Abstract:
The importance of understanding student perceptions is to enhance student
satisfaction which in turn can be used to successfully market private education in Sri
Lanka. This study is further important due to increasing demand of education in the
country and the increasing number of ‘institutes’ mushrooming in the Western
Province. Through this research the relationship between the perceptions of students
with respect to implementing eLearning in selected higher educational institutions will
be examined. The research methodology was a survey approach where students were
questioned from 5 quality institutes. SPSS v.16 was used to analyse the data.
The literature for this study has been drawn mainly from educational management
journals however there is also reference to information technology and business
management. The factors suggested in the literature review that affect students
perception of eLearning will be viewed in the local context.
The secondary research for this report was mainly obtained from stakeholders of
the various institutes’ under analysis as well as their websites and from the research
done by the World Economic Forum. Primary data was obtained from questionnaires
given to students.
The ultimate goal of identification of student perceptions is so that a proposed
eLearning model can be identified for the private higher education context benefiting
students, teachers, the organization and eventually society.
