Methods of Providing Pre-course Information
Richard Freeman

Context:
This short selection describes methods for providing students with the information they need before enrolling in courses.

Source:
Freeman, Richard. 1997. "Methods of Providing Pre-course Information." In Richard Freeman, Managing Open Systems. London: Kogan, p. 14.

Copyright:
Reproduced with permission. Non-exclusive World English language rights granted by Kogan Page. ISBN 0749420561. Telephone: 0172-278 0433; Fax 0171-937 6348; Web Site: www.kogan-page.co.uk

Choosing methods for providing information and advice to potential learners involves trying to match how the learners would like to access information against what is feasible for the organization. In designing a system, questions which need to be considered include:

• How volatile is the information? If it changes frequently, it must be easy to update.
• Where will the learner be when receiving information? If potential learners will be out of reach of your staff, then the methods chosen must be ones which will work at a distance.
• Who on your staff is available to give information and advice, and how much time can they spend on it? Lengthy interviews are expensive and compete for resources that you might otherwise put into teaching.

Table 2.2 sets out some of the ways in which learners might wish to access information. Different learners, though, may prefer different methods. In general, the more forms in which information can be made available, the more likely that the needs of all potential learners will be covered.

Where an open learning system is employment-based, advice and information to learners can be built into other management systems for planning work and matching training needs to individual work plans. For example, many organizations have formal review or appraisal systems for their staff and these are often used to identify development needs.