Introduction What is Open and Distance Learning? Open and Distance learning is an educational format designed to offer students the option of attaining their education without having to attend classes. Distance learning provides students with the flexibility and convenience of setting their own pace of work. For example, a student can manage a full time job and continue his or her education at the same time. Distance education has emerged as an important form of education in the last few decades. In recent years, the offering of online courses and programmes has become increasingly popular not only in distance education institutions, but in traditional universities as well (Wheeler, 2002). There are many Universities in Malaysia that offers Open and Distance Learning to adult learners or to the people who are working and wanting to further their studies. Among the first university who offers the Open and Distance learning was Universiti Sains Malaysia, which was known as “Off Campus Study” back in 1971. (Supyan , 2004). Since then, the demand for Open and Distance Learner has increased tremendously. After Universiti Sains Malaysia, many other universities started to offer Open and Distance Learning, such as UPSI (Universiti Perguruan Sultan Idriss), UKM (Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia), UPM (Universiti Putra Malaysia), UiTM (Universiti Teknologi MARA) and also many private universities, to cope with the increasing demand and number of the adult learners. OUM (Open University Malaysia) is one of the private universities that offer Open and Distance Learning. OUM was established in August 2000 in Kuala Lumpur, 29 years after the first university that offer Open and Distance Learning concept. OUM offers only part time studies method, and they do not have any full-time student, unlike other universities. They cater primarily for the working adults. OUM offers a blended approach in it’s method of teaching. The blended approach is where OUM blend 3 types of studying, traditional and modern style of studying. Traditional style is where student and tutor meet face to face in an actual classroom, and they discuss on the topic. The modern style is where they use technology advance form of learning, which is online learning and also known as a virtual classroom. This is where the all student and tutors discuss all the topics or syllabus. The third method is self-managed learning, where student study independently according to time availability that they have. Many adult learners now are pursuing their higher education in OUM, because of this blended approach style of education. It has less classroom hours, but the adult learner can still learn everything on their own. The will make the adult learners to be more independent in their learning, where they must plan and manage the way to study and applying a smart time management. As the numbers of adult student increases every year, the demand for a better quality of education also increases. There are a lot of aspect that must be taken into consideration such as the tutor’s qualification, the material provided, either hardcopy or online material and many other. In order for OUM to provide all this aspect for the adult students, OUM must know all the major problems that are faced by the adult learners, in general, while studying using Open and Distance learning concept, in OUM. All this must be done so that the quality and performance of the adult learners can be increase up to a new level.

The Study The main objective of this report is to identify and describe some of the main problems that are encounter by the adult learners while studying in OUM. It is necessary as to identify the weakness and strengths of Open and Distance Learning. This report also looks into the strategy that can be used by OUM to overcome the problems, in order to upgrade their services, either professional services or even education services. These problems are categorized into four (4) main topics: Personal and Motivation, Time Management, Staff Management, and also Technology.

Methodology The questionnaire was done using an open-ended question. The participants were asked of their gender, age, course, semester and level of study. The questionnaire consists of 20 major questions, which was divided into 4 categories, which was: Personal and Motivation, Time Management, Staff Management, and also Technology. All this questions contributes to the problems that are faced by the adult learners. With this questionnaire, hopefully solutions could be found.

The Participant There were 32 participants that took part in answering the questionnaire. All the participants are from working background. The age range is from 23 until 40. Among them were 18 female and 14 males. They were all student from OUM, from various semesters and courses. 20 from 32 peoples are doing their Degree, and the other 12 are doing their Diploma. The entire participant answered the questionnaire voluntarily and the survey was done individually.

Findings

Personnel

For the first question, which is if the families of the adult learners support them in studying in OUM, 30 participants or 93% answered yes and the remaining 7% answered no. This shows that the adult learners have and needs their family support for them to continue their study in OUM. This is important for boosting the morale and commitment of the adult learners in continuing their study. Without the support needed, maybe most of the adult learners will discontinued their study after a few semesters.

As for the second question, whether studying in OUM suits their style of learning, 53% or 17 participants answered yes. The other 47% answered no. In general, the style of learning using ODL is being accepted in our culture. As for the 47% who answered no, they maybe used to the traditional ways of studying, which is face to face with the tutors in an actual classroom.

