Academics warm to e-learning but fail to recognise its cost and productivity benefits

Latest research from IMC looks at perception and reality of e-learning in higher education

Saarbrücken/Sevenoaks, 20 May 2009 – New research launched today by learning technology and content provider, IMC (UK) Learning Ltd, found that while nearly eight in ten (79%) academics and university staff agree that e-learning increases flexible and repeated access to learning content, they do not see it as a cost-cutting or time-saving tool.

The survey, ‘Examining e-learning in higher education: perceptions and reality’, surveyed 125 academic and operational staff in universities, business schools and university colleges and seeks to establish their views with regard to e-learning, how it is currently used within universities and the perceptions of its benefits and shortfalls.

The research found that while the majority of respondents agree e-learning provides academic benefits, only 27% believe e-learning saves money and 18% that it saves time. For those questioned who use e-learning, the figures increase considerably with nearly nine in ten (88%) agreeing that e-learning increases flexible and repeated access to learning content, 40% believing it saves money and just over a quarter (27%) stating it saves time for teaching staff.

Commenting on the research, Dr Dirk Thissen, managing director at IMC (UK) Learning says: “With the recent news that university budgets will be slashed by £150m next year, it is becoming imperative for higher education to cut costs and improve productivity wherever possible. E-learning offers universities a cost saving solution without compromising academic quality and substance. This is something everybody in higher education is going to have to grasp very quickly.   

“While e-learning has business advantages, it is the benefits it brings to the classroom that is most important. Taking a blended approach to learning by using e-learning in support of existing face-to-face courses can significantly augment the learning experience,” continues Thissen.
In terms of e-learning uptake in universities, three quarters (74%) of respondents use a virtual learning environment, while just over half (53%) use bespoke e-learning content. Significantly fewer (35%) state they use off-the-shelf e-learning content, and only 39% record lectures with an e-learning ‘lecture/presentation capture tool’.

Thissen concludes: “This research shows that while an increasing number of university staff and academics believe e-learning is an advantageous tool academically, the numbers using lecture capture tools and bespoke e-learning content are still relevantly low. The perception still seems to be that e-learning content is expensive and time consuming to produce, which is not always the case. Inexpensive e-learning content produced through rapid authoring tools allow lecturers to easily record and post their lessons, along with lesson notes, on a multitude of platforms such as virtual learning environments, podcasts and the web, quickly and easily.”