BUSINESS SCHOOL

SEMESTER
MAY 2019

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BBPS4103

STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT

ASSIGNMENT 1

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NAME : ANGEL DEBORAH JOHN

MATRICULATION NO : 930113015622001
IDENTITY CARD NO. : 930113-01-5622
TELEPHONE NO. : 018-2699772
E-MAIL : [email protected]
TUTOR’S NAME : Mr. Wong Shin Voon Johnathan
LEARNING CENTRE : NEGERI SEMBILAN
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TABLE OF CONTENT

ASSIGNMENT GUIDE PAGES

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TOPIC 1
Introduction 01
1.1 Purpose of the assignment 01
1.2 Open University Malaysia 01 - 02
1.3 Wawasan Open University 02 - 03
1.4 Asia e University 03

TOPIC 2
2.0 Evaluation of the Critical Success Factors 04
2.1 Location & Facilities 04
2.2 Type Of Assessment and Quality Content Delivery 05
2.3 Learning Management System (LMS) 06
2.4 Student Financing and Cost 07
2.5 Student’s Support and Services 08

TOPIC 3
3.0 Competitive Profile Matrix 09
3.1 Findings 10 - 12

4.0 Summary 12

5.0 References 13
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TOPIC 1

INTRODUCTION

According to Fred A. David (1997), competitive position is an index to measure the relative
power and dominance of a company in an industry compared to the competitors, customer loyalty, price
competitiveness and product quality. In order for companies to gain success in the competitive
environment, they would need strong tools that can be used to have competitive advantage among its
competitors. Under current conditions and due to the existence of a competitive environment,
organisations should be aware of their environmental conditions where they would have to employ
systematic performance evaluations techniques as well as to take account of their competitive position.
The identification of an organisation’s competitive position makes it possible to analyse the strategies
employed by its competitor which in turn will allow the organisation to choose the best and most suitable
wat to achieve success and development.

1.1 PURPOSE OF ASSIGNMENT

The purpose of this assignment is to identify and analyse the competitive position of Open
University Malaysia, Wawasan Open University and Asia e University in the education industry. In
order to achieve this, the critical success factors of each organisation must be studied. After that, a
competitive profile matrix must be prepared in order to compare and analyse each organisation and
further explain the findings with regards to the competitiveness of each organisation within the industry.

1.2 OPEN UNIVERSITY MALAYSIA

Open University Malaysia (OUM) is Malaysia’s premier ODL provider and has been
operating since 26th August 2002 which was officially launched by then Prime Minister, YAB Dato'
Seri Dr. Mahathir Mohamad. The establishment of Open University Malaysia (OUM) was set up by the
Multimedia Technology Enhancement Operations Sdn Bhd (METEOR), a consortium of 11 public
universities in the country in August 2000. OUM adopts the motto "University for All" which is
consistent with its philosophy in democratising education. This philosophy underlies the belief that
education should be made available to all, regardless of time, place, age and social economic
background.

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Their products includes 46 programmes under various faculty which are accredited by
MQA / PSD, recognised and approved by the Ministry of Higher Education Malaysia. Apart from
that, services such as the Centre for Student Management (CSM) was established to co-ordinate and
administers all matters pertaining to the provision of services to learners. These include Advising and
Counselling, Student Support Services, Student Activities, Student Development, Student
Welfare, Student Discipline and Student Retention. CSM also conducts regular workshops on
learning skills at the various Learning Centres so that adult learners can easily adjust to the blended
learning approach at the University and ultimately succeed in their pursuit of higher qualification. The
service aims to assist learners achieve their personal goals and to help them discover more effective
ways to cope with their studies. CSM also works closely with a centre known as Learner Service Centre
where learners can channel their enquiries to the University through various means such as face-to-face,
telephone or through a 24-hour enquiry-tracking system known as e-Customer Relationship
Management (e-CRM).

