Publication Type: Publication

Busting the Myth: Distance Education Enrollment Infographic

Post author By Rosa Calabrese
Post date August 31, 2021

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Utilizing the 2013 Fall IPEDS Enrollment numbers, WCET has gathered a quick overview of distance education enrollment patterns that might not be what popular opinion thinks they are.

Myth: Only a small number of students enroll in distance courses.
Reality: One-in-eight students is took ALL their courses at a distance.
Reality: One in-four students took AT LEAST 1 distance course.

Myth: Students in distance courses are primarily at for-profit colleges.
Reality: More than two-thirds of fully distance students enroll in public or non-profit colleges.

Myth: Distance Education growth has slowed.
Reality: Distance education growth from 2012 to 2013 varied greatly by higher education sector. And the growth occurred despite overall higher education enrollments decreasing by 4%.

Myth: Institutional location does not matter for distance education.
Reality: Public Students Primarily Attend Distance Education Institutions in Their Home State.
Reality: For-profit Students primarily attend distance education institutions in other states.

Myth: Only a few institutions enroll students from outside their state in distance education.
Reality: The number of institutions serving students outside their state & outside the U.S. is growing.

The Integrated Postsecondary Data System (IPEDS) defines Distance Education as:
Education that uses one or more technologies to deliver instruction to students who are separated from the instructor and to support regular and substantive interaction between the students and the instructor sychronously or asynchronously. http://nces.ed.gov/ipeds/glossary/

SOURCES:
Poulin, Russ & Straut, Terri. 2015, March 5. IPEDS Fall 2013: Higher Ed Sectors Vary Greatly in Distance Ed Enrollments. Retrieved from: https://wcetblog.wordpress.com/2015/03/05/ipedssectors/
Poulin, Russ & Straut, Terri. 2015, March 10. IPEDS Fall 2013: Distance Education Data Reveals More than Overall Flat Growth. Retrieved from: https://wcetblog.wordpress.com/2015/03/10/ipedsenrollments/
Poulin, Russ & Straut, Terri. 2015, March 12. IPEDS Fall 2013: Less than Half of Fully Distant Students Come from Other States. Retrieved from: https://wcetblog.wordpress.com/2015/03/12/ipedsstateenrollments/
National Center for Education Statistics. Integrated Postsecondary Data System (IPEDS). http://nces.ed.gov/ipeds/datacenter/

Except where otherwise noted, this work is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution – Non-Commercial – Share Alike 4.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0

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“What are Institutions Doing (or Not Doing) About State Authorization” Survey (2014, 2013, & 2011)

Post author By Rosa Calabrese
Post date August 31, 2021

2014 Survey (May 2014) – Conducted by UPCEA, WCET, and M-SARA

2013 Survey (March 2013) – Conducted by UPCEA, WCET, and Sloan-C

2011 Survey (August 2011) – Conducted by UPCEA and WCET

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COVID-19 (Coronavirus) Updates and Resources

Post author By Rosa Calabrese
Post date August 19, 2021

Beginning in 2020, WCET created a series of curated pages highlighting various resources for institutions to help them adequately respond to the COVID-19 crisis. Although we have retired these initial response pages, below is a list of resources that may be helpful to institutions as we continue to face challenges during the ongoing pandemic.

Please contact us if you have any questions or should you need any assistance retrieving previous resources.

Important Updates

General COVID-19 Resources

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State Authorization and Military Students

Post author By Rosa Calabrese
Post date August 18, 2021
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The Funding of Academic Collaborations

Post author By ewalton
Post date August 9, 2021

This paper from WCET’s Academic Collaboration Common Interest Group, WCET, and the WICHE Policy Analysis and Research unit surveyed academic collaborations to gain insight on effective models used to finance their activities. This work was also undertaken in partnership with Kansas State University’s Institute for Academic Alliances, which seeks to create a website for the purpose of sharing academic collaboration policies and procedures.

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Online versus Traditional Learning: A Comparison Study of Colorado Community College Science Classes

Post author By ewalton
Post date August 9, 2021
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Guidelines for Creating Student Services Online Lessons Learned

Post author By ewalton
Post date August 9, 2021

Guidelines for Creating Student Services Online Lessons Learned

Additional and related documents:

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Guidelines for Creating Student Services Online Overview

Post author By ewalton
Post date August 9, 2021

These guidelines were the result of the U.S. Department of Education’s FIPSE-funded project “Beyond the Administrative Core”. This, and subsequent, work resulted in the now-retired Center for Transforming Student Services (CENTSS). The guidelines assist colleges and universities in planning and implementing online student services.

Additional and related documents:

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Recent Developments in Prior Learning

Post author By ewalton
Post date August 9, 2021

This brief is part of a broad landscape analysis focused on policy and practice issues related to the recognition of prior learning and is published by the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education, with funding from Lumina Foundation and Strada Education Network. The landscape analysis focuses on issues arising in the practice of the recognition of prior learning, policies that encourage or limit its adoption, and key research needs and future directions for the field.

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Recognition of Learning, WICHE Key Initiative

Post author By ewalton
Post date August 9, 2021

WICHE partnered with several organizations from 2018-2020 to conduct a broad landscape analysis and original research related to the recognition of prior learning. The landscape analysis focuses on issues arising in the practice of the recognition of prior learning, policies that encourage or limit its adoption, and key research needs and future directions for the field. This work has culminated in a series of briefs, reports, and actionable toolkits that can be found below. Additional materials will be added through the end of 2020. This initiative was made possible through generous funding from Lumina Foundation and Strada Education Network.

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