STUDENT SUPPORT FOR ACADEMIC WELLNESS IN ODL INSTITUTIONS: A CASE OF ZIMBABWE OPEN UNIVERSITY, MASVINGO REGIONAL CAMPUS

This paper examines the support for academic wellness rendered to Open and Distance Learning institutions (ODL) students. The researcher employed an intensive ethnographic research interrogative approach through telephone interviews, emails, orientation sessions as well as weekend school sessions to gain a deeper understanding of what takes places in ODL institutions. A sample of two students from faculty of Applied Social Sciences, two from Agriculture, two from Arts and Education and two from faculty of Commerce and Law was purposively drawn from ZOU Masvingo Regional Campus, with a view to get their sentiments. An integrative framework lens namely the Transactional Distance Theory and Hetler’s Wellness theory were deployed to try and get a better perspective on students’ wellness. This study unveiled that students experience challenges in terms of; registration processes, access to internet due load shedding as well as long distances internet cafes, library facility usage due to geographical distances to the Campus. The mentoring processes and the student-supervisor relationships greatly impact students progressively or retrogressively. It was observed that the Salary Service Bureau (SSB) mode introduced as a way of paying of fees by students, alleviated students’ challenged in registration and consequently, led to increase in student enrolment in the region. It was recommended that through effective communication by the mode of telephones, the use of tracking instruments for progress and face to face research workshops, enhanced support of student wellness and human flourishing can be achieved in ODL institutions.