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Hussein Al-Yaseen et al.
improving by using technology to implement strategies and to achieve dreams”. Because of the
promised benefits of eLearning and the increasing need in Jordan for new opportunities to provide
higher education for students, a number of Jordanian universities have started implementing
eLearning projects. However, investing in such projects requires resources, is faced by many
challenges and is influenced by a number of factors. Therefore, this paper aims to identify the main
challenges facing universities undergoing such projects.
The paper is structured as follows: the introduction is followed by a brief review of the issues and
challenges in implementing eLearning projects in higher education. In Section 3 The higher education
system in Jordan is briefly presented. Section 4 discusses the research approach, followed by a
discussion of the main findings in Section 5. Finally, in Section 6 the main conclusions and
recommendations of the paper are discussed.
2. Issues and challenges in implementing eLearning projects in higher
education
eLearning may offer many benefits, yet its adoption by universities is faced by a number challenges
and obstacles that need to be identified and tackled in order to realise the promised benefits. Previous
studies have identified six main challenges in implementing such projects, which are briefly presented
below.
The first challenge is Legislation of eLearning in higher education: which refers to the extent by which
the legislations set by the ministry of higher education support the adoption of eLearning because
rules and regulations can act as enablers or inhibitors for eLearning (Rezaei Mood, 2006). Second,
awareness of using eLearning content and its efficiency and effectiveness amongst learner groups
(students): this is argued to be an important factor that will affect learners’ rate of adoption (Tham and
Werner, 2002; Tyan, 2003 and Rezaei Mood, 2006). eLearning is argued to be a student-centred way
of delivering education and therefore, if the main parties involved, especially students are not fully
aware of the benefits of online learning the success of such programmes becomes questionable.
Third, management support of developing and adopting eLearning in higher education: the
acceptance of eLearning methodology by decision makers in higher education increases and
supports the success of eLearning projects (Murphy and Terry, 1998; Omidi Najafabadi et al., 2008).
Generally speaking, for any project to be successful, management support is essential and eLearning
projects are no exception especially that implementing such programmes requires many changes in
the traditional methods of teaching and learning, training for educators and students and resources.
Therefore, management support is necessary for providing such requirements. Fourth, connectivity
and speed of downloading eLearning content: having a successful eLearning programme requires
efficient internet connections and high rates of internet diffusion to enable students to realise the
benefits of online education, which will contribute to a high rate of adoption (Zhang et al., 2002;
Cantoni et al., 2004). Fifth, quality of e-content and availability of expertise that are responsible for
developing a good e-content combined with sufficient financial resources will lead to low or high
quality eLearning content which in effect will impact the learner’s rate of adoption (Andersson, 2008).
Sixth, language barrier: the widespread use of English language in eLearning content is one of the
major issues that could affect the rate of eLearning adoption especially in non-English speaking
countries (Rezaei, 2006; Andersson, 2008). Therefore, universities in such countries have to create
their own content for students.
3. Higher education in Jordan
Before moving on to discuss eLearning in Jordan, it may be useful to briefly present the country’s
higher education system. The Ministry of Education (MoE) is responsible for the pre-primary, primary
and secondary levels of education, whilst, the post-secondary education is the responsibility of the
Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research (MoHESR). This Ministry includes the Higher
Education Council and the Accreditation Council. The MoHESR has outlined a National Strategy for
Higher Education for the years 2007-2012 (MoHE, 2011).
Access to higher education is open to holders of the General Secondary Education Certificate (or its
equivalent) who can then choose between private community colleges, public community colleges or
universities (public and private). The credit-hour system, which entitles students to select courses
according to a study plan, is implemented at universities. The higher education system of the country
has evolved considerably in the past years, but still a lot needs to be done to keep up with a rapidly
growing knowledge based economy that Jordan aims to be transformed into. In the years between
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