By Stephen Moore Moore Full Capstone.… · THE DEMAND FOR AND INNOVATIONS IN ONLINE EDUCATION: A...

THE DEMAND FOR AND INNOVATIONS IN ONLINE EDUCATION: A STUDY OF ONLINE EDUCATION IN THE UNC SYSTEM

By

Stephen Moore

This paper represents work done by an UNC-Chapel Hill Master’s of Public Administration student. It is not a formal report of the School of Government, nor is it

the work of School of Government Faculty.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: Higher education is in the midst of a significant transition, brought on by the rapid growth of for-profit universities, the development of transformative teaching technologies, and the advent of Massive Online Open Courses (MOOCs). Responding to this shift, this Capstone explores the budding online market in North Carolina and the UNC system while identifying potential business models, best practices, and legal hurdles in U.S. public university systems. It culminates with guidance on policy and administrative changes that would best position the UNC System to meet future demand.

1

PURPOSE AND RESEARCH QUESTION Change is coming to higher education. New business models and the probing of core principles are challenging universities across the country. Online education further challenges the traditional university model by increasing access to campuses and altering cost structures for the delivery of knowledge. The advent of Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) and other online innovations are pressing universities to reassess the needs and market for higher education in their traditional footprint. The UNC system similarly is interested in the current market for online courses in North Carolina. This capstone provides clarity through analysis of UNC’s online course delivery and enrollment records, ultimately answering the following research question: What is the current market for online education in the UNC system and what issues could impact UNC in developing its online capacity and strategy? LITERATURE REVIEW Certain factors must be assessed to provide context for this capstone, including: potential business models, market trends, best practices, and legal considerations. Business Models and Market Trends Two business models currently dominate higher education: (1) the traditional not-for-profit model that focuses on research, service, and teaching – providing flexibility and autonomy by placing program and course design responsibilities primarily with faculty; and (2) the newer for-profit model which emphasizes skill development through teaching – standardizing and formalizing program and course design by placing design responsibilities with the administration.1 North Carolina’s traditional model prioritizes teaching, learning, and critical thinking while the for-profit model prioritizes market demands and the economical transmission of basic knowledge and skills. Online education has long been a priority of the UNC system, with North Carolinians ranking it their highest desire from the system in the 2007 UNC Tomorrow report.2 MOOCs are the latest variation on online education, first appearing in 2011 when Stanford Professor Sebastian Thrun digitized and opened his “Introduction to Artificial Intelligence” course to the masses, attracting more than 160,000 individuals in more than 190 countries.3 Distinct from typical online education, MOOCs are often free, credit-less, and accommodate enormous enrollment. More than $119 million in venture capital has flowed into MOOC start-ups such as edX, Udacity, and Coursera,4 including from commercial groups such as Google and Microsoft.5 To improve its online offerings, UNC should look to a variety of innovations percolating among MOOCs. The MOOC business model is similarly split into two primary business models: the not-for-profit model exemplified by edX and the for-profit model exemplified by Coursera and Udacity.6 With each, any certification of completion requires the payment of a fee.7 To boost revenues, Coursera’s business model seeks profits through secure assessments, employee recruitment, applicant screening, human tutoring or assignment marking, sponsorships, and tuition and fees.8 Udacity’s business model seeks profit through a resume and job matching service, sponsored high-tech skills

2

courses, and payment by employers for recruitment of student talent.9 Currently, Udacity offers 33 courses,10 edX offers 133 courses in partnership with 31 institutions,11 and Coursera offers 602 courses in partnership with 98 institutions.12 An intriguing, non-MOOC financial model comes from Duolingo, creator of a free language-learning site.13 Instead of charging users for the language lessons, Duolingo trains its more than 9 million users in the given language and then uses their skills to translate texts for third parties. For instance, a newspaper company looking to translate its paper from English to Spanish would pay Duolingo to have its users crowd-translate the paper through the lessons and games in the program. A key component of each business model is the use of data to learn how we learn. By opening courses to massive student enrollment, each group independently collects data and develops valuable insights on online education at minimal costs.14 These insights can be used in an altruistic effort to better disseminate information but perhaps more notably to traditional universities, it can also be used to improve teaching methods that are more successful or at least more efficient than traditional efforts. At that point, their efforts may become less open and more costly. In the information age, learning how we learn is quite the valuable commodity. One analysis predicts that by 2015, the global online education market will be valued at $107 billion.15 Best Practices Among Other Public University Systems Public university systems are beginning to implement holistic approaches to online education. In the fall of 2012, the University of Texas system joined edX in creating MOOCs, contributing approximately $5 million to the nonprofit partnership.16 The system hopes to develop low-level courses of sufficient quality that system schools will give their students credit for course completion and may begin to accept credit for completion of other edX courses.17 The system would charge students for credits earned, potentially at a below-market rate if course development proves to be less expensive than traditional course development.18 Texas reportedly will keep 100 percent of the profits collected from the MOOCs it creates.19 The University of California system began the system-wide UC Online Education (UCOE) program in January of 2012 and currently offers twenty-five online courses for credit from six separate campuses.20 UCOE’s courses “undergo extensive institutional and peer review, in many cases exceeding that required for face-to-face instruction.”21 Students are charged fees equivalent to the per-unit rate of in-state tuition.22 UC collects and analyzes its own data through the UC Educational Evaluation Center located at UC Santa Barbara.23 UCOE was initially funded with a $6.9 million, interest-free loan from the UC Office of the President and a $750,000 grant from Next Generation Learning Challenges.24 While some UC campuses are involved with Coursera and edX in creating MOOCs, UCOE currently has no plans to create its own MOOCs.25 Beyond UCOE, UC campuses offered more than 2,500 online courses in the 2011-12 academic year.26 In May of 2013, Coursera contracted with ten public systems: the State University of New York, the Tennessee Board of Regents, the University of Tennessee, the University

