Issues:
A key issue for the school was that extramural students, on whom the department depended for a substantial proportion of their operating revenue, were missing out on some aspects of their language learning experience.
Students studying remotely were often concerned that they weren't getting enough practice for oral and listening exercises.
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They noted that the instructional approach was overly dependent upon text , - And that when they do have media, recorded on CDs or cassette tapes for example, it often wasn't interactive enough.
- Students also felt that they didn't have enough opportunities to engage with other students or lecturers.
- In order to administer oral examinations, telephoning or travel to distant sites was necessary.
- To assess student competencies, lecturers sometimes asked students to email them large audio recordings or put audio cassettes in the post.
Like other units in the university, occasionally the school organises short contact blocks of intensive face to face study for these students. This often involves the lecturer and/or the students travelling significant distances to meet and of course means time out of the office, travel and accommodation. This was expensive both in terms of time and money.
