Distance education: What do our students tell us?

Objective: Given the rapid growth of distance education in social work, there is need to evaluate contemporary efforts in schools of social work, including multisite assessments of distance learning. This article reports multisite data addressing the question of how students enrolled in distance leaning courses at two urban campuses (one using Interactive TV[ITV] and the other videotape) perceive their leaning experiences. Method: 142 students' responses were received from voluntarily submitted survey questionnaires querying students regarding their experiences with the technology used in their course, their learning environment, the instructor's teaching skills, and perceived resource availability. Results: Respondents at both sites were pleased with their leaning experience, with 100% of ITV students and 75% of the students who viewed video-taped courses indicating they would enroll in distance learning again. Conclusions: The opinions of remote student respondents suggest positive leaning experiences are had by students in schools of social work, particularly as they experienced these two delivery formats.