3

of Colorado, the University of Houston, the University of Kentucky, the University of Nebraska, the University of New Mexico, the University System of Georgia, and West Virginia University.27 The contracts are a notable shift as Coursera moved to guarantee academic credit for the courses offered.28 The Kentucky contract charges the university a flat rate of $3,000 for course development and then a per student rate of $25 for the first 500 students that enroll, $15 for the next 500, and $8 per student thereafter.29 A similar tiered system exists for the use of courses not created by the particular institution.30 Legal Considerations State and federal law and UNC policies restrict potential strategies for UNC in developing its online capacity. If federal grants or other federal dollars are used to fund the creation of online courses, any patents arising from their creation “may be controlled by the terms of the grants and contracts specified by the government agency pursuant to Federal law.”31 A creator of “any new and useful process, . . . or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof, may obtain a patent therefor[.]”32 If, instead, the development of online courses is financed by a nongovernmental entity, the Board of Governors requires the University to ensure certain provisions are included in the funding contract.33 “Constituent institutions should normally reserve the right to ownership of patents or inventions arising out of research supported in whole or in part of grants or contracts with nongovernmental organizations or firms.”34 Creators of works are typically deemed to have copyright ownership rights of the work that they created.35 Ownership rights include, inter alia, the right to do and authorize: (1) reproduction of the copyrighted work; (2) prepare derivative works; and (3) distribute copies to the public by sale or transfer of ownership.36 However, UNC may maintain some ownership rights if the work is a directed work, a sponsored work requiring university ownership, or a work for hire as described in a written agreement between the Institution and the creator of the work.37 Universities may be moving too quickly in partnering with third party companies such as Udacity, Coursera, and edX and overlooking state bidding obligations that require an open process for the purchase of goods or services.38 Universities may not be required to follow state-mandated bidding processes if there are no upfront costs to universities, the agreements made are non-exclusive, they do not expect to make a profit from the venture, or the third party companies are not providing products or services to the university.39 Still, some features offered by MOOCs are similar to features offered by third party vendors, such as Blackboard and Sakai, that require an open bidding process.40 And some universities and university systems are indeed paying significant sums for services provided, such as the $2 million partnership between Georgia Tech and Udacity.41 METHODOLOGY To determine the market for online education in the UNC system, I analyzed UNC course records from 2008 to 2012 to determine which campuses offered online courses, growth in course offerings, and growth in enrollment. I projected enrollment growth through trendline analysis. Through linear regressions, I compared face-to-face and online course offerings with enrollment to model the relationship between each.

4

FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS The UNC System – A Demand Analysis UNC’s course offerings and student enrollment grew each year from 2008 through 2012. UNC offered 244,584 courses in more than thirty subject areas, of which 20,456 were online courses – or approximately 8.4 percent. Online course enrollment totaled more than 350,000 students,42 growing from 54,354 in 2008 to 86,242 in 2012. About ninety percent of all online courses were provided asynchronously and fully online.

ECU is the largest UNC provider of online courses with 4,805 courses from 2008 through 2012, nearly twice as many as the next largest provider, NCSU, at 2,548. ECU also enrolled the most students, totaling 79,755 in five years. UNC schools offered the most courses on education at 5,045 individual courses from 2008 to 2012. Health professions, business, and social science classes were the next most commonly offered, mirroring the courses with the highest total enrollment. See Appendix B for campus profiles.

Linear regression analysis shows that most UNC campuses have a weak relationship between the courses they offer face-to-face and those they offer online. However, ECSU, NCSU, UNC-CH, and WSSU each demonstrate a considerably stronger relationship. A much stronger relationship exists between the courses offered online and enrollment in those courses with the notable exception of NCSU and UNC-G. See Appendices C, D.

