Learning From Students Perspectives On Open Education At Arab Universities: A Case Study

Abstract

Open learning provides a unique opportunity to professionals for their continuing education and capacity building. Arab Open University, Kuwait (AOU) has been a successful enterprise with an objective to address the educational needs of masses in the Arab universities. Continuing education in the Arab region was the most neglected part of the educational system. AOU, in collaboration with Open University, UK (OU/UK), tailored graduate programs in the field of Business Administration, Information and Computing Technology and English language & Literature in 2002, which presents a number of futuristic strategies that can be used in the process of design to improve the harmony between the user and building the environment in which it is placed. In this study, the students perspectives of the graduate programs in Arab Open University, Kuwait Branch have been studied through a questionnaire survey to evaluate the effectiveness of open education. The data collected from 5,430 students were analyzed through descriptive statistics and provided qualitative inputs to the study. Most of the respondents found the program useful for their career and jobs. The study explored and revealed that there were potential issues which were addressed, but there is still a lot to be done for attainment of the objective of the establishment.