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November 2007

Did you know…that Distance Education at NC State is becoming an increasingly popular option for taking classes?  Distance Education hours include both electronically delivered classes (i.e. online, cable television, etc.) and classes taught face-to-face but at a location away from NC State’s main campus.  From Fall 2000 to Spring 2007, each semester has seen a year-to-year increase in the percentage of all credit hours taken through Distance Education (Chart I). 

Chart l

As seen in Chart I, 1.6% of credit hours were delivered via Distance Education in Fall 2000.  By Spring 2007, this figure rose to 5.1% for an annual growth rate of 21%.  The growth in Distance Education is split among undergraduate hours, which tripled from Fall 2000 to Fall 2006, and graduate hours, which doubled in that time.

Chart ll

Chart II shows the credit hour split for graduate students.  With each semester, more of the growth in total credit hours is attributed to Distance Education such that in the last two years, 88% of all graduate credit hour growth is from Distance Education hours.  The same trend is true of undergraduate hours but to a much lesser extent.  Between Fall 2000 and Fall 2006, Distance Education undergraduate hours have more then tripled but still only comprise 3.9% of all undergraduate hours.

All colleges except Vet Medicine and DUAP have initiated and/or grown their Distance Education hours.  The leader in Distance Education is the College of Education, which taught 21% of all hours through Distance Education programs.  The College of Education employs ‘cohort’ programs in local schools where a group of working teachers move through a graduate program together while taking classes taught in their school instead of in NC State classrooms.  

Table l

As Table I shows, most colleges are teaching 3% to 6% of their hours through Distance Education.

Analyzing the growth in Distance Education, both by type of course and type of student, shows that growth in Distance Education is highest in Master’s classes taken by Master’s students and Non-Degree-Seeking students.  Table II shows the growth in Distance Education classes by the type of classes being taught.  This shows substantial growth in all course levels except at the Doctoral level, which has not grown since Fall 2000.

Table ll

In Table III, there is a similar analysis but by the type of student taking the course.  Table III shows that Non-Degree-Students continue to take the highest proportion of Distance Education classes.  In Fall 2006, almost 40% of all their hours are taken through Distance Education. 

Table Ill

Combining the information in Table II and Table III, we begin to see that all types of students are taking more Distance Education classes but Non Degree Seeking students are the main drivers of Distance Education Growth.

To understand who is taking Distance Education classes also requires a demographic analysis.  Table IV shows the percent of Distance Education hours of all classes taken by gender, race, residency status, and age in both Fall 2000 and Fall 2006.  The age analysis excludes graduate students and graduate hours because graduate students tend to be older and take the largest share of Distance Education hours.

Table IV

In Table IV, we see that men take slightly more Distance Education hours, as do traditionally under-represented minorities.  In terms of significant differences, international students take very few Distance Education hours and their share decreased through time.  However, the main driver appears to be age; the older the student, the more Distance Education hours they take.  This may be because very few 100-level courses are taught through Distance Education and because older students are likely to be fitting education into their busier working and family lives than traditional freshmen. 

Next month’s Did You Know will focus on the performance of students taking Distance Education courses.  And, if a metric can be devised, it is important to know why Non Degree Seeking students take such a high proportion of hours through Distance Education.  The competing theories are that 1) Non Degree Seeking students prefer taking the courses and are not forced to take On Campus hours to fill degree requirements and 2) that Non Degree Seeking students register for classes last and that the only remaining courses are Distance Education.

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