The impact of a quality, technology-enhanced teaching support medium on student success in a first-year financial accounting module at an open distance learning institute

In South Africa, the Department of Higher Education and Training (DoHET) has expressed grave concerns about the poor pass rate of first-year accounting students. In an attempt to improve performance, the University of South Africa (Unisa), an open distance learning (ODL) institution, has developed a DVD for the first-year semester module, FAC1502, in financial accounting. This module forms the cornerstone of financial accounting at Unisa and is a prerequisite for all bachelor degrees in commerce and many related courses. FAC1502 has a total annual average registration of 13 000 students. The DVD, a multimedia, technology-enhanced learning support tool, complements flexible teaching and learning and presents a practical workshop for students to study at their own pace and equip them with the necessary basic theory, practical applications and financial accounting skills which underlie further course work.This article reports on the impact of student utilisation of the DVD as a probable effective multimedia intervention towards an improved student pass rate in the FAC1502 semester module. The assessment of the DVD effectiveness takes the quality of the DVD into consideration, as measured against quality standards of regulating bodies such as the College of Economics and Management Sciences (CEMS) of Unisa, SAQA standards and outcomes based guidelines of Unisa and the Department of Higher Education and Training (DoHET). The fact that, barring DVD utilization, other factors – such as a success/ at-risk student profile – might affect student performance and confound the effect of DVD utilization on performance, was catered for in the sampling technique applied in the study.In an ODL environment, a teaching and learning support tool which promotes practical accounting knowledge in a real-life context ensures an innovative way of teaching and supporting students.