Uzaktan Eğitim Sisteminde Sınav Hizmetleri ve Kitapların Dağıtımında Sağlanan Lojistik Destek ve Anadolu Üniversitesi Örneği

Bu araştırmanın amacı, uzaktan eğitim sisteminin sürdürülebilirliğinde, lojistik faaliyetlerin sağladığıdesteğin önemini ortaya koymak ve bu lojistik destek kapsamında, öğrencilerin sınav hizmetleri ve kitap dağıtım hizmetlerine ilişkin tutumlarınıdeğerlendirmek amacıyla yapılmıştır. Konuya örnek oluşturmasıiçin, sadece Türkiye’de değil dünyada mega üniversiteler arasına girmişolan Anadolu Üniversitesi Uzaktan Eğitim Sistemi örnek olarak alınmıştır. Çalışmanın ilk kısmında, üniversitenin 1.084.000 öğrencisi ile yılda üç kez dört oturum olarak gerçekleştirdiği sınav organizasyonundaki dağıtım faaliyetleri ile aynı şekilde kitapların öğrencilere ulaştırılmasında sağlanan lojistik destek anlatılmaktadır. İkinci kısım ise anket çalışmasıve elde edilen bulgulardan oluşmaktadır. Anket çalışmasında, öğrencilere ilişkin demografik bilgiler sunulduktan sonra sınav ve kitap dağıtım hizmetlerine ilişkin tutumlarının istatistiksel analizleri bulunmaktadır. Son kısım, mevcut duruma ilişkin değerlendirme ve anket sonucu elde edilen bulgulara dayanılarak oluşturulmuşsonuç kısmından oluşmaktadır

Although logistics is known to play an important role in many sectors, its place in educational systems has not been examined in detail yet. It is true that education and learning activities require large scale and effective organizations, and logistics play an important role in this organization. As for distance education programs, such a logistic support is crucial for the sustainability of the system due to the lack of face to face education and interaction. When the system is evaluated in terms of logistics, multiple choice tests administered across the country are known to require a well-designed and effective logistic support. The exams in the system are administered three times a year in four sessions in 81 cities, 7213 buildings, 118.610 classrooms by 315.325 people officially assigned for this organization. As for the distribution of exam documents across the country, 29 distribution routes are determined, twenty seven of which use land transportation and the other two a combination of land and air transportation. Some of the cities located on these routes are determined as “transfer centers”. The exams for the students living in Western Europe are administered through the collaboration with educational consultancies and attachés located in six countries and twelve centers. The course books are a significant component of the system and they are distributed via a well-organized system. In 20092010 academic year, a total of 5.5 million copies of 382 different course books were published. To ensure an effective distribution of these course books, a distribution plan are prepared in which outsourcing is used for shipping, and the shipping company follow the distribution route according to a predetermined time schedule. The attitudes of students towards distribution services for exam documents and course books are one of the best criteria to assess the success of the system. Considering this situation, the researcher prepared a survey and administered it to 1359 students and the data obtained were analyzed statistically. The survey is composed of two parts. The first part involves questions to obtain demographic data from the subjects and the second part the items to determine logistic service satisfaction level of the subjects. Through the analyses of the findings from the survey, the relationship between demographic variables and exam documents and the points showing students’ attitudes towards course books distribution services were searched. The results of the survey show that the students enrolled in open and distance education system are generally satisfied with logistic support services and the system is ready for some possible changes and improvements. Method: This section presents information about the survey administered to obtain data about attitudes of the students enrolled in distance education system towards logistic activities as well as the results of the survey. In other words, this questionnaire aims at gathering data about the students’ attitudes towards the physical distribution of course books and logistic support provided during exam organization. The population of the study is the students enrolled in Anadolu University Open Education, Business Management and Economy Faculties. The survey developed were sent via e-mail to 2500 students, who were chosen through random sampling method and live in different parts of Turkey and are enrolled in Anadolu University distance education system in 2010-2011 academic year. Of these survey, 1493 were replied and sent back and 1359 survey were found suitable for the analysis and the purposes of the study. The first four questions in the scale obtain demographic data about the students and the next thirteen items were 5- point Likert type items. The scale developed was piloted with 550 distance education system students during 2009 – 2010 academic year. Factor analysis was applied in order to determine factor loads of the items in the scale and to calculate the construct validity of the scale, which was developed so as to evaluate the logistic support service provided during exams and other printed materials in general. In order to test the reliability of the scale, Cronbach Alpha Coefficient was used and calculated as 0.91. The items with low factor loads and “item – total correlation” coefficient were excluded from the scale and a total of 13 items were determined. SPSS 16.0 package software was used for the analyses of the data obtained from the questionnaire. Results: According to the data obtained, positive opinions about the system predominantly outweigh the negative ones. As for the positive ones, the students agree that they do not face any problems in accessing course books and the information about course books, and that the nylon pack covering the books is a good idea to keep all the course books packed together. No negative opinion is stated regarding exam services. The students agreed that exam calendar is strictly followed, exam documents are complete and exam information was always available on demand. Contended with exam services, the students stated that the people assigned for exams provided adequate information regarding exam procedures and regulations and the exams are administered in appropriate and safe conditions and exam papers are graded accurately and on time. Finally, the students are of the opinion that logistic support provided was adequate. Two issues considered problematic are the physical conditions of bureaus located in the cities and the course book distribution process followed in these bureaus. Conclusion: This survey study aims at exploring whether there is a relationship between demographic variables and attitude points regarding exam procedures and course book distribution services. The results showed that there is a significant relationship between attitude points regarding exam procedures and course book distribution services and demographic variables such as age, years of education, gender and the locations where students live in. When age variable is examined, it is observed that the older the students, the higher the attitude points regarding exam and course book distribution services. Similarly, as for the years of education, attitude points regarding exam and course book distribution services increase as the years of education received increase. When gender variable and attitude points towards exam and course book distribution services are examined, it was found that female students had higher attitude points than males. The relationship between the places the students live in and their attitude points towards exam and course book distribution services reveals that these points are lower in the cities where a large number of subject students live. The reason for this decrease is believed to be due to the problems faced during the times of registration and course book distributions in the bureaus that have to deal with greater number of students. The type of the programs the students are enrolled was not found to have a significant effect on attitude points regarding exam and course book distribution services. In other words, whether the students are enrolled in undergraduate or graduate programs do not affect their attitudes towards exam and course book distribution services. The overall conclusion that might be obtained from this study is that the students attending Anadolu University distance education programs are generally satisfied with logistic support services and the system is ready for any possible changes and improvements. The results of this study are expected to be a useful guide for the institutions operating in education and other fields. When the attempts by other Turkish universities to initiate distance education programs are considered, this current study is quite likely to provide useful information for these institutions