Daniel Otieno et al./ Elixir Edu. Tech. 66 (2014) 20685-20689 20685 Introduction Globally, education has been seen as a catalyst for social transformation, wealth creation, and national development. Nevertheless, demand for education, particularly in developing countries, continues to grow, and the gap between supply and demand widens (UNESCO Institute for Statistics, 2006). Distance education has therefore emerged out of social compulsion, the dynamics of change and new cultures. It was the failure of traditional systems to be able to meet the demand in countries, where the resources available for tertiary education are limited, which basically gave birth to the new trend of education known as open and distance education (Duncan, et al., 2003). The demand for higher Education has experienced unprecedented growth in the recent years. The upsurge in social demand for continuous learning has led to open and distance education (Nyerere, Gravenir & Mse, 2012). This mode of learning utilizes the electronic platforms and has also been referred to as e-learning. The demand is driven by the need for a workforce with the technical and professional skills required for the expanding global knowledge based society. In Africa, the demand for higher education and technical skills to drive the developing economies has outstripped the supply to the labour force. Increasingly, many developing countries are experiencing strained resources in provision of education services especially at higher levels. The number of government sponsored students increased from 20,073 in 2009/10 to 32, 648 in 2010/11. In the Technical Vocational Education and Training Institutions, total enrolment increased to 81,114 students (GOK, 2012). Data from the Education Sector report (2012) indicate that: “The number of universities both public and private increased from 28 in 2009/2010 to 58 in 2011/2012 comprising 7 public universities, 24 constituent university colleges and 27 private universities. Enrollment increased from 177,735 students (144,181 in public universities and 33,554 students in private universities) in 2009/10 to 361,147 students (271,143 in public universities and 90,004 in private universities) in 2011/2012 as a result of the upgrading of twenty four institutions to university colleges as well as expansion of physical facilities in various public universities.” Pg.31 With this increased social demand and enrollment in Universities and tertiary institutions, the challenges of access and equity have become more real than ever. In order to meet this challenge, many Universities and tertiary level institutions have embarked on methods to expand access to higher education through decentralization and online learning programs. This has given rise to several University Campuses mushrooming in areas which were previously unprecedented. The expansion of public Universities has not been sufficient to meet demand as many qualified students leaving high school are still not able to secure admission in public universities. Open and Distance learning (ODL) has therefore emerged as an alternative approach to expand access to those who cannot join regular University programmes. Open and Distance learning (ODL) emerged from the idea of correspondence course that were offered by Universities such as University of South Africa (UNISA). The success of UNISA Blended Learning in Higher Education: Learners’ Preferences and Insights Daniel Otieno* and Eric Osoro Department of Education, Africa Nazarene University. ABSTRACT This research study was conducted on the prevailing learners’ perceptions and preferences towards Blended Learning in Higher Education. This was a case study involving one private University in Kenya. The purpose of the study was to assess the learners’ perspectives of Blended Learning, identify their experiences and make recommendations for improvement of program design and delivery. The study design adopted a mixed research approach and was situated within Garrison (2008) theoretical framework of Community of Inquiry (CoL). The research addressed the following research objectives: What are the reasons for choosing the Blended Learning program? What are the learners’ perceptions towards the quality of preparation and delivery of blended learning programs? How do learners compare the Blended Learning and traditional classroom learning? What are the suggestions for the future development of Blended Learning? Participants were drawn from cohorts of learners enrolled at different stages of study in the Blended Learning program at the University. A purposive sampling technique was used to identify participants. The participants responded to questionnaire that was emailed to them by their course instructors. The completed questionnaires were subsequently emailed back to the researcher. Analysis of data was done using descriptive and inferential statistics. Pearson-Product moment correlation coefficient was used to describe relationships between variables. The findings from the study indicate that when there is greater social and teaching presence, learner’s satisfaction increases. Provision of support in terms of teaching presence and instructional resources needs to be enhanced. Facilitators of Blended Learning courses have to be more proactive and initiate frequent online discussions to enrich their courses. © 2014 Elixir All rights reserved ARTICLE INFO Article history: Received: 7 November 2013; Received in revised form: 3 January 2014; Accepted: 10 January 2014; Keywords Blended Learning, Higher Education, Perceptions, Challenges. Elixir Edu. Tech. 66 (2014) 20685-20689 Educational Technology Available online at www.elixirpublishers.com (Elixir International Journal) Tele: E-mail addresses: dotieno@anu.ac.ke © 2014 Elixir All rights reserved