Work

Designing meaning and momentum: A value-integrated academic services framework for distance education

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: This study develops, validates, and tests a Transformative Academic Service Framework (TASF) for graduate distance education—grounded in service-dominant logic, transformative learning, and values-based education—to deliver human-centered services that advance engagement, values formation, and wellbeing. Design-based, convergent mixed methods paired iterative framework development with a quasi-experimental rollout across five centers (students = 247; faculty = 32; staff = 15). Validation used four-factor CFA (α = 0.88–0.91); fidelity was tracked via audits/LMS/training logs; outcomes were tested with 2×2 repeated-measures ANOVAs and SEM (multi-group invariance, bootstrapped mediation), and interviews/FGDs underwent reflexive thematic analysis. Good model fit (χ²/df = 2.14, CFI = 0.94, TLI = 0.93, RMSEA = 0.067; AVE ≥ 0.56) held under metric–scalar invariance (|ΔCFI| ≤ 0.010; |ΔRMSEA| ≤ 0.009); fidelity was high (SOP 92.4%, micro-reflection 85.6%, training 91–94%), and all outcomes showed time × group effects (all ps < 0.001; partial η² ≥ 0.22) with large gains in the implementation arm (mean d = 1.13, 95% CI [0.98, 1.28]). In SEM, Integrative Service Design predicted Academic Engagement (β = 0.34) and Values-Embedded Processes predicted Values Integration (β = 0.42); both mediators predicted Academic Wellbeing (β = 0.28, β = 0.33) with significant bootstrapped indirect effects (β = 0.09–0.14), corroborated by qualitative themes of belonging, purpose, self-efficacy, and feedback loops. TASF, a validated high-fidelity framework, measurably improves service quality, engagement, values integration, and academic wellbeing in distance higher education, offering a scalable blueprint for human-centered, outcomes-oriented academic services by embedding values into integrative service design and reflective routines.

Source: International Journal of ADVANCED AND APPLIED SCIENCES

DOI: 10.21833/ijaas.2026.07.014