Meeting Student Needs -- OLA on the Web

Introduction

This poster shows how Open Learning Australia (OLA) is using the World Wide Web to distribute information.

Background

OLA is an national education broker providing TAFE, undergraduate and postgraduate units through off-campus methods. There are 29 Australian institutions providing units through OLA, with a number of these also providing pathways into qualifications. In 1995 OLA began to establish a presence on the web.

Establishing a presence on the World Wide Web

The corporate information was quickly put up on the web using a consultant so that OLA was "out there" with at least some information. It was not intended to be comprehensive -- it was there simply to alert people to the company's existence. This was undertaken because OLA realised the importance of having a presence on the web and the need for getting that presence established quickly.

As it was intended to be the core of OLA's web site, the student information (including the Student Handbook) took longer to prepare, and was organised in-house after training staff. Matters taken into consideration when planning this stage included, structure of information, ease of access and student requirements. It was decided to produce a site that was simply set-out and low on graphics, as it would be an information source for a specialised audience. Low graphic content was also important with regards to the time it takes to down-load the pages.

The impact of this has been substantial for both staff and students. The web site is getting a reasonable number of hits (5,203 in the week beginning 12 May 1996) and the Client Services area is now getting approximately 50 e-mail inquiries a week. Potential students are obviously discovering OLA through the web site.

The Client Services area has benefited from having the Student Handbook on the web, in that they are able to direct inquirers to it. The print version of the handbook costs $9.95 and not all inquirers are willing to outlay that money when they are not even sure that they want to study through OLA. The on-line handbook thus gives them the opportunity to investigate what OLA has to offer without purchasing the handbook. Having the handbook on-line is especially useful during OLA's registration periods. Inquirers often leave things till the last minute and then discover that they are unable to obtain a handbook in time to register. Client Services can now direct these students to the on-line version.

OLA realises that not all students will have access to the web, but the number that now do is significant enough to make a difference to the company.

The provider information is yet to be added to the site. This information will be intended for staff at institutions providing units through OLA and for academics interested in offering new units. This information is currently being put together, and it seems likely that parts of it will require a password in order for the information to be accessed.

This will make the flow of information between OLA and its many provider institutions more efficient. Providers will be able to access up-to-date information immediately without having to wait for that information to pass through the mail system. Similarly, potential providers will also benefit in that they will not have to go through the process of requesting information.

OLA is also currently setting up web pages for internal use in order to efficiently distribute up-to-date information within the company. As some of this information may eventually be made available to students via the web, already having that information in html would also be advantageous.

Conclusion

It is a constant challenge to maintain a web site that provides all the necessary information while managing to stay user-friendly and student-focussed. OLA's web site is by no means complete or perfect -- changes and improvements are part of an ongoing learning process to facilitate the needs of our students and partner organisations.

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