Enhancement on the Utilization and Implementation of Flexible Learning Among Maritime Higher Education Institutions

This study was conducted to determine the level of effectiveness in the utilization and implementation of flexible learning among faculty and students in maritime higher education institutions (MHEIs) in Western Visayas.

The overall findings showed that the utilization of flexible learning was consistently rated as “highly utilized” when considering the respondents as a whole group, as well as when categorized separately as faculty and students. This indicates that the respondents' utilization of flexible learning is almost the same, with no significant difference existing between the faculty and student categories.

Regarding implementation, the overall level was found to be “highly implemented”. Specifically, students rated the implementation as “highly implemented,” but the level of implementation among faculty was rated as “low implementation”. This led to a finding of a significant difference in the implementation of flexible learning when classified according to category, implying that the two groups' implementation practices differ. The study also revealed a significant positive correlation between utilization and implementation: a higher rating on implementation correlated with a higher rating on utilization.

Based on these results, a proposed program was developed to enhance the utilization and implementation of flexible learning. It is recommended that MHEI administration design a flexible learning scheme that is truly flexible for students, teachers, and modes of delivery, and that they utilize the proposed intervention program. Furthermore, MHEIs should religiously implement the use of online platforms to maximize the teaching and learning process during unforeseen events like bad weather or contagious disease, and follow the implementing guidelines of CHED Memo #4, Series of 2020.