How Online Education Can attract More Students to BAU

Prepared by

Raheef El Chaar 201701760

Eman Bayda 201800636

Presented To: Dr. Salma Maroun- Assistant professor in Strategic Management

Date of Submission: December 31,2019

1|Page
Contents
1. Introduction ........................................................................................................................... 3
2. Literature Review .................................................................................................................. 3
2.1-Benefit of online education on students ............................................................................. 3
2.1.1-Time Management ............................................................................................................... 4
2.1.2-Ease of Access ....................................................................................................................... 4
2.1.3-Individualized Pacing........................................................................................................... 5
2.1.4-Costs ...................................................................................................................................... 5
3. Research Methodology .......................................................................................................... 6
3.1-Marketing Research Problem ................................................................................................ 6
3.2-Research Questions ................................................................................................................. 6
3.3-Methodology ............................................................................................................................ 6
3.4-Data Collection ........................................................................................................................ 6
3.4.1-Focus Group ......................................................................................................................... 6
3.4.2-Questionnaire ....................................................................................................................... 7
3.5-Data Analysis ........................................................................................................................... 7
3.5.1-Focus Group ......................................................................................................................... 7
3.5.2-Questionnaire: .................................................................................................................... 10
4. Findings ................................................................................................................................ 13
5. Conclusion ............................................................................................................................ 14
References .................................................................................................................................... 15
List of Figures .............................................................................................................................. 16
Appendix ...................................................................................................................................... 17
Appendix A .................................................................................................................................. 17
Questionnaire: ............................................................................................................................. 17

2|Page
 1. Introduction
Online learning is the newest and most popular form of distance education today. Within
the past decade it has had a major impact on postsecondary education and the trend is only
increasing. Online learning is education that takes place over the Internet. It is often
referred to as “eLearning” among other terms. Online education is focused on use of
information and communication technology for learning. Online education works on
combining learning, with students’ comfort and technology to help them make learning
meaningful. Depending on online learning or what known as E-learning can reflect the
future of education and business (Thomas E. Oblender and Jane Glass).

2. Literature Review
2.1-Benefit of online education on students
The minimum requirement for students to participate in an online course is access to a
computer, the Internet, and the motivation to succeed in a non-traditional classroom.
Online courses provide an excellent method of course delivery unbound by time or
location allowing for accessibility to instruction at anytime from anywhere. Learners find
the online environment a convenient way to fit education into their busy lives. The ability
to access a course from any computer with Internet access, 24 hours a day, seven days a
week is a tremendous incentive for many of today’s students. Through the online learning,
students learn to use the computer and the internet as a primary source of information. In
addition to that students will become more responsible because they will be aware that
independence requires responsibility.

What online education is really designed for is to individualize instructions for students.
Since student finishes their work on their own, they can provide information in a way and
at a speed that make sense for them. It also provides many different opportunities for
students who have varied learning style and intelligence. By depending on such courses
students will learn to think critically as they examine and evaluate websites, respond to E-
mails and participate in online discussions (Thomas E.Oblender and Jane Glass). Jung,
Choi, Lim, and Leem (2002), when researching different types of online interactions and
their effect on satisfaction with the course, found that the learners’ satisfaction was more
strongly related to the amount of student-student interaction than to the interaction with

3|Page
the instructor. They found that the students who collaborated with each other (i.e., to
problem solve on a discussion board) expressed the highest level of satisfaction (Janet M.
Ferguson and Amy E. DE Felice).

One student reported an advantage for online learning by saying that “Online courses made
it possible for me to continue gaining credits without always having to invest days on the
road” (Jane Roeschley, Benefits and challenges of online courses: What students say, Nov
12, 2007).

Online education can benefit students on several levels which will be studied and analyzed
in this marketing research project.

2.1.1-Time Management
For those with time-consuming daily obligations, the flexibility of an online course, or even
an online degree, can mean the difference between getting a high school degree and a
college degree, or an undergraduate degree and a doctorate. In rural areas where resources
may be tight, online courses can broaden the scope of education for students, including
classes the region's educational system could not otherwise afford to offer. Those with
disabilities, such as an inability to see or hear, may also find that the technology available
to them in an online course makes learning easier.