3,500

4,000

4,500

5,000

2008 2009 2010 2011 2012

Course Offering Growth

50,000 60,000 70,000 80,000 90,000

2008 2009 2010 2011 2012

Student Enrollment Growth

1,789 1,857

1,872

2,548 4,805

7,585

Courses Offered by Campus

WCU

UNC-‐CH

UNC-‐G

NCSU

ECU

Other

23,554 24,505

42,499

49,269 79,755

130,643

Student Enrollment by Campus

WCU

UNC-‐W

UNC-‐G

NCSU

ECU

Other

R² = 0.96142 0

50,000

100,000

0 2,000 4,000 6,000

UNC: Online vs. Enrollment

R² = 0.32303

0

2,000

4,000

6,000

0 10,000 20,000 30,000

UNC: Face-‐to-‐Face vs. Online

5

Enrollment is projected to grow 10.6 percent annually based on trend analysis of annual student enrollment growth in online courses at each campus in the UNC system. The analysis excluded UNC Asheville, UNC School of the Arts, and the North Carolina School of Science and Math as these campuses offered in total less than ten online courses each, also failing to offer online courses each year from 2008 through 2012. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS Online education is a growing piece of what the UNC system offers to North Carolinians. UNC has a breadth of experience in online education due to sizeable enrollment at schools such as ECU and NCSU and diverse course offerings from health professions and education to computer science and math. Some campuses, such as UNC-CH and NCSU, offer online courses that strongly correlate with the courses they offer face-to-face while others, such as UNC-G and NCCU, appear to emphasize unique courses in their online repertoire. Online enrollment on most campuses mirrors the courses offered, though NCSU and UNC-G each have a notably weaker relationship between the two. In meeting projected market growth, I believe UNC campuses can use their notably unique online experiences to provide one another with valuable insights on determining which courses to offer, how best to develop those courses, and potential pitfalls to avoid. UNC campuses share the same primary purpose of teaching, a mission critical for the growth and development of the people of North Carolina. Through the development of online courses, UNC has the unique opportunity to develop new, more effective teaching methods that can translate to the traditional brick and mortar classrooms. With the potential to enroll significantly more students online in typical online courses as well as MOOCs, UNC has a larger potential population it can use to rapidly test and adapt teaching innovations. Coordinating at the system level will allow a holistic approach, finding quicker, more efficient methods. Most critical to this effort is the analysis of online course data to determine how students best learn. This data can guide UNC’s efforts for decades and must be maintained and protected against third parties. To begin, UNC’s future efforts should focus on: UNC course enrollment totals compared to total seat availability; campus offerings by degree level; costs and potential efficiencies for creating online courses; the private and non-state school online market in North Carolina; Internet access in North Carolina and its impact on the state’s market; UNC campus policies and structures that enhance and hinder online growth; and online teaching structures for MOOCs, flipped classrooms, and other innovations.

y = 9E-‐90e0.1061x

0

2,500

5,000

7,500

10,000

12,500

15,000

17,500

2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 Num

ber of Students Enrolled

(per institution)

Projected Enrollment Growth of 10.6%

6

1 (Rubin) 2 (University of North Carolina Tomorrow Commission 35) 3 (Yuan and Powell 6) 4 (Yuan and Powell 7-8) 5 (Yuan and Powell 9) 6 (Yuan and Powell 7) 7 (Yuan and Powell 10) 3 (Yuan and Powell 6) 4 (Yuan and Powell 7-8) 5 (Yuan and Powell 9) 6 (Yuan and Powell 7) 7 (Yuan and Powell 10) 8 (Yuan and Powell 10) 9 (Yuan and Powell 10) 10 (Udacity) 11 (edX) 12 (Coursera) 13 (Simonite) 14 (Yuan and Powell 9) 15 (Yuan and Powell 10) 16 (Kolowich) 17 (Kolowich) 18 (Kolowich) 19 (Kolowich) 20 (University of California Office of the President) 21 (University of California Office of the President) 22 (University of California Office of the President) 23 (University of California Office of the President) 24 (University of California Office of the President) 25 (University of California Office of the President) 26 (University of California Office of the President) 27 (Coursera) 28 (Kolowich, In Deals with 10 Public Universities, Coursera Bids for Role in Credit Courses) 29 (Kolowich, In Deals with 10 Public Universities, Coursera Bids for Role in Credit Courses) 30 (Kolowich, In Deals with 10 Public Universities, Coursera Bids for Role in Credit Courses) 31 UNC Board of Governors, The Policy Manual: Patent and Copyright Policies 500.2 VI (Feb. 9 2001). 32 35 U.S.C. § 101. Process is defined as “process, art or method, and includes a new use of a known process, machine, manufacture, composition of matter, or material. 35 U.S.C. § 100. 33 Id. (“The University must ensure that its facilities and the results of the work of its employees are applied in a manner which best serves the interests of the public.

