Distance learning is well-known to students in South Africa. Previous studies have focused mainly on face-to-face tutorials. This study aimed to investigate student support and student performance in online tutorials using the theory of transactional distance. A census survey and quantitative approach were used to achieve the research objectives.…

The academic success of first-year students' learning in science faculties is by no means assured, especially in an Open Distance Learning setting with its limited number of face-to-face encounters between students and lecturers or tutors. Therefore, such encounters should be highly efficient in view of the considerable amount of knowledge…