3.2 Online course offerings: issues of retention and professional  (Page 4/8)

The demand for online course delivery is increasing

According to Allen and Seaman (2008), the number of students taking online courses has risen from 1.6 million in 2002, to 2.3 million in 2004, and 3.5 million in 2006. This trend toward online learning is expected to continue, especially as more traditional institutions add online components to their programs. Jones (2003) added that at the same time, enrollment in higher education is expected to grow at 16% over the next decade. The forecast for rising online enrollment is due in large part to the projected increase in online program offerings (Allen&Seaman, 2004). Howell, Williams, and Lindsay, (2003) concluded that educational institutions are responding to the changes by offering online versions of a number of traditional campus based programs, and in some cases creating a virtual campus.

In addition to the general positives that online instruction offers for students, such as flexible scheduling and virtually no travel costs, other benefits of attending online courses include students’ ability to enroll in multiple institutions, sometimes simultaneously, temporarily stop-out, or have multiple transfers between institutions (Johnstone, Ewell,&Paulson, 2002). Shaik (2005) wrote, “with the simple click of a button students are able to shop for courses and programs that best accommodate their schedules and learning styles” (p. 2).

Study results comparing online to traditional methods of delivery

Studies by Tucker, (2001), Phipps and Merisotis, (1999), Johnson, Aragon, Shaik and Palma-Revis (1999) and others were conducted to determine if differences exist in the area of student outcomes between online education students and traditional face to face education students. Gubernick and Ebeling (1997) stated that online education students scored from five to ten percent higher on standardized achievement tests than did students in the traditional classroom setting. Tucker’s (2001) study found that online education can be just as good as traditional face to face education. She found that there were no significant differences between pre-test scores, homework grades, research paper grades, and final grades. However there were significant differences between online education students and traditional face to face education with regard to age, post-test scores, and final exam scores. Online education students scored higher in all three categories. Tucker (2001) went on to say that “this is not sufficient evidence to conclude that distance education is superior to traditional education” (pp. 6-7).

Guillot’s (2003) research revealed that there was general agreement among online instructors that online teaching and face-to-face teaching were very different. An example of the difference was presented in a thematic analysis conducted by Nation (2006) which revealed that the technology skill levels of both online instructors and their students influenced course content and teaching practices. Research conducted by Ledbetter (2003) supported the belief that online instructors could be successful in demonstrating transformational leadership by: (1) trusting their students; (2) developing personal relationships; (3) assigning interdependent group projects; (4) building rapport; and (5) emphasizing meaningful application during the teaching and learning process.