2.1.2-Ease of Access
The old tradition of sitting among other students in the impersonal setting of a classroom,
coupled by the leer of a professor as students rush to copy down text-heavy slides is quickly
becoming an obsolete form of learning. To the older generations, this may be a little
frightening, but this form of learning has occurred for centuries in some way or another.
The only difference being that instead of tablets and books, students now have access to
far more resources through the recent medium which is modern technology; here is how
the ease of eLearning helps to increase student engagement and improve learner retention.

4|Page
2.1.3-Individualized Pacing
One of the major advantages of using online learning platforms to foster individualized
learning is that students can now truly move at their own pace when it comes to learning
their course material. They can spend as much time as they need to and can also review
whatever they need whenever they need. In this way, teachers are freed up to spend more
time with students on aspects that truly require their attention. Moreover, teachers get to
work with students one-on-one as opposed to the traditional approach of addressing the
entire class. Not only does this make for more effective teaching but it also helps save a lot
of time for both the teacher and the students. Additionally, a major advantage offered by
such avenues is the freedom from ridicule. Students are encouraged to explore their course
material in a more comprehensive manner and ask questions more freely. Since the entire
process is based on one-to-one communication, students need not be afraid of making
mistakes.

2.1.4-Costs
Online learning may decrease costs for institutions and students alike. Students can save
money on gas and other travel expenses, while maintaining a full-time job that may not
have been possible with a traditional education. Although program development and
technology may cost more initially, institutions may find that they can reduce costs due to
decreased facility usage and an increased student to faculty ratio. Each institution will
differ, and depending on its situation must analyze the costs and benefits of implementing
online education.

5|Page
 3. Research Methodology

3.1-Marketing Research Problem

How can online education attract more students to the university?

3.2-Research Questions
a) In what way is online education more attractive to students than traditional education?
i. H1: Some students work and live far away from the university so it helps them
manage their time.
ii. H2: Some countries have many safety issues so online education would provide
knowledge and education along with student protection.
iii. H3: Some students might find that the traditional teaching pace does not match
them, might be too slow or too fast, so they can control the pace when studying
online.

b) Can online courses attract more mature students?

i. H1: Full time employees can obtain their degree by studying online and not
having to attend class in person.

3.3-Methodology
This research was conducted in a qualitative method while collecting and analyzing the
data. The research is descriptive of the variables from the point of view of the studied
sample.

3.4-Data Collection

3.4.1-Focus Group
A focus group is a small, but demographically diverse group of people and whose reactions
are studied especially in market research or political analysis in guided or open discussions
about a new product or something else to determine the reactions that can be expected from
a larger population. The focus group was made up of eight students from Beirut Arab
University Tripoli campus from different faculties (four from the Faculty of Engineering
and four from the Faculty of Science). This focus group was used in order to determine to

6|Page
see whether students prefer the use of traditional education only or adding the option of
online education and what variables affect their decision.

3.4.2-Questionnaire
A questionnaire was distributed as a hard copy on a group of eleven students from BAU
Tripoli. This group was made up of eleven students. These eleven students were given a
questionnaire made up of eight closed questions and two open questions. A copy of the
questionnaire is attached in Appendix A.

A. Three from the Faculty of Engineering.

B. Four from the Faculty of Science.
C. Two from the Faculty of Architecture.
D. Two from the Faculty of Health Science

3.5-Data Analysis

3.5.1-Focus Group

Figure 1-With or Against Online Education

• Five out of eight students are with implementing online education.

7|Page
 Variables Set by Students
8

0
Time Efficiency Ease of Access to Decentralizes BAU
Management courses

With Against
Figure 2-Variables Set by
Students

The focus group participants suggested and discussed these variable and came up with the
following results.