Besides CSM, there is also the Centre for Instructional Design and Technology (CIDT)
responsible for the development of learning materials for all OUM learners such as print-based
modules, web-based materials and interactive contents. CIDT is also the home for iRadio, a radio
webcast service, which disseminates information on academic programmes and provides supplementary
learning to all the learners. The university also uses an effective Learner Management System that
allows interaction among learners and tutors as well as has learning resources loaded with links
and interactivities. The system has evolved throughout the years and learners can now enjoy an
enriching learning experience anywhere they go.

1.3 WAWASAN OPEN UNIVERSITY

Despite the existence of Open University Malaysia since 2002, the founders of Wawasan Open
University (WOU) felt a need to establish another similar university to further expand access to higher
education in this multiracial country of 27 million people and especially to the working adults. Wawasan
Open University is Malaysia’s 2nd Open University which is an independent council-governed, private
not-for-profit tertiary institution dedicated to adult learners. It is a people’s university funded by
Wawasan Education Foundation, a charity that provides tertiary education opportunities through the
open and distance learning (ODL) mode. The university was established in August 2006 and is planning
to grow steadily and expects to reach its full potential as a first choice provider of higher education for
adult learners.

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The undergraduate and postgraduate degree programmes form the core of the university’s
academic activities being the product that the university offers. As the university is committed to
support working adults, the choice of academic disciplines is dictated by workplace needs. All
programmes in the university are accredited by the Malaysian Qualification Agency (MQA). While the
university’s core business will be the provision of sub, under and post graduate degree
programmes, they also offer professional development (CPD) programmes of shorter duration to
working adults which is modularised and permissible by MQA.

Apart from that, Wawasan Open University also offers services such as Learning Management
System to their students to tie in a variety of best of breed online learning solutions and provide study
support to the students with online lectures, presentation slides and online forums.

1.4 ASIA e UNIVERSITY

Asia e University (AeU) is a multinational university in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia that offers on-
campus, blended and online learning mode programmes. The university is founded by the Asia
Cooperation Dialogue foreign ministers which is represented by the foreign ministers of 34 Asia Pacific
countries. Asia e University started its operations in 2007 and currently has more than 29000 students in
the on-campus, blended and online learning mode. The small letter "e" in the name of the university
represents empowered learning, enhanced learning, exploratory learning, expanding learning, effective
learning, electronic learning, experiential learning and entrepreneurial learning which attributes to the
university's missions and visions.

The core products that are offered by the university is mainly undergraduate, postgraduate
and executive development programmes. With over 30 programmes in store, Asia e University
focuses on their mode of learning as they are committed to support working adults to help them balance
learning with demanding careers, family commitments and hectic travel schedules.

Asia e University also provides services to the student such as 24/7 interactive and
collaborative online environment to support the students in their online mode of learning with the
opportunity to engage with different types of content like recorded lectures, self-instructional modules,
video & audio podcasts and visually enhanced PPT presentations.

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TOPIC 2

2.0 EVALUATION OF THE CRITICAL SUCCESS FACTORS

Critical success factor first appeared in the literature in the 1980s when there was interest in the
reason why some organizations appeared to be more successful than others in where a research was
carried out to investigate the components of these success factors (Ingram, Biermann, Cannon, Neil &
Waddle, 2000; Selim, 2007: 397; Puri, 2011: 1502). The following are critical success factors of the 3
organisations.

2.1 LOCATION & FACILITIES

Tertiary academics are important in deciding the location when it comes for working adults to
continue their education. Open University Malaysia offers their graduate programs throughout the
country in every state except Perlis which makes it easier for working adults to comfortably attend
classes that are nearer to home. The learning centres are well-equipped with tutorial rooms, computer
labs, meeting rooms and reading areas which makes a conducive learning environment complete with
Internet access.

Wawasan Open University has regional learning centres at selected locations where they are
more populated working adults in Klang, Petaling Jaya, Perak, Penang, Johor, Kuala Lumpur and
Kuching. Their centres are equipped with tutorial rooms, computer laboratories, audio-visual equipment,
reference books, and study material in print and CD-ROM format which suffice the learning needs of a
learner.

