Project Eagle Research Capsules (PERC) #1
May 2001

The Survey of Distance Learning Programs in Higher Education

2001 Edition

In January 2001, the Primary Research Group (www.primaryresearch.com) released its latest statistical report on distance learning programs in the United States, based on November/December 2000 survey responses from 85 colleges. These are the highlights of their findings, taken from 113 pages of statistical charts.

1. Enrollment Growth
   • 49.41% of all schools responding reported that recent growth in their distance learning programs had been "very strong." Results were identical at two-year and four-years institutions. An additional 40% assessed their growth as fairly good. Only 3.53% saw a decline. The median growth rate for programs was 25%.
     
     
2. Use of Products and Services from Distance Learning Suppliers and Vendors
   • WebCT. Products were purchased by 54.12%, with little difference between two-year and four-year schools.
   • Blackboard. Services or products found their way into 41.18% of all schools, 30% for two-year and 48.15% for four-year colleges.
   • PBS. 35.29% bought from them; 60% for two-year and 22.22% at four-year schools.
   • Other vendors and suppliers. All others listed were used by fewer than 5%.
     
     
3. Use of Web-based Courses
   • The mean percentage of the total of a college's distance courses that was supplied via the Web was 39.64%, 36.03% at the two-year level and 42.65% at the four-year level.
   • At least 75% of all colleges used chat rooms, email, threaded technology and course-specific Web sites in their Web-based courses.
     
     
4. Third-party Course Providers
   • Only 11.86% used third party commercial providers or other colleges as sources for distance learning courses, 18.68% at the two-year and 6.69% at the four-year level.
   • 57.69% of the institutions that used third party providers paid a flat fee for services, 61.54% at two-year and 50% at four-year schools. The rest paid a percentage of tuition revenues or a combination of methods.
     
     
5. Departmental Assistance to the Distance Learning Program
   • 56.47% had a specially appointed individual at the college's technology or computer services administrative department to respond to requests from the distance learning program, 50% at two-year and 61.11% at four-year schools.
   • 52.94% had a specially appointed individual at the college library to respond to requests, almost identical at both two-year and four-year schools.
   • 38.82% had a specially appointed individual at the college bookstore to respond to requests, almost identical at both two-year and four-year schools.
     
     
6. Use of Technology
   • 68.24% allowed direct downloads of course material, almost the same at both two-year and four-year schools.
   • 57.65% used videocassette, 66.67% at two-year and 53.7% at four-year schools.
   • 50% used some form of videoconferencing, similar at two-year and four-year schools.
   • 36.5% used Internet radio/audio streaming, similar at two-year and four-year schools.
   • 36.47% used tape video broadcast, 53.33% at two-year and 27.78% at four-year institutions.
   • Fewer than one third of the respondents used internet fax services(14.12%); interactive voice response systems(12.94%); voice enabled Web sites(8.24%); voice Internet telephony(3.53%); unified messaging(8.24%); a wireless LAN(12.94%); email broadcasting(31.76%); audioconferencing(22.35%); voice dictation software(7.06%); tape video over cable(29.41%); or tape video via satellite(22.35%).
     
     
7. Copyright and Licensing Issues
   • 24.39% required instructors to sign away rights to distance learning materials, 37.93% at the two-year and 15.38% at the four-year level.
   • About half of all schools felt that in terms of copyrighted materials, the college owns the copyright, about one third believed that the instructor owns the copyright. The remainder - about one fifth - added an unsolicited third choice of joint ownership between college and instructor.
   • 30.95% of all programs in the sample had site licenses for educational materials, with little difference between two-year and four-year colleges.
   • 46.15% of the colleges with site licenses allowed for posting of educational materials on an intranet, LAN or other type of network, 70% at two-year and 32.15% at four-year institutions.
     
     
8. Tuition Costs
   • The mean per credit cost of distance learning courses was $135.00, $73.70 at two-year and $166.80 at four-year institutions.
   • 51.81% increased their tuition price in the year 2000, 42.86% at two-year and 57.41% at four-year schools.
   • 76.83% charged the same tuition for distance learning and traditional classroom-based courses, 85.71% at two-year and 71.70% at four-year colleges.
     
     
9. Tailor-made Courses for Industry and Government
   • 24.71% provided "tailor-made" distance learning courses to business, government or non-profit organizations. Two-year and four-year rates were almost the same.
   • 31.06% of the distance learning enrollment of schools with tailor-made courses came from those courses, with almost the same rates at both two-year and four-year levels.
   • 8.31% was the average growth rate in attendance in such tailor-made programs, with almost the same rates at both two-year and four-year schools.
   • Both two-year and four-year schools expected a mean growth rate of almost 33%.
     
     
10. Consortium Membership
    • 53.57% were members of some form of distance learning consortium, with 75.86% at two-year and 40.74% at four-year schools.
    • 11.74% of distance learning enrollments, almost the same at all levels, came through consortium referrals.
      
      
11. Advertising and Marketing the Distance Learning Program
    • 41.6% had a separate advertising budget for their distance learning program, 30% at two-year and 47.17% at four-year colleges.
    • 37.65 printed a separate catalog, 26.67% at two-year and 44.44% at four-year institutions. The mean number of separate course catalogs printed per institution was 10,711, 15,705 at two-year and 9463 at four-year institutions.
    • 59.04% did promotional mailings to prospective students, but the mean number of pieces mailed was only 9081, with four-year schools sending out double the number for two-year schools. Other forms of advertising on a small scale included promotional catalogs/viewbooks, student and regular newspaper advertising, radio, billboards, TV, direct mail and Web banners.
      
      
12. Centralization of Distance Learning College Administration
    • 59.76% of the programs surveyed directed all distance learning efforts at their schools.
      
      
13. Courses Offered and Staff Salaries
    • The mean number of separate courses offered annually was 170.9, but some offered thousands. The median was 45, almost the same for two-year and four-year schools.
    • The mean per course pay for adjunct instructors was $1541, $1324 at two-year and $1650 at four-year colleges.
    • The mean annual salary of the supervisor of distance education was $50,043, $43,786 for two-year and $54,214 for four-year institutions.
      
      
14. Profitability and Course Structure
    • 30.14% felt revenues exceeded expenses for distance learning programs. 45.21% felt revenues equaled expenses, and 24.66% felt expenses exceeded revenues.
    • 47.32% of the costs were for salaries and benefits, 39.3% at two-year and 49.49% at four-year schools. 23.41% were for equipment. Less than 10% was for advertising.
      
      

www.spjc.edu/eagle/research/perc/perc1.htm
For a list of previous Project Eagle Research Capsules, go to www.spcollege.edu/eagle/research/perc/index.htm
For more information, contact the project manager: lechnerj@spcollege.edu

The contents of PERC were developed under a grant from the U. S. Department of Education (DOE). However, those contents do not necessarily represent the policy of the DOE, and you should not assume endorsement by the Federal Government.