Managing time between studying, family and career can be a burden to some student, and 75% of the participants agree with it. Only 8 participants or 25% said that they can juggle between studying, family and career. This shows that most of the adult learners still do not possesses the skills needed to take the ODL concept. This will surely be a serious problem for the adult learners to concentrate fully on their studies, and affect their result in the examinations. This requires that the adult learners to apply a smart way of learning, and also the adult learners must divide their time accordingly. This must be done if the adult learners wish to achieve a good grade, and graduate with flying colors.

96% of the participant agrees that after finishing their Diploma or Degree, their careers will improve to a new level. Only 1 participant said that it will make no difference to him. After graduating, usually the adult learner will seek a higher position in their company or organization. This is usually the main reason that the adult learner used to motivate themselves, so that they can have a better paying job to support their families. That is why the adult learners took the ODL program, even after working in their company for some time. For the adult learners, it is never to late when it comes to achieving your goals. And it is never to late to learn new information and new technology.

The entire participant or 100% agrees that taking Open and Distance Learning in OUM is expensive. This is because OUM is a private university, and the fee is higher than the public university. Even though it is more expensive, but the adult learners have a few choices on how to pay for the study. The most common is by withdrawing from their second account in their EPF funds. There are also adult learners who apply loans from PTPTN, and apply personal loan from the banking institution. If the university can consider reducing the fees, than maybe it will attract more adult learners to join studying in OUM. Special rates also can be offered to the adult learners who excel in their studies, as a bonus. This is a suggestion that can helps the adult learners in helping them financially.

Time Management

84% of the participant says that five (5) classes before taking the final examination are not enough for them. They need more classes for them to prepare themselves for the final examination. The topics in the module usually are not finished discussed in the classroom and they have to manage by learning themselves. This creates problems for the adult learners because if they do not understand the topic, than they cannot ask the tutor personally after the last tutorial. Maybe OUM can offer more tutorials for the adult learners that need it, or offer it to the adult learners that are interested. Only 5 participant or 16% says that the tutorials given before the final examination is enough. This maybe because they were well prepared when taking ODL in the first place. They have the right mindset to start with. If all the adult learners have this attitudes, than all problem are solves.

As for the time given to complete an assignment, 88% or 28 participant says that the time frame given is to short. This is because the adult learners cannot concentrate fully when doing the assignment. They have to tend to their family and also work in their office, and sometimes could not even find the right time to start doing the assignment. This usually leads them to copy other peoples work or plagiarism, which is a major crime in OUM and even in the academics society. 12% or 4 people says that they have sufficient time to do the assignment within the time given. It is better if the assignment are given to into groups, so that the adult learners can share what they have with each other and come up with a solid assignment. This can help the adult learners in saving their time, and also helps them in focusing in their studies.

Only 2 participant or 6% says that they always stayed up late to do revision or doing their assignment. The other 94% or 30 participant says that they do not practiced staying up late at night to study or doing the assignment. This shows that the level of commitment for the adult learners to study is very low, because they only have the weekends to study or doing their assignment. On the weekdays they have to concentrate on their work and this limit their time to do their studying and also to do their assignments. This causes the adult learners to feel burden and tired to do their studying or assignment.

23 participant or 72% says that they do not have the time to read the module that are given by OUM to them. Only 9 participants read the module before going to tutorials. This shows that OUM should find a way to make the module simpler, so that the adult learners can find only the important points or facts to read. This is better than having the adult learners not reading at all. Even in the MyVLE, there are no short notes provided to the adult learner by the e-tutors. This can help the adult learners to study even faster if short notes are provided. For the adult learners, their time is very limited, with all the things that they have to do, so the do not have the luxury of browsing through the module given.

