E-Learning in India: Segmenting Students of a Business School based on their Perception

E-learning has become an important tool to impart education. This study examines the awareness and perception of e-learning among Indian students enrolled for a business management course at a premier business school. It is generally perceived that since Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (IIM-A) is universally acknowledged for its quality of education, the awareness and perception about e-learning would be uniform. This could be attributed to factors like a sound educational background and the exposure to information technology. This study attempts to segment the sample based on the student perception towards e-learning. The results show that the level of awareness and the degree of familiarity with e-learning technologies are high. Three student clusters were found, which split the students into those with ‘high motivational & learning propensity’, ‘neutral motivational & learning propensity’ and ‘low motivational & learning propensity.’ These three clusters were labeled as ‘Enthusiastic,’ ‘Pragmatist,’ and ‘Unenthusiastic.’ Further, it was found that the age of students varied significantly within these three clusters.