Enhanced Entry Qualifications and Academic Performance in ODL: Experience At University Of Lagos, Nigeria

Abstract

The study investigated the effect of prior academic background on students’ performance in undergraduate Open and Distance Learning (ODL) programs in Accounting and Business Administration at the University of Lagos.  Kruskal-Wallis non-parametric ANOVA test was used to find out whether or not there are significant differences between the performance of students at four different levels of entry qualifications for admission into the first year of the undergraduate programs.  The Mann-Whitney test was applied to investigate the significant difference in performance between the various paired groups. Some students get exempted from the first two years of the five-year undergraduate programs on the basis of full professional qualifications or high level performance at relevant higher diploma programs from tertiary technical Colleges.  The Mann-Whitney was also applied to compare differences between the performances of such students with those who began at the first year level.  Some significant differences were spotted.

Key Words: Open and Distance Learning (ODL); Kruskal-Wallis ANOVA test; Mann-Whitney test; Accounting; Business Administration; formal, and face-to-face education.