7

Likewise, the legitimate interests of a private sponsor who provides financial or other support to research carried out through the constituent institutions must be considered.”). 34 Id. (“Contracts or agreements which are entered into between institutions and such organizations or agencies should contain clauses setting forth such a reservation unless deviations therefrom are requested by the sponsor and approved by the institution consistent with the public interest.”). Specifically, the contract may include special provisions that the institution retains the right to use the invention for its own research, educational, and service purposes without payments of royalty fees, that the institution requires the sponsor to use due diligence in the commercial use of the invention, and that the institution retains the right freely to publish the results of its research after a reasonable period necessary to protect the right of the parties and to allow for the filing of a patent application. Id. 35 UNC Board of Governors, The Policy Manual: Patent and Copyright Policies 500.2 XII (Feb. 9 2001). 36 See 17 U.S.C. §106 (2013). 37 UNC Board of Governors, The Policy Manual: Patent and Copyright Policies 500.2 XII (Feb. 9 2001). 38 See Ry Rivard, No-Bid MOOCs, INSIDE HIGHER ED (July 17, 2013), http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2013/07/17/moocs-spread-quickly-aided-no-bid-deals-public-universities. 39 Id. Georgia Tech, for example, claims that they are “not purchasing any goods or services under the agreement” with Udacity and that “[t]he collaboration was established to provide an educational opportunity that previously didn’t exist.” Id. (quoting Georgia Tech university spokesman Jason Maderer). 40 Id. 41 Id. According to University of Texas System Chancellor Francisco Cigarroa, “[t]he $5 million investment in the platform was determined to be a better value than the costs associated with developing our own platform, and because the implementation will include input from us, it will result in a product superior to a ‘purchased’ platform from a private vendor.” Id. 42 The data analyzed provides enrollment for all courses in which more than three students are enrolled but for privacy concerns does not list the number of students enrolled if it is three or more. Due to the uncertainty of the number of students enrolled in these classes, I chose to not guess at enrollment figures for these small courses.

APPENDIX A - DEFINITIONS A “directed work” is work done by faculty or EPA non-faculty employees and “include[s] works that are specifically funded or created at the direction of the Institution.”1 If a directed work, the Institution retains ownership rights with the creator of the work potentially given a Shop Right in a written agreement.2 A written agreement granting joint ownership can also be negotiated.3 A “sponsored or contracted work” is work done by faculty or EPA non-faculty employees and “is any type of copyrighted work developed using funds supplied under a contract, grant, or other arrangement between the Institution and third parties, including sponsored research agreements.”4 If a sponsored or contracted work, ownership rights will be determined by written agreement between the parties.5 If the written agreement does not specify that the Institution or a third party retain ownership rights, then the creator of the work by default retains ownership rights.6 “Work for hire” is work done by SPA staff that is performed “within the scope of his or her employment” or work “commissioned for use as a contribution to a collective work . . . if the parties expressly agree in a written instrument signed by them[.]”7 This includes works by independent contractors.8 The Institution retains ownership rights unless otherwise negotiated into an agreement prior to the creation of the work.9

1 UNC Board of Governors, The Policy Manual: Patent and Copyright Policies 500.2 XII (Feb. 9 2001). 2 Id. 3 Id. 4 Id. 5 Id. 6 Id. 7 UNC Board of Governors, The Policy Manual: Patent and Copyright Policies 500.2 XII (Feb. 9 2001). 8 Id. 9 Id.

APPENDIX B

i

UNC SYSTEM

Enrollment • Enrollment in UNC courses

grew from 54,345 students to 2008 to 86,242 in 2012

• UNC students were enrolled most at ECU, NCSU, UNC-G, UNC-W, and WCU

0

2,000

4,000

6,000

2008 2009 2010 2011 2012

Total Courses

1,789 1,857

1,872

2,548 4,805

7,585

Courses Offered

WCU

UNC-‐CH

UNC-‐G

NCSU

ECU

Other

Courses Offered • UNC offered 20,456 online

courses from 2008 through 2012, peaking at 4,878 in 2012

• UNC’s major online course offerings are from ECU, NCSU, UNC-G, UNC-CH, and WCU

23,554 24,505

42,499

49,269 79,755

130,643

Total Enrollment

WCU

UNC-‐W

UNC-‐G

NCSU

ECU

Other

0 20,000 40,000 60,000 80,000 100,000

2008 2009 2010 2011 2012

Enrollment Growth

APPENDIX B

ii

UNC SYSTEM

504 530 609

658 747

970

1,061

1,700

2,984 5,045

5,648

Subjects Offered

Psychology

Visual & Perf. Arts

Eng. Tech

Engineering

Computer Science

English

Social Sciences

Business

Health Professions

Education

Other

10,041 10,570 10,658

12,387

13,529 14,008

17,442

34,755

52,322 70,415

104,098

Total Enrollment

Visual & Perf. Arts

Liberal Arts

Math

Psychology

English

Computer Science

Social Science

Business

Health Professions

Education

Other

Subjects Offered • UNC offered online

courses in 32 subjects from 2008 to 2012

• UNC’s primary online course offerings were in Education, Health Professions, Business, and Social Sciences

