Designing cost-effectiveness model in Iranian distance education system

The main target of the present research is designing cost-effectiveness model in Iranian distance education system. This research is of combinational type which was conducted by means of Delphi and survey method. Statistical population of this research is all distance education planning experts, higher education economy experts and financial experts of Payame Noor universities(=Iranian public distance education university) of Iranian provinces centers. 109 people were selected as sample size by means of targeted method and they responded to a questionnaire designed by valid scientific documents and Delphi method. In order to investigate validity and reliability of the questionnaire, educational sciences experts and distance education planning specialists and Chronbach's alpha were used, respectively. Data was analyzed by means of SPSS and Lisrel software and using descriptive and inferential statistics. Results showed that the main components that influence on cost-effectiveness in distance education can be classified in 5 categories: platform group (technological and nontechnological), development and improvement of human resources, design of educational system and the process of teaching-learning, and preparation, production and provision of educational material. Furthermore, 5-factor model had fitting indices (CFI=0.78) and (RMSEA=0/085) which verify model's fitness. In other words, this model can be used to calculate and manage cost in universities and distance education centers.