Positions of Distance Education Graduates in the Job Market

Education is one of the basic human rights. Unfortunately, it is also very expensive, services are limited for many societies, and traditional education systems cannot meet the educational demands of people all over the world. However, since the 1960s, distance education has brought new opportunities and ways in which to solve some long-standing educational problems. The impetus for this study was an evaluation of the position of distance education graduates in the job market after completing their education at Anadolu University's Open Education Faculty (OEF). This article will review the findings of the survey which examined the position of the 2000 graduates in the job market who were educated at a distance and earned a four-year university degree from the Open Education Faculty's Economics Department, in Turkey, between 1985-1994. Among the main findings of this research were: (1) in most cases graduates’ aim personal development and career enhancement goals have been achieved by completing their education at OEF; (2) there has been a general increase in graduates’ job position and status following graduation; (3) most students’ income increased after they graduated; (4) most OEF graduates felt that their degree was equivalent to degrees awarded elsewhere, and though this view tended to be supported by their employers and colleagues, graduates of conventional universities tended to be more critical; and (5) most OEF graduates say that have applied to their jobs some of the knowledge they gathered during their study at OEF. At the end of the study, some suggestions for improvement are offered by the researcher for discussion.