This study investigated how students’ satisfaction could be measured in distance learning. The distance learning in this study refers to the use of the Internet, audio and video lectures along with correspondence of the instructors as a medium of instruction as well as a source of information. Part time/full-time, undergraduate and graduate students studying in AIOU main campus were selected as the sample for this study. The results confirm the reliability and validity of the three dimensions of distance learning satisfaction, which are student-instructor interaction, instructor’s performance, and course evaluation. These dimensions can be understood as the way the course content is delivered, feedback and interactions take place with instructors, effectiveness of instructors, students learning experiences, workload and evaluation criteria in their distance courses, and convenience of the means of communication, the ease of system operation for the learners, and the quality of content the students receive.
The results of this study further indicated that the majority of the students at this campus showed high levels of satisfaction regarding student-instructor interaction, instructor’s performance and course evaluation. This reveals that just like in traditional education, in distance learning education at AIOU, enough interaction takes place between students and their instructors, courses are up to date and well designed, instructors are devoted, motivated and equipped with the required skill and knowledge. Furthermore, the availability of distance education in Pakistan, increasing number of degree programs offered and the increasing number of students enrolled, all speak for students’ satisfaction and the effectiveness of distance learning education. This implies that the faculty at AIOU is delivering distance learning courses that meet the students' needs in regard to students-instructor interaction, instructor performance, and course evaluation.
After the findings of this research study, it would not be logical to presume that distance learning students do not perform as well as traditional students. Moreover, the research team hopes that these findings may change the pessimistic perceptions of those people in Pakistan, who perceived distance learning as poor in quality.
Besides, there appears to be a need for AIOU to increase the number of its sub-campuses to remote areas of Pakistan where the literacy rate is still low. It is important to recognize that students of these areas have strong desire to get education but due to financial, geographic and cultural reasons they cannot get it. Therefore, virtual university can play a vital role in improving the literacy rate in Pakistan.