Subject Enrollment • Enrollment in UNC

courses mostly mirrored the subjects offered with primary enrollment in Education, Health Professions, and Business classes

• Some subjects saw higher enrollment than would be expected based on the number of courses offered, including Computer Science, Math, and Liberal Arts

APPENDIX B

iii

APPALACHIAN STATE UNIVERSITY

Enrollment

• Enrollment in ASU courses grew from 277 students in 2008 to 2,428 in 2012

• Students enrolled most in Education courses, followed by Computer Science, Visual & Performing Arts, Business, and Library Science

0

50

100

150

200

2008 2010 2011 2012

Total Courses Offered (2009 Data Missing)

16 24 25

36

83

178

Courses Offered (2009 Data Missing)

Social Sciences

Library Science

Business

Computer Science

Other

Education

Courses Offered • ASU offered 362 online

courses from 2008 through 2012, peaking at 152 in 2012

• ASU’s major online course offerings include Education, Computer Science, Business, Library Science, and Social Sciences

0

1,000

2,000

3,000

2008 2010 2011 2012

Enrollment Growth (2009 Data Missing)

296 319 385

1,050

1,482

2,488

Total Enrollment (2009 Data Missing)

Library Science

Business

Visual & Perf. Arts

Computer Science

Other

Education

APPENDIX B

iv

ELIZABETH CITY STATE UNIVERSITY

Enrollment

• Enrollment in ECSU courses grew from 1,330 students in 2008 to 2,074 in 2012

• Students enrolled most in History courses, followed by English, Psychology, and Security Services

60

70

80

90

100

2008 2009 2010 2011 2012

Total Courses Offered

569 625

915

1,059 2,139

2,824

Total Enrollment

Security Svcs

Psychology

English

History

Other

Education

1,000

1,500

2,000

2,500

2008 2009 2010 2011 2012

Enrollment Growth

22 32

40

46

99

154

Courses Offered

Psychology

Business

English

History

Other

Education

Courses Offered • ECSU offered 393 online


• ECSU’s major online course offerings include Education, History, English, Business, and Psychology

APPENDIX B

v

EAST CAROLINA UNIVERSITY

Enrollment

• Enrollment in ECU courses grew from 14,450 students in 2008 to 16,439 in 2012

• Students enrolled most in Education courses, followed by Health Professions, Business, Engineering Tech, and Computer Science

920

940

960

980

2008 2009 2010 2011 2012

Courses Offered

330 401

611

904 1,257

1,302

Courses Offered

English

Eng. Tech

Business

Health Professions

Education

Other

13,000

14,000

15,000

16,000

17,000

2008 2009 2010 2011 2012

Enrollment Growth

4,512 5,446

12,754

14,771

18,748

23,524

Total Enrollment

Computer Science

Eng. Tech

Business

Health Professions

Education

Other

Courses Offered • ECU offered 4,805 online


• ECU’s major online course offerings include Education, Health Professions, Business, Engineering Tech, and English

APPENDIX B

vi

FAYETTEVILLE STATE UNIVERSITY

Enrollment

• Enrollment in FSU courses grew from 2,305 students in 2008 to 4,231 in 2012

• Students enrolled most in Education courses, followed by Psychology, Social Science, Security Services, and Business

75 90

97

129 172

214

Courses Offered

Health Professions

Social Sciences

Psychology

Security Svcs

Other

Education

1,702

2,259

2,262

2,510

3,384

3,932

Total Enrollment

Business

Security Svcs

Social Science

Psychology

Other

Education

0 1,000 2,000 3,000 4,000 5,000

2008 2009 2010 2011 2012

Enrollment Growth

0

50

100

150

200

250

2008 2009 2010 2011 2012

Courses Offered

Courses Offered • FSU offered 777 online


• FSU’s major online course offerings include Education, Security Services, Psychology, Social Sciences, and Health Professions

APPENDIX B

vii

NORTH CAROLINA A&T STATE UNIVERSITY

Enrollment

• Enrollment in NCA&T courses grew from 2,224 students in 2008 to 3,649 in 2012

• Students enrolled most in Education courses, followed by Psychology, Business, English, and Engineering Tech

