Successful distance education requires students to possess an appropriate level of skills and competencies to achieve satisfactory learning, like collaboration, self-regulation and communication. Not all candidates to higher education online programs have the needed skills, so there is a need to investigate this area with academically grounded instruments.
In order to examine the readiness of applicants to learn in the online modality, the responses of 32,789 applicants to distance learning college-level programs in a large public university were collected over three years using the Student Readiness for Online Learning (SROL) questionnaire. Backtranslation of the instrument was performed.
.png)
Through principal components factor analysis, it was identified that readiness for online learning is associated with perceived importance/confidence in their ability for autonomous learning, the use of technological tools, and communication in virtual environments.
Constructing an indicator of online learning readiness, it was found that 40% of applicants have a high level of preparation for studying online, with areas of opportunity in autonomous learning. Peer communication was found to be the least important aspect identified in this large sample of applicants.
In conclusion, the SROL instrument to measure online learning readiness, adapted to Spanish, has evidence of validity and reliability in a public Latin American public university. The main areas of opportunity are autonomous learning, being self-disciplined and focusing on studying without distractions.
---
How to cite: Hernández-Gutiérrez, M., García-Minjares, M., & Sánchez-Mendiola, M. (2025). Level of readiness for online learning in applicants to distance Higher Education. [Nivel de preparación para aprendizaje en línea en aspirantes a ingresar a Educación Superior a distancia]. RIED-Revista Iberoamericana de Educación a Distancia, 28(1). https://doi.org/10.5944/ried.28.1.41539
