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In This Issue
Digital Tweed: Mapping the Terrain of Online Education
4/1/2005
 Two Sloan-C reports provide both firm definitions for and hard data about the numbers of students involved in online education. Like so many things in education and the academic community, much of the (sometimes polite, sometimes passionate) conversation about big issues is often driven by opinion and epiphany, rather than data and evidence. Certainly, the decade-long discussions on and off campus about distance and online education, fall into this mode. All (or at least many) of us have fixed and firm opinions about the efficacy and quality of online and distance education, and the impact of these programs for students and institutions. |
Consequently, it is useful and refreshing to find informative reports with credible data that help map the still somewhat uncharted territory of online and distance learning in American higher education. The November 2004 Sloan Consortium (Sloan-C) Report, “Entering the Mainstream,” coupled with the Consortium’s September 2003 report, “Sizing the Opportunity” (both available at www.sloan-c.org), bring timely, informative data to the occasionally contentious conversations about online and distance education. (Sloan-C, a consortium of institutions and organizations committed to quality online education, receives financial support from The Alfred P. Sloan Foundation; www.sloan.org.)
The two Sloan-C reports provide both firm definitions for and hard data about the numbers of students involved in online education. As defined by Sloan-C, an online course is one “where most [80 percent] or all of the content is delivered online” and “typically involves no face-to-face meetings.” Some 1.92 million students were enrolled in at least one online course as of fall 2003, up almost 20 percent from 1.6 million in Fall 2002. Sloan-C projected the Fall 2003 online course enrollment numbers would increase by a third to 2.63 million students for Fall 2004.
Not surprisingly, the Sloan-C data reveal that public and private-for-profit institutions are more likely to offer online courses than private colleges and universities. But much of the variation can be explained as a function of mission and markets: Many private liberal arts colleges (i.e., baccalaureate institutions) may offer what Sloan-C defines as Web-facilitated or blended/hybrid courses (courses with both “traditional” and online content that are still structured around traditional, face-to-face class sessions), and which serve their largely residential undergraduate populations. In contrast, both public and for-profit institutions find that online courses respond to both mission mandates (access and training for public institutions) and market opportunities (new or underserved markets, as well as revenue opportunities for all sectors).
Recommended Reading
- Wikis Get Users Talking at MIT, Johns Hopkins
In many ways, college campuses are an obvious implementation for a wiki tool. The decentralized nature of the technology and its ability to allow a wide range of individuals or groups to contribute ideas into a single area through Web browsers make wikis simple and compelling for higher education uses.
- College Coaches Use Webcams To Stay in Touch with Recruits
College coaches are turning to webcams as a way to stay in touch with potential recruits to bypass new National Collegiate Athletic Association restrictions that forbid in-person visits to high school campuses during the spring evaluation period, according to a report from AP.
- Firms To Benchmark Higher Ed Online Operations
Education consultancy Eduventures has teamed up with The Campus Computing Project to kick off a new study focusing on online operations in higher education.
- New Dartmouth Dorm Cluster Broadcasts Energy Usage to Students
Dartmouth College's recently completed McLaughlin Cluster residence halls have been recognized by the United States Green Building Council for its environmental sustainability, winning Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design ( LEED ) gold certifications. The recognition makes the fifth LEED certification for Dartmouth buildings in four months. LEED certifications were recently awarded to two other residence halls as well as two academic facilities.
- Smart Brings Down Widescreen Whiteboard Price for Educators
Smart Technologies announced this week that it's dropping the price on its widescreen Smart Board 690 interactive whiteboard for educators. The 690, at 94 inches, is Smart's largest interactive whiteboard.
- VBA To Return to Mac; Office 2008 SP1 Released
Microsoft Tuesday released Service Pack 1 for Office 2008 for Mac, the first major update to what the company called its most successful Mac Office launch in 19 years (in terms of sales volume). In a surprise move, Microsoft's Mac Business Unit also announced that it plans to bring Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) back to the Mac platform with the next major release.
