The Economics of Distance Education
The Change Magazine article highlights the great chasm in the beliefs of government leaders versus many in traditional higher education.
A WCET survey showed that many (certainly not all) distance education professionals think that it costs more to create, offer, and support an online course. In the author’s conversations with governors and state legislatures, almost to a person they are sure that the cost can only be less. Our take is that distance education can cost less if that is the mission and design of the program. Meanwhile, governors and legislators in some states are enacting laws and policies based on their beliefs. Absent a healthy dialogue about access, quality, and costs, we will increasingly find ourselves in a boxing match between the two sides.
Together We Can Accomplish More
A survey of all known consortia and system-wide initiatives was conducted in February, 2018. The report summarizes the survey results.
Consortia and system leaders remain hopeful that their partnerships will increase student access, improve student success, realize efficiencies, and test new innovations. The survey results reflect the complexity of running and maintaining organizations that require cooperation. While there have been many changes in the higher education landscape since the 2008 survey was conducted, what has remained consistent is the consortia and system leaders’ commitment to live by the mantra: “together we can accomplish more.”
NC-SARA 2019 Data Report: Enrollment & Out-0f-State Learning Placement
This is the fourth annual distance education reporting for NC-SARA, a voluntary agreement among U.S. states and territories that establishes national standards for interstate offering of post-secondary distance education courses and programs, serving over 2,100 institutions in 2020.
The 2019 Data Report summarizes and analyzes the 2018 distance education enrollments reported enrollments of 1,960 SARA participating institutions. This is also the first year of mandatory out-of-state learning placement (OOSLP) reporting. The institutional response rate for the enrollment survey was 99.5%.
The report also provides trend data reported to NC-SARA.
Additional Analysis and Writing Samples:
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