Asia e University has learning centres almost in all states of Malaysia to cater the education needs
of the working adults. The main campus in Subang Jaya that houses classrooms, faculty resource centre,
offices, orientation hall, conference and video conferencing rooms, meeting rooms, small discussion
rooms and other various facilities to enhance students’ experience. However, their learning centres
throughout in other states only provides the basic facility for delivery of face-to-face tutorials to support
AeU programmes locally.

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2.2 TYPE OF ASSESSMENT AND QUALITY CONTENT DELIVERY

The type of assessment and quality of content delivery are the most important element in a
university as it needs to be continuously developed to accommodate changes in the university’s strategies
as a direction for implementing their online programs and to support the learner’s progress and improve
the standards of the university. Open University Malaysia’s assessments are designed to cater for
working adults as it is broken down into 60% course work and 40% of the final examination which
allows them to cope with the courses as well as able to balance their career and family life. The quality
of content delivery of the university is very much effective as they have face-face tutorials, online tutors
for course discussion as well as presentation slides, e-textbook, online lecture videos and topic by topic
discussion by their online tutor which enhance the learners’ depth of understanding of the course.

Wawasan Open University’s type of assessment on the other hand is broken down into 40%
tutor-marked assignments and 60% of the final examination which makes it harder for working adults
to score as it takes up more time to study for their exams. The quality of content delivery are moreover
moderate compared to Open University Malaysia as it mostly offers printed text as its core medium,
However, the content delivery is supported by face-face tutorials, online tutors for course discussion as
well as presentation slides to fulfil the academic needs of the learners.

Asia e University’s assessment is broken down into 60% combination tests, assignments/project,
presentations and quizzes and 40% of the final examination. In special cases (with prior approval of the
University), the end of semester examinations can be replaced with other forms of assessment like ‘mini
project’, ‘term paper’ and others. Asia e University has a long-standing and widely recognised
commitment to the creative use of technologies for enhancing the quality of student learning and content
delivery. Apart from that, the university also deliver the content through video presentation, e-textbook,
face-face tutorials, online forums and quizzes to allow the learners to understand the subject more in-
depth.

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2.3 LEARNING MANAGEMENT SYSTEM (LMS)

Learning Management System (LMS) is an application used by educational institution for

administration, documentation, reports, scheduling, and delivery of course, training programs, forums,
students’ support services and even to submit assignments. Based on the feedback from social media
and testimonials of alumni of the university, Open University Malaysia has a good technical
infrastructure that supports their LMS which is called myVLE. From a student’s view, I feel that Open
University Malaysia has the best learning management system as they have many other services in it
apart from just academic. From here, students can also have access to the digital library, and able to hand
in their assignments apart from registering their courses, paying their fees and addressing their student
related issues.

Wawasan Open University on the other hand has a pretty good Learning Management System
for their learners. When a learner begins to study at the university, they are supported with a LMS for
them to participate in online discussions and forums with their peers, course coordinators, and tutors to
ask questions. WawasanLearn is a software application that uses computer programs to organise your
coursework and to also monitor your records and progress. WawasanLearn will guide you through all
the stages of your learning life cycle (e.g., assess, learn, reinforce, support and validate) to create the
most effective learning experience for you. They also have a digital library for learners to access with
ease and a pretty straight forward navigation system in the LMS.

Asia e University is known for their multimode learning environment. Their Learning
Management System, myAeU is built to support and encourage students to take control of their learning,
hence being an independent learner. Their learning system is like a virtual classroom where the learners
can have interactive learning as well as easy access and navigation to their digital library and lecture
theatre. The system also contains modules, study materials, schedules as well as forum for discussion.
With a learning system has provides learner support and academic services, the Asia e University’s LMS
is an overall application that provides the needs of the learners in AeU.