A. Time Management: Six out of eight found that online education can better
help them manage their time. These students said that by using online education
they could better manage their time because some courses are too easy but
attendance is mandatory. They also said that if all the courses are available for
them online, they can study harder and finish their required test material ahead
of time which would give them more time to work on projects or focus on other
aspects of their lives. Also, some of the students that we talked with work part-
time after class for several reasons (gain experience/financial issues). So, by
implementing online education these students think that it would greatly benefit
them because they would be able to better manage their time between studying
and working without one affecting the other.

B. Efficiency: Four out of eight found online education more efficient than
traditional education. These students found that online education is more
efficient because now the number of students per course is not limited as usual
so closed courses and time conflicts would significantly decrease thus

8|Page
 improving efficiency and preventing students from carrying courses to other
academic years. Also, students would not have to worry about reaching the
university in certain conditions like the one we are currently going through that
resulted in the university to close its doors for a month. If online education was
available at BAU these students would have continued their courses online
without being negatively affected by the conditions of the country in which they
reside in.

C. Ease of Access to Courses: Seven out of eight found that online education is
easier to access than traditional education. These students said that it would be
easier for them to access their course material and lectures if they were available
online rather than have to attend class or print them at the university`s library.
Also, these students also found that by having lectures available for them at
demand online, these students would not have to worry about missing a class
which would impact their understanding of the course.

D. Decentralizes BAU: Three out of eight found online education better because
it might help decentralize BAU Tripoli from Beirut`s control. These students
hope that by offering online education they can get rid of the centralization that
governs BAU Tripoli by BAU Beirut. Some students suffer because of this
centralization, for example when the instructor at BAU Beirut adds a question
to the test that wasn’t given by the instructor in Tripoli. So maybe these online
courses can be specific to a certain campus thus decentralizing BAU.

9|Page
3.5.2-Questionnaire:

Questionnaire Results Part One

Question 4

Question 3

Question 2

Question 1

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Answer c Answer b Answer a

Figure 3-
Questionnaire Results Part One

Questionnaire Results Part Two

Question 8

Question 7

Question 6

Question 5

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Answer c Answer b Answer a

Figure 4-
Questionnaire Results Part Two

• Question Number One:

i. According to the results five out of eleven students chose option a
(important).
ii. According to the results three out of eleven students chose option b
(necessary).

10 | P a g e
 iii. According to the results three out of eleven students chose option c
(unnecessary).
• Question Number Two:
i. According to the results six out of eleven students chose option a (yes).
ii. According to the results four out of eleven students chose option b (no).
iii. According to the results one out of eleven students chose option c (other).
• Question Number Three:
i. According to the results nine out of eleven students chose option a (yes).
ii. According to the results two out of eleven students chose option b (no).
• Question Number Four:
i. According to the results seven out of eleven students chose option a (yes).
ii. According to the results three out of eleven students chose option b (no).
iii. According to the results one out of eleven students chose option c (other).
• Question Number Five:
i. According to the results seven out of eleven students chose option a (yes).
ii. According to the results four out of eleven students chose option b (no).
• Question Number Six:
i. According to the results six out of eleven students chose option a (strongly
agree).
ii. According to the results four out of eleven students chose option b (agree).
iii. According to the results three out of eleven students chose option c (neither
agree nor disagree).
• Question Number Seven:
i. According to the results eight out of eleven students chose option a (yes).
ii. According to the results three out of eleven students chose option b (no).
• Question Number Eight:
i. According to the results six out of eleven students chose option a (yes).
ii. According to the results five out of eleven students chose option b (no).
• Question Number Nine: The students identified four barriers.
i. Instructors do not know how to use this technology.
ii. This technology is not fully available at BAU so far.

11 | P a g e
 iii. Students do not know how to use this technology to study from their home.
iv. It might be costly to implement online education at BAU.
• Question Number Ten:
A. Seven students said No for the following reasons:
i. The technology isn’t available.
ii. The instructors do not know how to use this technology.
iii. Some instructors have bad English and depend on students to right
their wrongs so without this in class communication students might
not receive the information properly.
B. Four students said Yes for the following reasons:
i. Some of the required technology is available like Moodle.
ii. Both the students and instructors can learn how to use this
technology.
iii. If the increase in revenue is greater than the cost of this technology
the university might invest in online education.

