Abstract:
Despite its effectiveness, a higher student drop-out rate and lower student academic
excellence are perceived as critical issues in the Distance Education (DE) system. Previous
studies have emphasised on diverting attention towards core and peripheral services offered
by DE institutes as a contextual solution. However, overcoming these issues only via the
services offered is questionable as Students Involvement (SI) has been identified as a success
factor in DE. Therefore, this paper investigates the impact core and peripheral services offered
by DE institutes have on SI. Two hypotheses were developed through a literature review and
tested using a sample of 356 undergraduates of a DE institute, drawn using simple random
technique. Data analysis supported the significant positive impact of peripheral services on SI
yet, rejected that of core services. These findings are imperative in designing services offered
by DE institutes and, thereby addressing the prevailing issues that hinder the system’s
effectiveness.