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2.4 STUDENT FINANCING AND COST

Student financing and cost are one of the most critical success factors for a university to be
successful. The cost of the program structure should be affordable to the working adults and the quality
of the education should be there in order to be in the lift of choice of the learners. Open University
Malaysia’s program structure cost for bachelor degree ranges between RM 21 360 – RM 30 016. If we
calculate, each month a working adult will require to pay RM 1780 – RM 2501 in order to obtain a
degree in Open University Malaysia. Even though it may seem expensive, Open University Malaysia
offers exemption to students who makes it to the Dean lists as well as accepts EPF payment to ease the
burden of the working adults. Apart from that, OUM also offers PTPTN loan to the working adults who
has financial difficulties. Overall, Open University Malaysia takes into consideration of students who
are facing financial difficulties by allowing them to defer their semester depending on their situation and
duration.

Wawasan Open University’s bachelor degree program cost ranges from RM 25,850 – RM
30,560. Monthly a student will need to invest approximately RM 2154 – RM 2546 to obtain a degree in
Wawasan Open University. Apart from accepting EPF payments, WOU also offers special rebates to
students who enrol in their program. Like OUM, WOU students are also able to enjoy PTPTN loan upon
approval, discounts for senior citizen and disabled learners and special discounts for employees of
partner corporations.

The program structure cost of a bachelor degree program in AeU costs around RM 12 800 which
is around Rm 1280 per month. Although the cost is relatively low, it is an Executive Bachelors which is
not widely recognised in companies in Malaysia. Since the cost is low, the University only offers
financial aid like monthly instalment for Bachelor programs.

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2.5 STUDENT’S SUPPORT AND SERVICES

Student satisfaction in a higher education setting reflects the quality of services provided by the
institution. Ali & Ahmad (2011) stated that students’ satisfaction toward a higher education institution
is affected by how they enjoyed their learning experiences in the institution. The success of ODL
institutions is reflected in how satisfied the students are with the services. So, it is crucial for the ODL
institutions to maintain the quality of student support services available to be easily accessible.
Consequently, the universities must regularly evaluate whether the university has satisfied the needs of
its students.

Based on the Asian Association of Open Universities Journal (2016), finding shows that the
postgraduate students are generally satisfied with OUM’s programmes and services. The multiple
regression analysis of all dimensions against overall satisfaction as the dependent variable showed that
the five dimensions of facilitator, curriculum, faculty, support services and learning centre. The critical
points include those related to facilitator interaction and feedback, students’ sense of connectedness with
the faculty staff, timely responses to enquiries and complaints and accessibility to digital library and
learning centre staff.

Based on the review of Distance Education Journal (2009), a student feedback survey that was
conducted over 4 semesters confirmed that Wawasan Open University’s standards for academic and
student support services (SSS) has been positively received and that there were a slight down trending
of means of statements representing that SSS by the third semester. However, it had increased to a higher
mean by the fourth semester. The report concluded that the SSS is represented by six core areas of the
open and distance learning institution which are face to face tutorials, telephone / e-mail tutoring, support
from the regional learning center for students, course materials, tutor-marked-assignments and the
learning management system. Based on d report, these core areas are providing adequate support and
services to the learners of Wawasan Open University.

Based on the student reviews of Asia e University from JobStreet Education, it is quite prominent
that students have appreciated the student services and support of Asia e University despite not having
many learning centres in Malaysia. Their learning service centres provides their students with services
in several principal areas of academic services and other general services. Apart from that, all enquiries
of the students are dealt with either through face to face, e-mail and over the telephone.

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TOPIC 3

3.0 COMPETITIVE PROFILE MATRIX

Competitive profile matrix is a tool used in strategic management of a company to identify their
strengths and weakness of the company and its competitors. It also reveals the critical success factors of
the industry to show the areas of success and areas for improvement for each company. The below table
represents the competitive profile matrix of the three distance learning universities in Malaysia which
are Open University Malaysia, Wawasan Open University and Asia e University. The key factors of the
university will be compared to each other to find out their relative strengths and weaknesses.