12 | P a g e
 4. Findings
Two research questions were written in the marketing research segment each with its own
set of hypotheses. And the conducted marketing research project served as a tool to prove
if these hypotheses were right or wrong.

Our first hypothesis in the first research question regarding how online education helps
with time management was confirmed where students in both the focus group and
questionnaire found that it helps them better manage their time and responsibilities.

Our second hypothesis in the first research question regarding how online education would
provide the students living in unsafe countries with knowledge and protection
simultaneously was confirmed in both the focus group discussion where students found
that online education is easy to access for anyone with a computer and internet access
without having to attend the class in person so the students wouldn’t have to risk their lives
in unsafe countries to attend the class and wouldn’t miss the given material if they were
unable to attend.

Our third hypothesis in the first research question regarding the pace of teaching in class
was confirmed in the questionnaire. Where students answered that it is hard for them to
follow the pace of teaching in all courses so online education here would solve this issue
by having the material available online and each person studying at his or her own pace.

Our first hypothesis in the second research question regarding how fulltime employees can
obtain degrees by studying online because they are not able to attend class was confirmed
by students in both the focus group and questionnaire. Students stated that it would be
much easier for them to manage their work-study balance if they are working fulltime and
their courses are available for them online without having to attend in person.

13 | P a g e
 5. Conclusion
After conducting this research, we can conclude that online education is positively
viewed by students and was both welcomed and demanded by the majority of these
students. Surprisingly a high percentage of these students actually liked the idea of
implementing online education at BAU because they think that it would benefit them
greatly in their studies. Some of these students faced several issues at BAU because of
administrative errors like course conflicts which resulted in students taking one course
now and having to leave the other for the following academic year, an issue that could
have been easily solved by using online education to take the second course. So, as a
result we find that by implementing online education the university would attract more
students which would increase the revenue of the university. Even if implementing this
technology is costly (cost of equipment/ courses for instructors on how to use this
technology) the long-term revenue in our opinion would surpass the cost overtime.

Implement
Online Education

Attract More
Students

Increase in the
Unversity`s
revenue

Figure 5-Result of Implementing Online Education

14 | P a g e
 References
References:
• length of Online Course and Student Satisfaction, Perceived Learning, and
Academic Performance Canisius College, USA Janet M. Ferguson. Amy E.
DeFelice City University of New York (CUNY) Graduate Center, USA
• Benefits and challenges of online courses: What students say Anonymous Canadian
Mennonite; Nov 12, 2007; 11, 22; ProQuest Central pg. S3
• 5 REASONS TO OFFER ONLINE COURSES BY THOMAS E. OBLENDER
AND JANE GLASS

15 | P a g e
 List of Figures
List of Figures:
Figure 1-With or Against Online Education.................................................................................... 7
Figure 2-Variables Set by Students ................................................................................................. 8
Figure 3-Questionnaire Results Part One ...................................................................................... 10
Figure 4-Questionnaire Results Part Two ..................................................................................... 10
Figure 5-Result of Implementing Online Education ..................................................................... 14

16 | P a g e
 Appendix

Appendix A

Questionnaire:
1. What is your first impression of online education?
a) Important
b) Necessary
c) Unnecessary
2. Would you use online education if it were available?
a) Yes
b) No
c) Other
3. Is it costly for you to reach the University from your home?
a) Yes
b) No
4. Do you find the pace of teaching in class hard to follow?
a) Yes
b) No
c) Other
5. Would you choose a university over another university if it offered the option of
online education?
a) Yes
b) No
6. Online education would help you better manage your time:
a) Strongly agree
b) Agree
c) Neither agree nor disagree
d) Disagree
e) Strongly disagree
7. Do you think implementing online education would attract more working students
to BAU?
a) Yes
b) No
8. Do you think students would neglect their responsibilities once given the freedom
of online education?
a) Yes
b) No
9. Barriers facing online education at BAU:

17 | P a g e
 10. Do you think your university and instructors are equipped with the intellectual and
technological tools required for the implementation of online education? Explain.

18 | P a g e