0 50 100 150 200 250

2008 2009 2010 2011 2012

Courses Offered

44 54 64

94

272

323

Courses Offered

Psychology

English

Business

Eng. Tech

Education

Other

0

1,000

2,000

3,000

4,000

2008 2009 2010 2011 2012

Enrollment Growth

1,076 1,076

1,386

1,411 4,710

6,557

Total Enrollment

Eng. Tech

English

Business

Psychology

Education

Other

Courses Offered • NCA&T offered 851 online


• NCA&T’s major online course offerings include Education, Engineering Tech, Business, English, and Psychology

APPENDIX B

viii

NORTH CAROLINA CENTRAL UNIVERSITY

Enrollment • Enrollment in NCCU courses

grew from 1,633 students in 2008 to 3,990 in 2012

• Students enrolled most in Library Science courses, followed by Education, Family & Consumer Sciences, Business, and Visual & Performing Arts

0

100

200

300

2008 2009 2010 2011 2012

Courses Offered

43 75

118

135 155

260

Courses Offered

Visual & Perf. Arts

Business

Fam. & Consumer Sciences

Library Science

Education

Other

0

2,000

4,000

6,000

2008 2009 2010 2011 2012

Enrollment Growth

818 1,116

2,039

2,072 2,496

4,699

Total Enrollment

Visual & Perf. Arts

Business

Fam. & Consumer Sciences

Education

Library Science

Other

Courses Offered • NCCU offered 786 online


• NCCU’s major online course offerings include Education, Library Science, Family & Consumer Sciences, Business, and Visual & Performing Arts

APPENDIX B

ix

NORTH CAROLINA STATE UNIVERSITY

Enrollment • Enrollment in NCSU courses


• Students enrolled most in Engineering courses, followed by English, Education, Biology, and Multidisciplinary Studies

143 202

269

340

607

987

Courses Offered

Computer Science

English

Agriculture

Education

Engineering

Other

0

5,000

10,000

15,000

2008 2009 2010 2011 2012

Enrollment Growth

4,006 4,319

4,518

4,619

5,134

26,673

Total Enrollment

Multidisciplinary

Biology

Education

English

Engineering

Other

0

200

400

600

800

2008 2009 2010 2011 2012

Courses Offered

Courses Offered • NCSU offered 2,548 online


• NCSU’s major online course offerings include Engineering, Education, Agriculture, English, and Computer Science

APPENDIX B

x

UNC CHAPEL HILL

Enrollment

• Enrollment in UNC-CH courses grew from 3,809 students in 2008 to 4,474 in 2012, peaking at 5,591 in 2009

• Students enrolled most in Health Profession courses, followed by Foreign Language, Natural Resources, Business, and Social Sciences

88 108

114

239

634

675

Courses Offered

Visual & Perf. Arts

Business

Foreign Language

Social Sciences

Health Professions

Other

1,166 1,241 1,267

1,453

4,465 11,149

Total Enrollment

Social Sciences

Business

Natural Resources

Foreign Language

Other

Health Professions

0

200

400

600

2008 2009 2010 2011 2012

Courses Offered

0

2,000

4,000

6,000

2008 2009 2010 2011 2012

Enrollment Growth

Courses Offered • UNC-CH offered 1,858 online


• UNC-CH’s major online course offerings include Health Professions, Social Sciences, Foreign Language, Business, and Visual & Performing Arts

APPENDIX B

xi

UNC CHARLOTTE

Enrollment • Enrollment in UNC-C courses


• Students enrolled most in Education courses, followed by Health Professions, Liberal Arts, Psychology, and Foreign Language

0 100 200 300 400

2008 2009 2010 2011 2012


33 59 64

133

185

311

Courses Offered

Liberal Arts

Eng. Tech

Foreign Language

Health Professions

Other

Education

0 2,000 4,000 6,000 8,000 10,000

2008 2009 2010 2011 2012

Enrollment Growth

1,553 1,622

2,717

3,349 5,184

6,513

Total Enrollment

Foreign Language

Psychology

Liberal Arts

Health Professions

Education

Other

Courses Offered • UNC-C offered 785 online


• UNC-C’s major online course offerings include Education, Health Professions, Foreign Language, Engineering Tech, and Liberal Arts

APPENDIX B

xii

UNC GREENSBORO

Enrollment • Enrollment in UNC-G courses


• Students enrolled most in Health Profession courses, followed by Math, Business, Liberal Arts, and Education

0 100 200 300 400 500

2008 2009 2010 2011 2012


114 163

237 237

270

851

Courses Offered

Library Science

Business

Education

Liberal Arts

Health Professions

Other

3,956 4,149

4,559

4,611 7,060

18,164

Total Enrollment

Education

Liberal Arts

Business

Math

Health Professions

Other

0

5,000

10,000

15,000

2008 2009 2010 2011 2012

Enrollment Growth

Courses Offered • UNC-G offered 1,872 online


• UNC-G’s major online course offerings include Health Professions, Liberal Arts, Education, Business, and Library Science

