Download Costing a Distance Education Course in Reproductive

Group Two: Linda Markham, John Mulholland,
Timothy Piatt, Shawn Richmond, and Steve Kerby
OMDE 606
December 12, 2004
Costing a Distance Education Course in Reproductive Health and Social Issues
I. THE COURSE:
A Joint Project of Centennial College and AHEAD
Centennial College in Ottawa, Canada plans to offer a distance education class titled Reproductive
Health and Social Issues. The class is a joint project of Centennial College's Department of Health
Science and Canada's Association for Higher Education and Development (AHEAD), which is
dedicated to helping support education in Ethiopia.
Class Market and Focus: The class is aimed primarily at teachers, social workers, policy-makers,
clinicians, and community representatives in Ethiopia who (a) are involved with the education of
adolescents in that country and (b) are interested in helping to establish policies and implement
strategies that will meet the reproductive health needs of Ethiopian adolescents, both in-school and
out-of-school. The major focus of the course is how to reach Ethiopian adolescents who are not
being served by existing Maternal Child Health and Family Planning (MCH-FP) programs.
Students taking the course will pay $335 per hour for a total charge of $1,005. But the program will
rely heavily on grants and scholarships to pay tuition. Acquiring grants, distributing scholarships,
and marketing the class will be the primary duty of AHEAD. Developing and delivering the courses
will be the primary duty of Centennial College.
The course is expected to earn an income of $1,582,875 at a cost of $692,990, which produces a
profit of $889,885 over seven years (see below and accompanying spreadsheet), Centennial College
and AHEAD have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) in which they agree to split the
profits equally and use the money for investments in distance education initiatives and scholarships
for the Ethiopian people.
Since the profits of the course will contribute to the funding of education and health initiatives in
Ethiopia, a low-cost delivery is especially important.
Course Format: The basic format of the course will be print based (study guides). But since,
according to Bates (1995), radio “is accessible to more people than any other single technology”
(p.139), we will also use radio (a) to supplement the course on Health and Reproductive Issues,
and (b) as a way of reaching additional listeners who might tune in to the broadcasts and learn from
the educational dramas. For the radio broadcasts, AHEAD has contracted with WorldSpace, which
has licenses to provide international direct broadcast satellite audio service in Africa. According to
the company, AfriStar satellite will be joined by AsiaStar and AmeriStar satellites later this year and
each satellite will have three beams with each beam capable of delivering more than 50 channels of
audio and multimedia programming to portable receivers (Tchwenko, 2002).
The study guides and radio scripts will be written by consultants who are experts in their fields. The
course material consists of:
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Three study guides of about 50 pages each
Fifteen radio scripts of about 20 minutes each (one a week--a total of about 5 hours)
Radio broadcast talent will be provided at no charge by graduate students of Centennial College's
Department of Communication and will consist of interviews, panel discussions, and short dramatic
scenes, as well as instructional support information. The Centennial College students will earn
internship credit for their work.
Additional Details:
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The class earns three credits and will last 15 weeks; for those students wishing to pursue a
Distance Education certificate or degree at Centennial College, it will count in several tracks
in either Health Science or Social Work.
The class will require about 150 hours of study time (15 weeks at 10 hours per week).
The development process extends over two years and will require a half of the per annum
staff-time of a course manager and half of the full time commitment of one secretarial staff.
The class will be offered for 7 years and is expected to attract 225 students per year.
It is planned to update the course in year 3 and to present from year 4 onwards the redeveloped version
Broadcasts and Study Guides will be in English, since the market for the class (teachers,
social workers, policy-makers, clinicians, etc.) speak and read English.
Students are supported by a tutor; Each tutor caters for a group of 25 students
Each tutor marks and extensively comments on three assignments per student
II. COSTS
Accompanying Spreadsheet includes:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
List of Ingredients
Calculation Template
Average Costs and chart
Total Costs and chart
Chart of Total Costs and Income
The line numbers below refer to the “List of Ingredients” on the accompanying spreadsheet.
FIXED COSTS
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I. Management
1. Half the salary of a course manager who makes $70,000 a year times two (two
development years) equal $70,000 (line 3)
2. Half the salary of a secretary who makes $24,000 a year times two (two development
years) equal $24,000 (line 4)
II. Study Guides and Radio Scripts.
To prepare specific study guides, we assume:
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for authoring, an input of 40 academic staff days at $ 300 per day, or $12,000 per
guide for a total of $36,000 (line 6)
for editing and design, a cost of $4,800 per 50 pages for a total of $14,400 (line 8)
for copyright clearance, a cost of $2,400 per study guide for a total of $7,200 (line
9)
To prepare radio scripts, we assume a cost of $1,500 per script for 15 scripts for a total of
$22,500 (line 7)
III. Radio Production
For radio broadcasts, we have worked from benchmark costs discussed in Bates (1995,
pp.141-147) and assume each broadcast will cost $3,478.87 per show, times fifteen shows
for a total of $52,183.05 (line 12).
