Background of the Study
Over the years, we are adapting and continuing to adapt the changes the world is giving us. Most often, these changes are brought to us by technological advancement and innovation. These latest technological advancements have created a lot of new opportunities for the people in every walk of life.
Through these, we can now make things possible in the most convenient and accessible ways. Through the use of computer and internet connection, we can transfer money, transact business, and even buy/purchase stuffs online. Everything seems possible in just one click of the mouse. At the present, education is made possible through online. It is what they termed as Distance Education or Distance Learning. Distance Education, methods of instruction that utilize different communications technologies to carry teaching to learners in different places.
Distance Education Programs enable learners and teachers to interact with each other by means of computers, artificial satellites, telephones, radio or television broadcasting, or other technologies. It imparts knowledge at your desk through web technology. Several reasons are taken into view on why a number of schools in nearly every country in the world make use of Distance Education. It provides an opportunity to obtain a degree, post degree, doctorate degree course in cyberspace. It enables you attain your goal, achieve competence and proficiency. It offers everyone an advantage of time management.
It gives you the liberty of learning the subject of your choice at a pace that is most comfortable to you. It diminishes the barriers that block education that is beyond geographical boundaries. Distance Education is perfect for the students of Foundation University Graduate School. Most of the students in FU Graduate School are already professionals, having jobs on their own, and family-men/women who have their own personal tight schedule which most of the time causes time constraint with their studies. Consider also the place where some of the students are living and/or working.
Some of them may come from different towns reasonably far from where they are studying. The students will be having a hard time managing their limited time and they can no longer spend happy moments with their family during weekends where their class is being scheduled. With Distance Education, the FU Graduate School students’ life would be easier. They can continue to learn/study without compromising their work and their commitments with their family. They may be able to manage their time well and may get to spend their rest days with their loved ones.
The school has nothing to worry about Distance Education. Many have taken this kind of education into account. Here in the Philippines, University of the Philippines now has what they call “Open University”. It’s a Distance Education Program that provides education at its best to students in their most expedient and fulfilling means. We believe that there are other universities and colleges in the country that are offering the same as UP.
Methodology
The study that is going to be conducted is a feasibility study since its major objective is to determine how feasible Distance Education is, that’s going to be offered by the Foundation University Graduate School in terms of the marketing, technical, and financial aspect.
These three major aspects are to be measured before this study is concluded feasible or not. Such Distance Education is new here in this Province, specifically here in this city that is why such study is important to be conducted. We are talking about education here and how students (specifically students taking up advanced degrees) would be able to learn in their most convenient and satisfying way without impairing the quality of education. 2. Research Environment
This study is conducted in Foundation University Graduate School. Foundation University is located at Dr. Miciano Road, Dumaguete City, Negros Oriental. It was founded by late Dr. Vicente Guzman Sinco with the aim of attracting “men and women from all conditions of life, whose only passport is intellectual competence; whose pursuit is excellence in mind, body and character, and whose quest is for truth and freedom. ” Now, the university has 12 colleges upgraded for the need of the students.
These colleges are—the College of Business Administration (CBA), School of Hospitality Management (SHosM), College of Education (CE), School of Industrial Engineering (SIET), School of Computer Studies (SCS), College of Arts and Sciences (CAS), College of Nursing (CN), College of Agriculture (CA), College of Law and Jurisprudence (CLJ), Graduate School (GS), University High School; and University Grade School. The FU Graduate School (or grad school) is a school that grants advanced academic degrees with general requirement that students must have earned a previous undergraduate (bachelor’s) degree.
It was (year) that this school has been started. Now, it’s on its (year) years of existence and is still running and continuing to impart education at its best. Currently, it is headed by Dr. Aparicio H. Mequi, Ph. D. , as the Dean of FU grad school. The advanced degrees offered in this school are: Master of Business Administration (MBA), Master in Public Education (MPA), Doctor of Education, Doctor of Public Administration (DPA), and Master of Arts in Education (MA Ed. (Major in English, Mathematics, General Science, Health Education, Filipino, and Physical Education and Sports Management). At present, it has a population of eighty-five (85) students enrolled.
The respondents of the study are the students of Foundation University Graduate School. They are students who have at least graduated a four-year course and wanted or would like to earn advanced academic degrees. They come from different walks of life and most of which are already professionals, government employees, married ones, fresh graduates, and the like. These graduate school students will correspond to other people, particularly the government employees, who have the interest to pursue advanced academic degrees in the time ahead.
The major instrument that will be used in the study is the questionnaire that is being prepared by the researchers. The questionnaire defines how well distance education/learning fits the lifestyle of the respondents. To verify or validate the respondents’ responses, an interview is further necessary. This is going to be in an informal way (telephone conversation, emails, or actual/personal interview).
To gather data from the respondents, the researchers will prepare a questionnaire that would answer the needs of the researchers. To do so, the researchers are going to make a letter addressed to the dean of FU Graduate School, Dr. Aparicio H. Mequi, Ph. D. , to permit or allow the researchers from conducting the study. The researchers will also include in the request to hold an informal interview with the respondents of the study after the questionnaires have been answered. An interview is included in order to verify the responses of the respondents from the questionnaires.
After the questionnaires and the interview have been accomplished, the questionnaires will be collected and the data will be reviewed to insure all the items are answered properly and honestly in the manner indicated in the direction. The collected entries will be tallied and recorded in a descriptive way with the used of tables and graphs. 6. Statistical and Financial Treatment of Data To interpret the data that will be collected, the following statistical tools are going to be used: frequency distribution, percentage, and weighted mean.
Project Summary
Name of the Project The name of the project will be FU Distance Graduate School. The researchers emphasized the word Distance to let the people know that the courses to be offered here are available at a distance. The proposed project is located inside the campus of Foundation University. Graduate School is already one of the colleges of FU so there is no need of putting it up to another location. Its office is located at the upper building of Nursing Department. Since it needs its own virtual room which will serve as the teachers’ room/office, it will make use of the CISCO Laboratory, one of the computer laboratories of the school.
The proposed project, Distance Education, will run like a typical school that caters the need of every student. It’s goal is the same as the traditional education, that is to give quality education to all students who want to learn. The only difference with Distance Education from a traditional education is the mode of teaching. If in traditional education personal contact of the students and their teacher is necessary, in Distance Education is not anymore. Everything is run through online.
The study was conducted from August 17 to Ocotober14. Preparatory activities such as coming up with the proposed title of the study and completing chapter 1 were initiated from week 1 to week Formulating and refining the instrument (questionnaire) followed by contacting the respondents were made on week. Data gathering, coding, and analysis proceeded at week.
