Online support for VET clients: expectations and experiences

The integration of information technology has dramatically enhanced flexible delivery of vocational education and training (VET) by expanding and modernising capabilities to include the online medium. This has necessitated the expansion of learning services to meet the needs of more diverse groups of learners. Though research activities are continuing to inform how innovative use of new technology could enhance the delivery of courses, little is known about the nature of support for online learning that learners expect. The nature and range of services for online learning remain diverse, as each provider attempts to meet the needs of its learners within the constraints of variables that include mainly infrastructure, skilled staff, and specifically designed materials for this mode of delivery. Within Australia, presently there are no minimum standards for online delivery or services to learners. In view of the deficiency in research informing about services for online learners, a national study was conducted to explore the expectations and experiences of online learners in the Vocational Education and Training (VET) sector. This paper briefly reports the outcomes of the study. Online learners enrolled with various Registered Training Organisations (RTOs) from the VET sector were contacted for their voluntary participation in a survey to explore their expectations of services for preenrolment/enrolment, learning and teaching and technical support. Altogether 201 complete, useable responses to the survey were received. The mean response for each item in the survey was examined to rank the services in order of most to least expected. Five most expected services in each category (pre-enrolment/enrolment, learning and teaching, and technical) are reported