For radio talent, we assume no charge, since Centennial college is contributing student talent
who will receive internship credit (line 11)
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IV. Assignment Development
To prepare assignments, we assume $250 per assignment at three assignments a course, for
a total of $750.00 (line 14)
V. Maintenance Costs for Printed Material
For maintenance costs of printed materials, we assume:
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for authoring, an input of 4 staff days at $300 per day for a total of $1,200 per study
guide for a total of $3,600 (line 17)
for re-design, approximately $4,800 per guide for a total of 14,400 (line 18)
VARIABLE COSTS
Total Costs for 7 years = $692,990.45
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Total Fixed annualized costs = 352,317.953
Variable Cost per student = 216.30
Total Students for 7 Years = 1,575
TC = F + VxN
692,990.45 = 352,317.953 + (216.30 x 1,575)
692,990.45 = 352,317.953 + (340,672.50)
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III. BATES ACTION MODEL: RADIO
Access
According to Bates (1995), "Radio is accessible to more people than any other single
technology" (p. 139). All countries have radio transmission capability, and according to
UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization), almost all
households in developing countries have at least one radio (Oujo, 1999). "Radio is easy to
work and maintain and, unlike print, it can reach those who are illiterate and very poor
(Oujo, para. 3)." Radios that use electricity are the most common, but for those located in
areas without electricity, battery operated or solar powered radios are available (Oujo). In
recent years, the government of Ethiopia has distributed over 500 solar-power radio sets to
secondary schools (Tilson & Bekele, 2000).
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Costs
Radio is relatively low cost for large courses of 1,250 or more students. Bates (1995) reports
that it is less than $15.00 (US) per student at $1.50 (US) per study hour. In calculating the
costs, per student study hour, Bates "assumed an allocation of one 20-minute programme per
week, over a 32-week course, with each programme broadcast twice each year…" (p. 145).
"It must be remembered that additional costs will be necessary for all these one-way
technologies to cover tutorial activities or to provide student feedback and inter-personal
interaction through other technologies" (Bates, p. 4).
Teaching and learning
According to Roberts, Brindley and Spronk (1998), learning by auditory means "has proven
to be an efficient, effective and acceptable tool for a wide variety of learning tasks: recalling
previously learned material, restating previously learned material in your own words, using
knowledge in concrete situations, analyzing material into parts, combining or synthesizing
these parts to form a new whole and evaluating or judging the value of the material" (p. 3).
Interactivity and user-friendliness
Radio is a one-way medium. It offers little interaction between teacher and students (Bates,
1995). Radio programs are regarded as stimulus material. Students should be encouraged to
form discussion groups around the programs, to listen, discuss, decide and act (Nwaerondu
& Thompson, 1987). Radio needs to be accompanied by printed visual support materials
(Nwaerondu & Thompson).
Organizational issues
Communications infrastructure, broadcasting organizations, study centers, and technical
support for establishing educational radio programs will be needed as well as people skilled
in both radio production and in education (Chaudhary & Bansal, 2000). Furthermore,
promoting and publicizing the benefits of learning and convenient transmission times of
educational radio programs through an accessible medium will likely increase the
participation rate (Chaudhary & Bansal).
Novelty
Chaudhary and Bansal (2000) state that "Radio is not a new-generation technology for most
learners as it has existed in developing countries for a long time. (para. 4)." Tchwenko
(2002) notes that the future of radio access lies in digital satellite technology. Inadequate
communications infrastructure isolates communities, but, "thanks to innovative digital
satellite radio technology, they are able to participate knowledgeably….(para. 1)"
Speed
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One of the advantages of radio is the ability to correct or change content material very
quickly (Bates, 1995). Bates reports that "In comparison, because of the long lead production
times, or the high cost of changing material once made, broadcast television, computer-based
learning and pre-programmed multimedia all rate poorly on this criterion" (p. 12).
REFERENCES
Bates, A. W. (Tony). (1995). Technology, open learning and distance education. New York:
Routledge.
Chaudhary, S. S., & Bansal, K. (2000). Interactive radio counseling in Indira Gandhi National Open
University. Journal of Distance Education, 15(2), 52 paragraphs. Retrieved February 2, 2003 from
http://cade.athabascau.ca/vol15.2/chaundharyetal.html
Nwaerondu, N. G., & Thompson, G. (1987). The use of educational radio in developing countries:
Lessons from the past. Journal of Distance Education, 2(2), 30 paragraphs. Retrieved January 28,
2003 from http://cade.athabascau.ca/vol2.2/7_Nwaerondu _and_Thompson.html
Oujo, M. I. (1999, September/October). Radio: Wiring the schools with wireless. TechKnowLogia,
1(1), 15 paragraphs. Retrieved April 8, 2003 from http://wwwtechknowlogia.org/…/tright.asp?IssueNumber=19&FileType=HTML
& ArticleID=1
Roberts, J. M., Brindley, J. E., & Spronk, B. (1998). Learning on the information highway: A
learner's guide to the technologies. Montréal, Québec, Canada: Chenelière/McGraw-Hill.
Tchwenko, R. F. (2002, January-March). Digital satellite radio for international development.
TechKnowLogia, 4(1), 15 paragraphs. Retrieved March 8, 2003 from
http://www.techknowlogia.org/TKL_active_pages2CurrentArticles/main/asp?
IssueNumber=15&FileType=HTML&ArticleID=362
Tilson, T. D., & Bekele, D. (2000, May/June). Ethiopia: Educational radio and television.
TechKnowLogia, 2(3), 26 paragraphs. Retrieved April 2, 2003 from
http://www.techknowlogia.org…/t-right.asp?IssueNumber =19&FileType= HTML &ArticleID=12