The Interest Of High School Graduates In Open And Distance Education

Kusmaladewi, (2021) The Interest Of High School Graduates In Open And Distance Education. In: AAOU “34th AAOU Opening Minds for sustainable future, 1-3 Juni 2021, Colombo,Sri Lanka.

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Abstract

Having graduated from high school or its equivalents, in an ideal sense, is not an end in itself; it is, instead, part of a larger trajectory of academic life that opens up a new beginning in higher education. Transitioning from high school can be painstakingly arduous as high school graduates typically cope with major challenges in taking on different paths to success; be it involving productive employment, opting for academic rigor of college or resorting to early marriage. This transition also often marks the time period in which they encounter confusion as to attending conventional or open and distance institution. Flexibility and accessibility that are essential characteristics of distance learning environment at the Open Universities. The present study delves on students’ interest in pursuing tertiary education in an open and distance mode at the Open University. The study is a qualitative descriptive research within a population of 1,404 high school graduates. The census of populations allowed a wide range of data collection to provide treatments to all populations both in urban and rural schools within the regional government areas of South Sulawesi. The data set fits into relative qualitative descriptive analysis. A high proportion of students (1,131 individuals), which earned 80.55%, indicated interest in attending the Open University, while the remaining 279 students or 19.87% did not. The percentages for other questionnaire items that represent students’ interest in pursuing tertiary studies at the Open University are similarly favourable, including students’ ecognition of the reputable existence of the Open University as the 45th Public University in Indonesia (98.29%), students’ recognition that the Open University is a Public University that runs open and distance education (96.15%), students’ recognition that studies at the Open University fit around regular responsibilities (89.03%), and students’ recognition that the Open University charges affordable tuition fees (85.47%). These findings point to a substantial number of high school graduates’ interest in engaging in distance learning environment at the Open University of Makassar for their educational needs

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