PROVIDING INFORMATION COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY SUPPORT TO DISTANCE EDUCATION STUDENTS: A Case of The University of Ghana, Legon

A study to investigate the current state of Information Communication Technology
policy of the University of Ghana Distance Education (DE) programme and the extent
of awareness and use of ICTs in general by the DE learners was carried out. The
survey methodology was adopted using questionnaire and interview instruments.
Respondents were made up of 120 DE students, the coordinator of the DE
programme, and 5 workers at the DE unit. The questionnaires were distributed to all
the 120 students while the workers responded to a semi-structured interview. The
data was analyzed using descriptive statistics (percentage frequency distribution and
examining relationships).
The main findings of the study revealed that there was a policy statement on
providing ICT-based support to the DE learners; however, this policy has not yet been
implemented. Most of the DE students were fully aware of ICT and majority of them
use the internet across the regions. The students had positive attitude towards ICTs
in that they deemed it necessary in the course of their studies and were willing to pay
for ICT services. The main barriers identified that could affect the usefulness of the
various ICTs were electricity, cost and accessibility. The study recommends among
others, the forging of partnerships between distance education programmes and ICT
companies, the networking of DE centres and the use of diverse ICT facilities, among
others.