APPENDIX B

xiii

UNC PEMBROKE

Enrollment

• Enrollment in UNC-P courses grew from 3,347 students in 2008 to 4,177 in 2012

• Students enrolled most in Education courses, followed by Business, Social Science, Public Administration, and Security Services

0

100

200

300

2008 2009 2010 2011 2012


59

85

117

146 236

292

Courses Offered

Security Svcs

Social Sciences

Public Administration

Business

Education

Other

0

2,000

4,000

6,000

2008 2009 2010 2011 2012

Enrollment Growth

785 1,303

1,528

3,008 4,031

4,741

Total Enrollment

Security Svcs


Social Science

Business

Education

Other

Courses Offered • UNC-P offered 935 online


• UNC-P’s major online course offerings include Education, Business, Public Administration, Social Sciences, and Security Services

APPENDIX B

xiv

UNC WILMINGTON

Enrollment

• Enrollment in UNC-W courses shrank from 5,649 students in 2008 to 4,190 in 2012

• Students enrolled most in Education courses, followed by Health Professions, Social Science, Computer Science, and Business

0

200

400

600

2008 2009 2010 2011 2012


37 37 56

106

208

313 831

Courses Offered

Multidisciplinary

Psychology

Physical Sciences

Social Science

Health Professions

Other

0

2,000

4,000

6,000

8,000

2008 2009 2010 2011 2012

Enrollment Growth

972 1,096

2,387

3,765

6,565

9,720

Total Enrollment

Business

Computer Science

Social Science

Health Professions

Other

Education

Courses Offered • UNC-W offered 1,588 online


• UNC-W’s major online course offerings include Health Professions, Social Science, Physical Science, Psychology, and Multidisciplinary Studies

APPENDIX B

xv

WESTERN CAROLINA UNIVERSITY

Enrollment

• Enrollment in WCU courses shrank from 5,242 students in 2008 to 5,076 in 2012

• Students enrolled most in Health Professions courses, followed by Education, Business, Liberal Arts, and Security Services

0

200

400

600

2008 2009 2010 2011 2012


72 94 213

279

473

658

Courses Offered


Security Svcs

Business

Other

Health Professions

Education

0

2,000

4,000

6,000

2008 2009 2010 2011 2012

Enrollment Growth

1,920 2,605

2,653

4,054 5,867

6,455

Total Enrollment

Security Svcs

Liberal Arts

Business

Other

Education

Health Professions

Courses Offered • WCU offered 1,789 online


• WCU’s major online course offerings include Education, Health Professions, Business, Security Services, and Public Administration

APPENDIX B

xvi

WINSTON SALEM STATE UNIVERSITY

Enrollment

• Enrollment in WSSU courses grew from 2,353 students in 2008 to 3,338 in 2012

• Students enrolled most in Health Professions courses, followed by Education, Social Sciences, Business, and English

0

100

200

300

2008 2009 2010 2011 2012


79 107

149

159 178

421

Courses Offered

Psychology

English

Social Sciences

Education

Health Professions

Other

0

1,000

2,000

3,000

4,000

2008 2009 2010 2011 2012

Enrollment Growth

1,168 1,184

1,384

1,861 3,088

5,109

Total Enrollment

English

Business

Social Sciences

Education

Health Professions

Other

Courses Offered • WSSU offered 1,093 online


• WSSU’s major online course offerings include Health Professions, Education, Social Sciences, English, and Psychology

APPENDIX B

xvii

UNC ASHEVILLE

Courses Offered UNC-A offered eight online courses from 2008 through 2012, peaking at five in 2011 UNC-A’s major online course offerings include Education, Math, and Visual & Performing Arts

Enrollment Enrollment in UNC-A courses was 50 students in 2011 and 47 in 2012

NORTH CAROLINA SCHOOL OF

SCIENCE AND MATH

Courses Offered NCSSM offered six online courses from 2008 through 2012, peaking at three in 2011 and 2012

NCSSM’s major online course offerings include Physical Sciences, Biology, English, and Multidisciplinary Studies

Enrollment Enrollment in NCSSM courses was sixteen students in 2012

UNC SCHOOL OF THE ARTS

Courses Offered UNC-SA offered one online course from 2008 through 2012, offering it in 2012 UNC-SA’s only online course offering was in Visual & Performing Arts Enrollment Enrollment in UNC-SA courses was five students in 2012

Appendix C

i

FACE-TO-FACE VS. ONLINE COURSE COMPARISON

Online course offerings in UNC-system schools often grow naturally out of the courses already offered by each campus. For instance, a linear regression analysis comparing face-to-face and online courses offered by each campus suggests that some schools, such as ECSU, NCSU, UNC-CH, and WSSU, offer online courses based on those they offer face-to-face. However, the analysis shows that the majority of UNC campuses could not explain the variance in online courses offered by the face-to-face courses each offered.