Multiple Question Choice or MCQ is not something new in the education world, but 93% or 30 participant says that it does not helps the adult learners in achieving the result that they hope for. MCQ papers are usually considered as a killer paper for the adult learners, because if you answer it wrong, than there is nothing can be done about it. If it is a subjective answer, than maybe some marks can be given by the tutor that marks the paper. 9 participants or 7% says that it helps them in the mid-term and final examination, because the answer is already stated there. They just only have to pick the right answer. Sometimes even the answer is confusing enough, then how should the adult learners answer it. The have to really understand the subject to answer it. With MCQ format, luck is also needed for the adult learners, when answering the question. This is why MCQ format is not the most favorable format among the adult learners. Although it is impossible for OUM to demolished the format, but something must be done to help the adult learners in taking the MCQ papers, such as assignment or pop quizzes.

OUM Staff

When asked if the OUM staffs are helpful enough in helping adult learners in OUM, 28 participants answered no. That makes 86% of the participant. Only 4 participants answered yes. This shows that OUM staffs in some ways are not really doing their job of helping the adult learners. The OUM staff must realize that the adult learners are actually the customer to the university. And as a saying goes, the customer is always right. This must be taken into consideration by OUM authorities in making OUM an outstanding university in Malaysia. Without the right mindset within the OUM staff, it can crate a big problem for the adult learners in OUM.

A 72% or 25 participants says that the OUM staff cannot solve the problems that the adult learners have in terms of procedures or even management. This tells us that the level of confidence that the adult learners have for the OUM staff is very low. How can the adult learners believe that the OUM staff could help them, if the adult learners cannot have confident in the OUM staff. Sometimes a single problem take weeks to be solved, and sometimes the problem cannot even be solved by the OUM staff. Some of the adult learners say that sometimes the problem that they have does not reach to the correct staff, and the adult learners are bounce from one place to another, or put on hold on the phone for a long time. This will scratch the image of the university, from being the best to becoming the worst in terms of staff.

In term of efficiency, 84% or 27 participants says that OUM staff is not that efficient. Only 5 participants or 16% says otherwise. The efficiency is based on how the OUM staffs solve a problem that the adult learners have, during the time they study there. Most of the adult learners says that, sometimes information from their tutors did not reach the adult learners, and they have to do the digging themselves. This refers to the time when a class is cancel, and no information is given to the adult learners. This causes time to be wasted when the adult learners come to the class. There are also adult learners who say that the information from the student for the tutor is also not conveyed. These causes miscommunication to happen between adult learners and their tutor.

A 100% of the participant agrees that the OUM staff should improve their management skills to serve the adult learners better. This is a big problem, and the OUM authorities must do something to make this problem go away. One of the ways is to send the OUM staffs to courses on administration improvement, or interpersonal skills improvement or even courses on how to manage the problems that are faced by the adult learners. The OUM authorities must set some sort of ground rules for the OUM staff to follow, or make it into a KPI or Key Performance Index, that will affect the staff performance in their work. If this can be done, maybe the OUM staff performance can be increase dramatically.

Even though the tutors in OUM are mostly part timer, but 12 participants or 38% says that they are not qualified enough to teach the adult learners. 62% or 22 participants says that the tutors are qualified enough to teach them. Most of the tutors are degree holders and master’s holders. There are also PhD’s holders who become tutors in OUM. This shows that OUM really cares on who teaches in the classrooms. They try to hire the best in the field, to educate the adult learners. But the problem here is that some of the tutors are also student pursuing higher education. This sometimes causes some classes to be cancelled at the very last minutes, because the tutors have to do their own studying or their own assignment. Sometimes the tutors just give the adult learners some questions for them to do, and that is it. There is no interaction between the adult learners and the tutors.

Technology

29 participants or 91% of the adult learners knows how to use the MyLVE or formerly known as MyLMS. Only 3 participants or 9% says that they do not know how to use it. This shows that the adult learners can adapt to the new technology improvement that are being introduced to them. This also shows that the adult learners can be train and taught when it comes to new technology. Although the technology is new, but the concept of using a computer is old. With some training, the adult learners should not face any problems when using MyLVE.

When asked if the adult learners faced any difficulty in accessing MyLVE, 28 participants or 86% answered no. Only 4 participants said yes. The new improved MyLVE is easier to access by the adult learners, and it is also more users friendly. The information traffic is seldom congested, where they result for every search is usually fast. This helps the adult learners when they surf the MyLVE. The adult learners can also access the digital library provided by OUM in MyLVE to find any specific book or journal that they can used for studying or doing the assignment. With the new face lift, MyLVE has become more attractive for the adult learners to surf and exchanging information with other adult learners.

