Distributed learning in the post-COVID era: A case study of the Masters of Business Administration (International) program at UNE

Focus – Student engagement and experiences within a distributed learning model (DLM)

Background – Australian universities are increasingly expanding onshore and offshore campuses to broaden their student base (Cunningham et al., 2000). The University of New England (UNE), with its main campus in Armidale, NSW, has followed this path by expanding its physical presence in Sydney and Adelaide. The UNE Business School (UNEBS) currently offers Master of Business-International (MBA-I) programs in Armidale, Adelaide, and Sydney campuses.

Initiative – The flexible teaching and learning possibilities associated with the DLM will likely be a mainstay in the post-COVID-19 era (Lockee, 2021). This study adopts Kyei-Blankson et al.'s (2016) characterisation of DLM as "any learning that allows instructor, students, and content to be located in different locations so that instruction and learning occur independent of time and place" (p. 493). This study examines the challenges and opportunities of MBA-I delivery in three locations and asks: what transferable lessons can be learned from the UNEBS model of DLM?

Method —The study adopts an exploratory qualitative research approach (Parida et al., 2023) to interview students and academics. This paper reports on the first phase of the research, in which semi-structured interviews were carried out with academics (n=3) and a diverse cohort of international students (n=21) across three campuses. Adherence to the protocols of the ethics approval ensured the psychological safety of respondents.

Evidence—The findings indicate students preferred smaller class sizes and offline engagement with academics outside office hours and valued faceto-face inter-campus interactions/engagement opportunities with academics/students to broaden their horizons. Academics highlighted the need for continuous professional development initiatives and meaningful collaboration in standardising pedagogical approaches across locations. These findings highlight the utility of distributed leadership (Jones et al., 2012) through collaborative initiatives that can be beneficial in improving student engagement and learning outcomes.