Challenges of Coupling Distance Education Degree Programmes to Un-Campus Education Programmes in Dual Mode Public Degree Universities in Ghana

ABSTRACT

Technological advancement and the changing demands of formal occupations has culminated in the birth of distance education degree programmes in universities that also offer the traditional on-campus degree programmes referred to as dual-mode universities. But it is well established in the literature on educational administration that the organizational structure of universities are loosely coupled in that there are many independent departments, colleges and schools that occasionally respond to administrative and professional demands. Using the theory of loosely coupled organizations, and a qualitative comparative research methodology, this study investigated the nature of the dual-mode degree programmes offered by the University of Ghana and University of Cape Coast (two dual-mode public universities), and, how their loosely coupled organizational structure has impacted on the delivery of the dual-mode degree programmes. The study found that apart from the certification of the dual-mode degree programmes, all other components of the degree programmes differ across the distance education and on-campus education due to the absence of a formal national policy to provide guidelines on which components of distance education and on-campus education degree programmes should be coupled or loosened. Again, the study found that the relative independence of the department for distance education at the University of Ghana enabled it to innovate an online teaching and learning system which has been adopted by lecturers for teaching on-campus courses. This finding suggests that loosely coupled systems do not seal off and prevent the spread of problems and solutions. The study recommends that a formal national policy should be designed for the dual-mode programme in Ghana that scholars should develop a clear typology of the concept of loose coupling to help advance empirical research on loosely coupled organizations.