https://ir.zou.ac.zw/files/original/acb5a0b17700b2c206a8ad2a428778bd.pdf 64e8d9fc3d47252046e441875d1a3ee2 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Staff Publications Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource STUDENT RETENTION AS A FUNCTION OF THE QUALITY OF LEARNER SUPPORT IN OPEN AND DISTANCE LEARNING: STUDENTS’ PERCEPTIONS AT THE ZIMBABWE OPEN UNIVERSITY Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource DAVID CHAKUCHICHI Description An account of the resource Student retention is critically linked to the quality of service in open and distance learning (odl). Peterson (1997) points out that students will form favourable perceptions regarding the quality of their experience and decide to persist. Student retention could therefore be viewed as a function of the learners’ perception of the quality of service and support. Low student retention rates have a negative impact on the perception of the institution. It is, therefore, pertinent to enhance the student retention rate in odl. The study used tinto’s model of student retention as a theoretical base which underpins the need to satisfy students’ social and educational needs in order to retain them. The study is a descriptive survey utilising multistage purposive sampling in order to include students across faculties and regions. The questionnaire and in-depth interviews were the meth- ods of data collection. The results indicated that, student retention was affected by a fees’ prizing policy that did not take into consideration the students’ ability to pay and lack of timely supply of learning materials. It would appear that students’ retention as a function of the affordability fac- tor, was affected by the negative macro-economic environment existent in zimbabwe at the time of the study Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Zimbabwe International Journal of Open & Distance Learning Volume Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2011 Open and Distance Learning Student retention