Keywords
Dear Editor,
Student support services in virtual learning are a multidimensional and crucial factor for enhancing student engagement and promoting academic progress (1). One of the main goals of student support services is to help students overcome loneliness because of staying away from the academic community, including peers, professors, and the institution itself (2).
Support means the development of a condition that predisposes to learning and expands strategies that cause integration in the community. Support creates a sense of belonging with the academic community in the student and causes a sense of self-direction and management and a sense of control. These cases generally induce a sense of satisfaction and motivation in the student and give them stability in online learning (3).
The COVID-19 pandemic, followed by social distancing, has affected educational systems in countries around the world, and higher education institutions have been forced to close university campuses in response to this global emergency and turn to virtual learning (4).
Virtual learning puts extra strain and demands on the student, like cognitive, social, emotional, and technological demands. These matters lead to increased anxiety, to the extent that virtual education programs are met with an early lack of motivation in students and, in many cases, reduced academic performance and dropout (5).
Providing students with efficient support services is crucial to reducing and overcoming problems and challenges that students face in virtual learning (6).
Student support services can be classified into two categories: academic and non-academic. Academic support is in line with the development of cognitive and learning skills, while non-academic support deals with emotional and organizational aspects such as counseling and guidance services. This includes technological support. Academic support helps students with writing assignments and provides feedback on their progress (2).
Effective learning support considers students' needs, increases interaction between students and the university, and promotes educational and technological advances (7).
Satisfactory learning experiences promote education and lifelong learning. Thus, we must first be aware of the devastating effects of high dropout rates on virtual learning environments to develop better support services to avoid this first obstacle. Therefore, reducing dropouts should be the goal and action of student support services (3).
Finally, we need to be aware that student support in virtual learning is not only an urgency but a quality issue. The quality assurance model in virtual learning consists of specific indexes of student support services. These indexes should guide institutions in developing student support services (3).
References
-
1.
Ndhlovu D, Simui F, Mwewa G, Chota A, Kakana F, Mundende K, et al. “WhatsApp” as a Learner Support tool for distance education: Implications for Policy and Practice at University of Zambia. Zambia Inf Commun Technol J. 2018;2(2):36-44.
-
2.
Jung I, Hong S. An elaborated model of student support to allow for gender considerations in Asian distance education. Int Rev Res Open Distance Learn. 2014;15(2):170-88. https://doi.org/10.19173/irrodl.v15i2.1604.
-
3.
Sánchez-Elvira Paniagua A, Simpson O. Developing Student Support for Open and Distance Learning: The EMPOWER Project. J Interact Media Educ. 2018;2018(1). https://doi.org/10.5334/jime.470.
-
4.
Chan RY. Studying Coronavirus (COVID-19) and Global Higher Education: Evidence for Future Research and Practice. SSRN Electron J. 2020. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3622751.
-
5.
Walters-Archie A. Academic support for online students in the English-speaking Caribbean at the University of the West Indies Open Campus. J Furth High Educ. 2017;42(6):868-78. https://doi.org/10.1080/0309877x.2017.1332353.
-
6.
Murphy L. Supporting learner autonomy: Developing practice through the production of courses for distance learners of French, German and Spanish. Lang Teach Res. 2008;12(1):83-102. https://doi.org/10.1177/1362168807084495.
-
7.
Makoe M. Bridging the distance: The pedagogy of mobile learning in supporting distance learners. Distance education. Intech; 2012. p. 63-80.