COMPETITIVE PROFILE MATRIX

Open University Wawasan Open
Asia e University
Critical Success Factor Weightage Malaysia University
Rating Score Rating Score Rating Score
Location of University 0.20 4 0.80 2 0.40 3 0.60
Facilities 0.15 4 0.60 3 0.45 2 0.30
Type of Assessment 0.10 3 0.30 2 0.30 3 0.40
Quality of Content Delivery 0.15 4 0.60 3 0.45 2 0.30
Learning Management
0.10 4 0.40 3 0.30 3 0.30
System (LMS)
Student Financing & Costs 0.15 3 0.45 3 0.45 2 0.30
Student’s Support & Services 0.15 3 0.45 3 0.45 2 0.30
TOTAL 1.0 - 3.60 - 2.80 - 2.50
Table 3.1: Competitive Profile Matrix of Open University Malaysia, Wawasan Open University
and Asia e University

The critical success factors above include both internal and external issues and rating based on each
educational institution. The weight of the competitive profile matrix is measured from 0 to 1 based
on the importance of the critical success factors to ensure a successful educational institution. The
rating have been from 1 to 4 depending on their importance to the organisation as below:

1 – Major Weakness

2 – Minor Weakness

3 – Minor Strength

4 – Major Strength

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3.1 FINDINGS

Based on the competitive profile matrix above, the university who scored the highest in the
critical success factor of location of university is Open University Malaysia with the highest rating
of 4. This factor represents the university’s major strength compared to Wawasan Open University
who scored a rating of 2 and Asia e University with a rating of 3. The reason this factor represents
OUM’s major strength is because they have learning centres in almost all state of Malaysia
compared to the other two universities. This allows an easy access for working adults to enrol apart
from able to fulfil their motto, “University for all”. On the other hand, Wawasan Open University
score represents the institution’s minor weakness as it has the least amount of learning centres around
Malaysia compared to Asia e University.

The facilities of the learning centres is another critical success factor of an open and distance
learning centre. Again, Open University Malaysia scored the highest rating of 4 which represents
their major strength followed by Wawasan Open University with a rating of 3 and Asia e university
with a rating of 2. The reason why this factor is the major strength of Open University Malaysia is
because all the learning centres that they owned throughout Malaysia are well equipped with a
physical library, computer room, classroom, cafeteria and student lounge. The other two university has
only the basic needs of the students to receive lectures. Moreover, Asia e University attained the lowest
rating which represents their major weakness among the three educational institutions as the facilities
they have in their learning centre is the least satisfactory among their students and need to improve more
in order to for them to sustain the competition.

On the type of assessment factor, Open University Malaysia and Asia e University share the
same rating of 3 which represents their minor strength as they considers the burden of a working
adult and designed their assessment to be 60% of coursework which may include a selection of
presentations, tutor-marked-assignments, quizzes and mini tests apart from the 40% of final
examination which can be multiple choice question or structured essay questions. On the other hand,
Wawasan Open University scored a rating of 2 which represents the minor weakness as their
assessments consist of only 40% coursework and 60% of final examination which can be taxing and
burdensome for working adults as they will require to spare extra time studying for their final
examination besides of stressing to pass the exam.

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The quality of content delivery is an important critical success factor to determine the success
and reputation of the university. Open University Malaysia is rated with a score of 4 which
represents their major strength in this factor as they have quality lecturers to deliver their content
which various ways and able to produce quality students. The university delivers their course efficiently
through face-to-face tutorial as well as through myVLE, a learning management system to support their
learners with a quality content delivery through their online video lectures, podcasts, live tutoring online
forum for discussion as well as online materials, ebooks and discussion of topic by topic to ensure that
a quality content is delivered. Asia e University on the other hand scored a rating of 2 which indicates
that this factor is their minor weakness as they do not have enough quality materials to be able to
deliver a quality content to their learners as Open University Malaysia does.

Learning management system is another critical success factor to consider in an open and
distance learning educational institution. For this factor, Open University Malaysia scored the highest
rating of 4 which represents the major strength of the university compared to Wawasan Open
University and Asia e University who scored a rating of 3 which represents their minor strength.
Despite their similarities in their learning management system respectively, the highlight of OUM’s
myVLE is that the students are able to register for their semesters, drop or defer their semesters
or even apply to sit for their exams overseas or outstation just through the system without the need
of going to their learning centre.