Only 20 participant or 63% has internet connection in their home, while the other 12 participant do not have internet connection in their home. With the internet connection, adult learners can access to much more materials, other than MyLVE alone. The adult learners can search for any information at their own leisure time, for studying or for doing their assignment. With so much promotion on the internet now days, all the adult students should have their own internet connection in their houses. For those who answered no, which is 37%, it can be assumed that they only have the access from their offices or from cyber café. This will limit their information searching time, and also their time to do their assignment.

A 94% or 30 participant says that MyLVE has all the information that they needed. It has the financial record of the adult learners, the past result, subject to be taken and other useful information that they need. The announcement made in MyLVe is also up to date. This helps the adult learner in making decisions when it comes to making choices in picking their subject and classes, or when checking how much they still owes OUM in term of study fees. The information about the tutors is also shown in the MyLVE, so it helps the adult learners to make contact with their tutors if there are any problem arises. The only problem that is encountered by the adult learners is that, their tutor is not their e-tutor. This confuses the student when giving a question about a topic learns in the tutorials, but the e-tutor is the one that has to give the answers. This will causes the information received by the adult learners to be different from what they learn in the tutorials. To eliminate this problem, the tutor in the tutorial should be the e-tutor in MyLVE. This will helps the adult learners and the tutor at the same time.

When asked if the e-tutor in the MyLVE is giving the information needed by the adult learners, 31 participant or 97% answered no. Only one participant said yes. This tells us that the e-tutor is not doing the tasks given properly. The adult learners say that when they post a question in the forum in MyLVE, the time for the e-tutor to respond is usually slow. Sometimes there is no respond at all. This will cause problems for the adult learner because they sometimes depend on the answer given by the e-tutor in doing the assignment or for studying reasons. Usually in the forum, the adult learners only post questions and answers among themselves, without the guidance from the e-tutor. E-tutor is supposed to give advice and solution to the adult learners, not add problem. The best solution is that the classroom tutor becomes the e-tutor. Although it will add burden to the tutor, but at least the adult learners know who they can trust when asking question or asking for opinions.

Conclusion It can be concluded that, adult learners faces much more difficulties than the normal students. They have to adapt with new technologies, and also new ways of learning. Although face to face tutoring is necessary, but with the new technology, it can helps the adult learners to achieve more. This will requires time to mastered, but time is not of the accents here. The adult student has a lot more commitment and has to juggle between their work, family and their study. Their motivation for furthering their studies comes from the family, but the problems that occurs from the other aspect, is demoralizing the student. This affects the student ability to perform better in their studies. The adult learners must wok side by side with OUM authorities in making OUM the best place to take ODL. All the problems that are faced the adult learners, whether it is personal, time management, OUM staff or technology, must be taken seriously by OUM authorities, so that all the necessary measures can be taken to avoid all the problems in the future.

Recommendation

OUM can help the adult learners by setting a good mindset into their staff in helping the adult learners. This is the most important steps that must be taken into consideration, because if the staff is excellent, than the adult learners can rely on the OUM staff for help. OUM also must also give more training to the adult learners, so that they can cope with the learning process and also with the assignment that are given to them. OUM should also offer more flexible time for the adult learners to finish up their assignment. The assignment can be submitted after the final examination, when the adult learners have nothing else to do during their semester break. With this they can concentrate even more in doing the assignment. The is no point of doing the assignment early, but the result come together with the final examination result. The e-tutor concept must be revised so that the adult learners won’t be confused when they ask a question about the topic learned in the tutorial or when asking a question about the assignment.
Constant supervision from OUM authorities in all this matters is crucial, if OUM targeting in becoming the best university in Malaysia.

Supyan Husin 2004 Hidden Voices of Adult Learners In Open and Distance Learning Programs : Problems and Strategies to Overcome the Problems. Paper presented at the 1st Regional Workshop on continuing & online lifelong learning for all (COLLA). Building Learning Communities through ICT:Bridging the Digital Divide using Online Learning, Palm Garden Hotel, Putrajaya, Malaysia, 27 – 30 June 2004