2.1 A narrative review of literature regarding class size in online  (Page 7/11)

Open online classes, access, and funding

Class sizes with Academic Partnership universities are not the only ones that have reached exponential numbers. Parry (2010) noted that at the University of Mannitoba in 2008 that two professors experimented with open teaching. Downes and Siemens opened their 25 member class up to the world, and over 2300 people enrolled as non-paying participants. Such open teaching, known as Massive Open Online Courses (MOOC), is growing and allows an expanded learning experience for students beyond just the ones enrolled for credit. In such courses, students have to take more responsibility for their learning. Along those lines, Lederman (2011) reported that Khan (Kahn Academy) indicated that “the Google- and Microsoft-backed network of freely available video and other lessons for self-paced learning would eventually move toward a model where it would offer credentials of some kind” (¶ 19). Several universities, such as MIT, Carnegie Melon, and Yale, have many open courses and have seen astronomical numbers in those classes. Recently, Walsh (2011) in her book, Unlocking the Gates, about such open courses, reported that MIT actually has three tiers of education: the MIT traditional degree on campus, MITx certificates via the open courseware for a fee, and completely free courses via OpenCourseWare (OCW). On January 24, 2012, DeSantis reported that the open online course on artificial intelligence offered by Stanford University Professor Thrun hit a high of 165,000 students. Based on that information and his experience, Thrun is leaving Stanford to begin his own private online education courses offered to the public at a low cost.

Lederman indicated that former North Carolina Governor Jim Hunt said that “for public universities to ‘take the next big steps’ in increasing access for their states' citizens, ‘when the money's not available,’ leaders will have to ‘realize that getting online education is much more affordable’” (¶ 24). That may mean charging lower prices for online classes and providing open courses on top of that. However, many state universities are doing other things related to online education, such as going out of state recruiting students for online courses and programs, but such actions have implications for access, financial aid, and in-state workforces.

Related to funding issues and technology, on January 23, 2012, Armario, a writer for The Associated Press, reporting on two recent studies (one from Center for the Study of Education Policy at Illinois State University known as the Grapevine Study and one from National Science Board), noted that state funding for higher education has decreased due to the recession and ending of stimulus funds. The National Science Board (2012) in their major report on science and engineering, indicated that states cut funds for public research universities by 20% from 2002 to 2010. The Board indicated that countries such as China and India have increased spending on technology and education, while the United States has dealt with a faltering economy since 2008. Palmer, the editor of the Grapevine study, indicated that universities cannot depend on state funding to meet their goals and aspirations (Amario, 2012). Certainly, funding impacts access to an education, including online education, and ultimately funding impacts class sizes at universities.