Project Eagle Research Capsules (PERC) #2
June 2001

Trends in E-Student Population at Saint Petersburg College*

*Formerly Saint Petersburg Junior College

I. Profile of Students Enrolled in eCampus Classes

Based on Spring Session, 2000-2001,
Data Compiled by Elsa Houtz, eCampus, Seminole

County Distribution

Pinellas County 79%
Outside Pinellas County 21%

Geography

Almost 97% of eCampus students come from Florida; 79% from Pinellas County. The remainder represent 31 states from New York to Texas to California.

St. Petersburg 23.5%
Clearwater 16.3%
Largo 10.7%
Palm Harbor 6.7%
Seminole 6.6%
Pinellas Park 4.0%
Tampa 3.7%

Gender

Female 68%
Male 32%

Race

White 85%
Black 7%
Hispanic 5%
Asian 2%
Indian 1%

Major

General-AA 33.1%
Business-AA 9.5%
Education-AA 5.1%
Vet Tech-AS 4.7%
No Major 3.6%
Nurse-PR 2.8%
Other -Representing 101 other majors 41.2%

Course Load

Campus students' average class load for the session was 14% heavier than non-eCampus students.

eCampus average hours enrolled 8.7
Non-eCampus average hours enrolled 7.6

Hours Completed

The average number of hours completed by eCampus students was 27% higher than the comparable figure for non-eCampus students.

eCampus students' hours completed 35.7
Non-eCampus students' hours completed 28

Grade Point Average

eCampus students' collective average GPA was about 11% higher than the comparable figure for non-eCampus students.*

eCampus students' GPA 2.6
Non-eCampus students' GPA 2.3

*These figures are valid for comparison purposes only.

II. Comparison of Online and Traditional Students

Enrolled in Statistics Courses Based on Data from Fall Session 1998 to Spring Session 2001*
Compiled by Dr. Karen Estes, Natural Sciences/Mathematics, Tarpon Springs

Age

Online students 50% older than 26
Traditional students 75% younger than 25

Gender

Online students 57% female, 43% male
Traditional students 62% female, 38% male

Employment - Median Number of Hours Worked Weekly

Online students 40
Traditional students 29

About 56% of online students work at least 40 hours weekly.

Median Credit Hours

Online students 9
Traditional students 11

Mean Credit Hours

Online students 8.9
Traditional students 10.2

Median Final Exam Grades

Online students 76
Traditional students 85

Mean Final Exam Grades

Online students 76.3
Traditional students 83.5

Withdrawal Rates

Online students 39.4%
Traditional students 13.2%

Final Grades

Grade	A	B	C	D	F	I
Online students	8.5%	32.2%	12.7%	1.4%	12.7%	2.1%
Traditional students	22.4%	22.8%	26.3	2.0%	6.3%	1.5%

*Summary of Dr. Estes' presentation, Statistics on Online StatisticsDelivered at the 12th Annual International Conference on College Teaching and Learning Jacksonville, Florida April 2001

www.spjc.edu/eagle/research/perc/perc2.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.