Researchers attribute the growth of online courses in Kenyan universities to the growing demand for higher education, which is continuing to outstrip supply.
Online or distance courses refer to the way an academic curriculum is delivered in universities through the internet and the web.
Prof George Magoha, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Nairobi, says the institution has a mixed mode of delivery of its courses.
“We are preparing a Strategic Plan for 2013/18 that is partly focusing on developing full online programmes.
At the moment, the delivery mode for courses is 20 percent online and 80 percent face-to-face,” he said.
However, Prof Magoha said that UoN is still training its human resource on how to implement the online courses.
He also said that there has been no word on whether the Jubilee government is keen to extend the laptop initiative to university students for online courses.
In Kenya, online courses have been the preserve of foreign universities which are increasingly partnering with local ones.
The World Bank-sponsored African Virtual University (AVU) was created in 1997 and has learning centres in 17 countries, including Kenya.
At Kenyatta University, the School of Continuing Education and the Institute of Open Learning offers distance online education programmes in its Faculty of Education.
However, most Kenyan universities still have a conservative approach to online courses, which is still a challenge due to the poor ICT infrastructure.
The AVU which is headquartered in Nairobi, utilises satellite technology and e-learning techniques to deliver academic programmes.
It offers undergraduate and postgraduate programmes based on prioritised needs of students. According to Fatuma Chege and Daniel Wesonga and Ogachi Oanda, in their 2008 book ‘Privatisation and Private Higher Education in Kenya ’, AVU focuses on courses that are critical for economic development: computer science, computer engineering, electrical and mechanical engineering, public health, teacher training, business administration and commerce.
These universities are the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Carleton University (Canada), Universite Laval (Canada), New Jersey Institute of
Technology (USA), Indiana Institute of Technology (Australia) and Curtin University (Australia).
Most local universities have formed affiliations with overseas counterparts to develop online degree programs in which Kenyan students can study like their counterparts abroad.
According to Magdallen Juma in her paper, ‘The Establishment of a Higher Education Open and Distance Learning Knowledge Base for Decision Makers in Kenya ’, there are two delivery modes for online university courses: print based distance education and institution-based mode of study.
For instance, at the UoN’s Faculty of External Education, print materials are primary delivery strategy.
These are often course notes, manuals and study lecture units.
Stakeholders in the provision of online courses include the Commission of University Education (CUE), the Open Learning Distance Education Association of East Africa and Open Learning Association of Kenya.
Another is that the Ministry of Higher Education allots a small percentage of total annual budget on higher education to teaching materials, such as online courses.
Slow internet connection, inadequate library resources are other disadvantages of online courses in universities.
