Predicting students’ attitudes towards advertising on a university Virtual Learning Environment (VLE)

Most if not all UK universities and many in other parts of the world support their student learning via a virtual learning environment (VLE). Online resources are going to be increasingly important to students as the internet is very much part of their lives. However, the VLE will require ongoing investment to keep pace with technological developments and student expectations, and at a time when public funding of UK universities is being cut. One funding method could be from advertising on the VLE. This study investigates students’ attitudes towards advertising being included within a university’s VLE learning system. A 10-item questionnaire was randomly administered to students enrolled on undergraduate business and management courses at two universities. The study reveals that students show positive attitudes towards advertising included on a VLE. The findings also indicate that students do not view internet advertising on a VLE as intrusive, and may well be receptive towards the advertisements. These findings have implications for understanding students’ attitude towards a VLE and also to the future (if any) of advertising on VLEs within the higher education sector.