Student financing and cost is another critical success factor that educational institutions should
look into to ensure the success of the organisation. Open University Malaysia along with Wawasan
Open University has scored a rating of 3 which represents their minor strength in this factor. Since
the both universities are sister organisation, they share almost the same financial aid ideas and not a
vast difference in terms of comparing their fees. The both universities has an affordable fee
structure along with many different financial aids to help a working adult in their tertiary
education. On the other hand, Asia e University scored a rating of 2 which indicates their minor
weakness in this factor. Although they have a much affordable fee structure compared to Open
University Malaysia and Wawasan Open University, they do not have any other financial aid except
of their monthly instalment scheme.

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The final critical success factor to look into is the student’s support and services. Based on the
competitive profile matrix above, Open University Malaysia and Wawasan Open University has a
rating of 3 which represents their minor strength in this factor. The universities are able to help
the student’s enquires through their portal and also in their learning centres as they prioritise the
needs of the students. Apart from that, the two universities also tries to help and provide support
to their student who faces difficulties in any issues. Asia e University on the other hand scored a
rating of 2 which represents their minor weakness. Despite helping and resolving issues of students
in their learning centres, the university should also improve their system and provide more support
to their students through their portal.

4.0 CONCLUSION

By identifying the critical success factor of the educational institutions and evaluating the
university against its competitors based on the ratings of the factors in the competitive profile matrix, it
provides a clear understanding on the strength and weakness of the universities. This way, the
stakeholders are able to develop an effective competitive strategy for the business. Despite from having
limitations of using the competitive profile matrix such as weights of the factors that can’t be assigned
subjectively and the lack of consistency teat, the competitive profile matrix remains a powerful tool to
help entrepreneurs to understand the strength and weakness in some areas of the businesses.

Based on the evaluation and analysis of this assignment, we can conclude that the critical success factor
suggested are important to enhance the efficiency of online and distance learning educational
institutions. From the competitive profile matrix, it is concluded that Open University Malaysia has the
hughest final score among the three universities. These factors represents a concrete approach that will
lead functions in all levels to the same directions for achieving the success of the university’s vision and
allow the management to know what they have to do to attain success.

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5.0 REFERENCES

 Campus Location. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://aeu.edu.my/discover/campus-location/

 Capps, I. C., & Glissmeyer, M. D. (2012). Extending The Competitive Profile Matrix Using

Internal Factor Evaluation And External Factor Evaluation Matrix Concepts. Journal of Applied

Business Research (JABR),28(5), 1059. doi:10.19030/jabr.v28i5.7245

 Cheawjindakarn, B., Suwannatthachote, P., & Theeraroungchaisri, A. (2012). Critical Success

Factors for Online Distance Learning in Higher Education: A Review of the Literature. Creative

Education,03(08), 61-66. doi:10.4236/ce.2012.38b014

 Critical success factors in online education. (n.d.). Retrieved from

https://www.emeraldinsight.com/doi/abs/10.1108/09513540010344731

 Hamid, S. A. (2008, July 13). Open University Malaysia's Market Driven Approach in Fulfilling

Varying Needs of Adult Learners. Retrieved from http://library.oum.edu.my/repository/484/

 Hannum, W. (2009). Moving distance education research forward. Distance Education,30(1), 171-

173. doi:10.1080/01587910902846020

 Learning @ WOU. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.wou.edu.my/learning-wou

 Learning Centres. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.oum.edu.my/learningcentres/

 Open University Malaysia. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.oum.edu.my/

 Regional Centres. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.wou.edu.my/regional-centres

 WebWay E Services. (n.d.). Profile Open University Malaysia (OUM) - Where To Study.

Retrieved July 08, 2019, from https://studymalaysia.com/where/profile.php?code=oum

 Wong, Y. Y., Zeng, J., & Ho, C. K. (2016). Trends in open and distance learning research: 2005 vs

2015. Asian Association of Open Universities Journal,11(2), 216-227. doi:10.1108/aaouj-09-2016-

0035

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