Factors that Affects the Cost of Distance Education Note: Photos not mine (Credits to: https://www.google.com.ph/?gfe_rd=cr&ei=hpuzWI6BLMno8AfSn5TgAg&gws_rd=ssl)

1. The Challenge of Making Distance Education Work

2. -An amount that has to be paid or given
up in order to get something.
-In business, cost is usually a monetary
valuation of (1) effort, (2) material,
(3) resources, (4) time and utilities
consumed, (5) risks incurred, and (6)
opportunity forgone in production and
delivery of a good or service.

4. 1. The number of learners enrolled
The greater the enrolment, the more
the fixed administrative costs of the
system, and the resources invested in
developing the curriculum and learning
materials, will be spread across the
student population, thus bringing down
the unit cost of per student.

5. 2. The size of the curriculum
The broader the curriculum on
offer, the more courses will need to
be offered, and the greater the
volume of course materials that will
need to be developed.

6. 3. The number of years over which
courses are offered without change
It makes economic sense to reuse the
materials from year to year, so that the
cost of developing the materials can be
spread over more and more years and more
and more students.

7. 4. Containment of course development
costs
The range of materials to be developed
can be reduced by using existing
textbooks in conjunction with wraparound
materials, materials that act as a
commentary on a commercially produced
textbook.

8. 5. Sharing course development
costs
Another approach is to try to
share the costs of developing
course materials. One way is to
design the materials so that they
can be published in book form.

9. 6. Technology choice
Since distance education methods first
emerged in the 1840s, the range of media and
technology employed has widened. The cost of a
given technology will depend on the equipment
used (and the extent to which that equipment
has to be sourced from abroad), the running
costs of the technology, and the labor costs
involved in the development, production and
delivery of materials carried by the
technology.

12. 7. The level of student support
All the evidence indicates that successful
distance education systems require three
elements: excellent teaching materials,
efficient logistical systems, and responsive
and where appropriate individualized student
support systems. The difficulty with this is
that the cost of student support tends to be
driven by the number of students in the
system, so that the absolute cost of providing
student services increases rapidly with
increases in student numbers.

13. 8. Working practices
Working practices can affect costs
significantly. Courses that take
students many hours to study tend to
require more materials, and the range of
materials on such courses is often such
that several people will be required to
develop the materials.

14. 9. Labor market practices
This can reduce costs significantly,
particularly where they are combined
with the employment of staff on short-
term contracts where payment is on a per
student, per hour, or per script basis.

15. 10. Structural practices
Distance learning systems require a range of
activities to be accomplished if they are to succeed,
including the development, production and distribution
of materials, the administration, teaching and
examination of students, and the management of the
organization. While many institutions are organized
around an integrated structure, others rely on
external suppliers to fulfil some of these tasks. Thus
it is not uncommon for open and distance learning
institutions to work alongside media production
agencies, printers, colleges and schools, etc. to
provide services and facilities.

17. Jamison (1977), Wanger (1982), Markowitz
(1987), Curran (1991) and Bates (1995)
distinguish between different types of
costs of distance education technology:
1.fixed costs
2.variable costs
3.average cost and
4.marginal cost

18. Fixed costs
The initial costs of purchasing the equipment.
These costs do not depend on the size of
audiences or number of courses in the programme.
Variable costs
The costs that depend on the size of audiences
and number of courses in each programme (e.g.,
costs of teachers, materials, etc.).

19. Average cost
The cost of a programme for each student
per study hour.
Marginal cost
Marginal costs are the costs of adding
one or more units of output (student) to
the program.

21. mediasite-mx.com/sites/default/files/wp7-cost-
effectiveness-efficiency.pdf
http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/c
ost.html
http://portal.unesco.org/education/en/ev.php-
URL_ID=26860&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.h
tml

22. Pabricante, Bombie T. 3D3
Romans 8:28
And we know that in all things
things God works for the good
of those who love him, who
have been called according to
his purpose.