Questions for Consideration
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Unit 2 |
Introduction | Review of Fixed, Variable and Semi-Variable Costs | Total Costs | Average Costs | Economies of Sale | Costs of ODL versus Conventional Education | Questions for Consideration |
Questions for Consideration
From an economist’s point of view, ODL institutions must do the following in order to ensure that they remain cost-competitive in relation to conventional methods of delivering education:
- 1. Increase the scale or number of students enrolled for their courses (beyond the crossover point).
- 2. Keep their fixed costs to a minimum, by:
- Reducing the scope or range of courses offered (especially by eliminating courses with low enrolments),
- Utilising less sophisticated media in delivering their courses,
- Extending the life of courses to spread the fixed costs of materials development over a larger number of students.
- 3. Keep variable costs to a minimum, by:
- Limiting interaction between students and tutors,
- Minimising other student services.
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Why might it be counter-productive to follow the economist’s advice?
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| Other Resources
Rumble, G. 1997. The Costs and Economics of Open and Distance Learning. Chapter 4, pages 24-30 & Chapter 5, pages 32-41. Hülsmann, T. 2004. Costing Open and Distance Learning. Section 3.2: ‘Elements of Cost Analysis, fixed and variable costs’, pages 13-21. |
