,” and then go back to work, the overall productivity would not be affected.

Individuals believed that the main benefits of e-Learning were its convenience, its quick access to information and being allowed to work at their own pace. On the flip side, though, one of the biggest disadvantages of distance and online learning environments is that it is easy to waste time. The most successful students of online and distance learning programs are highly organized, have excellent time management skills and who set aside specific time to study and specific time to do emails and use the Internet for other things.

Tags: Financial Aid, Online Education