Universitas Terbuka (UT) is the only distance
university in Indonesia. Its students are expected to learn
by independent study. In an effort to help its students to
cope with their learning difficulties, UT provides tutorial
services.
This study endeavored to assess the effectiveness of
existing tutorial services by asking students for their
points of view. Data were gathered by sending questionnaires
to 1,200 students in two study programs, who were potential
candidates for the June 1994 final Written Comprehensive
Examinations. These were equally divided into a passing
group, with Grade Point Average (GPA) equal to 2.0 or above,
and a failing group with GPA less than 2.0. Of these 384
(32%) returned completed questionnaires.
The data were analyzed by the use of descriptive
statistics, 1-tests, and One-Way Analysis of variance.
The results indicated that most of respondents
perceived that Face-to-face and Correspondence tutorials
were effective in helping them to comprehend course content.
The results also indicated that there were significant
differences between rural and urban respondents, in as much
as rural respondents tended to rate Face-to-face and Correspondence tutorials higher than did urban respondents.
Respondents without previous university experience tended to
rate Face-to-face tutorials higher than those with previous
university experience, while the reverse appeared to be the
case for Correspondence tutorials.
Overall, by far the most preferred time for scheduling
Face-to-face tutorials was Sunday morning. Sunday afternoon,
Saturday afternoon, and Saturday morning were preferred in
order. Distance from tutorial locations appeared to be the
main reason for not using Face-to-face tutorials, while the
long time for a reply was the only reason indicated for not
using Correspondence tutorials. The very high cost of
telephone calls was the stated reason for not using
Telephone tutorials. Responses to the open-ended questions
mainly emphasized the poor qualifications of tutors, distant
locations and the low frequency of Face-to-face tutorials.
Several recommendations for improving tutorials are
offered.