Determinants of E-Learning: A Learner's Perspective

In the service industry, activities are designed to fulfill the needs of the customers and an efficient and effective 'service model' cannot be developed without users' input. Similarly, in academics, educational objectives cannot be achieved without incorporating the requirements of the learners. However, up to some extent, students' contribution, to the development of learning tools exists in blended learning but their participation in the improvement of the e-learning environment is missing. The consequences of this missing link are less students' satisfaction and a high dropout ratio in the e-learning institutes. The purpose of this study is to identify the key determinants of online education, through students' participation, which can improve enrollment in e-learning programs with a high level of satisfaction. By using the 'purposeful sampling technique' 10 participants were selected from the Virtual University of Pakistan for in-depth interviews. The subsequent transcriptions were examined through NVivo 12. This study suggests that blended learning, the latest teaching pedagogies, instructors' support, and updated course contents can increase students' satisfaction and retention in e-learning programs. It is expected that if the missing services are not made available to students in near future, the need for e-learning will diminish and Google generation in Pakistan will not be in a position to take advantage of online education.