R² = 0.38438

-‐50

0

50

100

150

200

0 1,000 2,000 3,000

ASU

R² = 0.50697

-‐50

0

50

100

150

200

0 200 400 600 800

ECSU

R² = 0.33914

0

500

1000

1500

0 1,000 2,000 3,000 4,000

ECU

R² = 0.38873

-‐100

0

100

200

300

0 200 400 600 800 1,000

FSU

R² = 0.21157

0

100

200

300

0 500 1,000 1,500 2,000

NCA&T

R² = 0.09234

0

50

100

150

200

0 500 1,000 1,500

NCCU

R² = 0.32303

0

2000

4000

6000

0 10,000 20,000 30,000

UNC System

Appendix C

ii

R² = 0.71842

-‐200 0

200 400 600 800

0 2,000 4,000 6,000

NCSU

R² = 0.69851

-‐200 0

200 400 600 800

0 2,000 4,000 6,000

UNC-‐CH

* NCSSM, UNC-A, and UNC-SA were not included in the analysis as each recorded too few online courses for full analysis.

R² = 0.11084

0

100

200

300

400

0 500 1,000 1,500 2,000

UNC-‐C

R² = 0.01996

0

100

200

300

0 1,000 2,000 3,000 4,000 5,000

UNC-‐G

R² = 0.22113

0

100

200

300

400

0 500 1,000 1,500

UNC-‐P

R² = 0.10794

-‐200 0

200 400 600 800 1000

0 500 1,000 1,500 2,000

UNC-‐W

R² = 0.28408

-‐200

0

200

400

600

800

0 500 1,000 1,500 2,000

WCU

R² = 0.57367

0

50

100

150

200

0 500 1,000 1,500

WSSU

APPENDIX D

i

ONLINE COURSE OFFERINGS VS. ENROLLMENT COMPARISON

A simple linear regression analysis comparing the number of courses offered per subject area and the subsequent enrollment in those subject areas shows that in the great majority of UNC campuses, the number of courses offered almost perfectly explains student enrollment. Here, R2 is the amount of variance in enrollment that can be explained by the number of courses offered per subject area, with an R2 of one illustrating perfect symmetry between courses offered and enrollment. Curiously, NCSU and UNC-G show markedly lower R2 values, suggesting something else exists that would aid in explaining the variance.

.

R² = 0.96142

0

50,000

100,000

0 2,000 4,000 6,000

UNC System

R² = 0.94359

0

1,000

2,000

3,000

0 50 100 150 200

ASU

R² = 0.97539

0 1,000 2,000 3,000 4,000

0 50 100 150 200

ECSU

R² = 0.95809

0

10,000

20,000

30,000

0 500 1,000 1,500

ECU

R² = 0.95951

0

2000

4000

6000

0 50 100 150 200 250

FSU

R² = 0.93108

0

2,000

4,000

6,000

0 100 200 300

NCA&T

R² = 0.94241

0

1,000

2,000

3,000

0 50 100 150 200

NCCU

APPENDIX D

ii

* NCSSM, UNC-A, and UNC-SA were not included in the analysis as each recorded too few online courses for full analysis.

R² = 0.61222

0

2,000

4,000

6,000

8,000

0 200 400 600 800

NCSU

R² = 0.91433

-‐5,000

0

5,000

10,000

15,000

0 200 400 600 800

UNC-‐CH

R² = 0.81012

0

2,000

4,000

6,000

0 100 200 300 400

UNC-‐C

R² = 0.74534

0

2,000

4,000

6,000

8,000

0 100 200 300

UNC-‐G

R² = 0.95058

-‐2,000

0

2,000

4,000

6,000

0 50 100 150 200 250

UNC-‐P

R² = 0.96566

0

5,000

10,000

15,000

0 200 400 600 800 1,000

UNC-‐W

R² = 0.88416

0

2,000

4,000

6,000

8,000

0 200 400 600 800

WCU

R² = 0.86292

0

1,000

2,000

3,000

4,000

0 50 100 150 200

WSSU

Appendix E

BIBLIOGRAPHY Coursera. Coursera Blog: 10 US State University Systems and Public Institutions Join Coursera to Explore MOOC-based Learning and Collaboration on Campus. 29 May 2013. 3 February 2014 <http://blog.coursera.org/post/51696469860/10-us-state-university-systems-and-public-institutions>. —. Courses. 3 February 2014. 3 February 2014 <https://www.coursera.org/courses>. edX. Courses. 3 February 2014. 3 February 2014 <https://www.edx.org/course-list>. Kolowich, Steve. In Deals with 10 Public Universities, Coursera Bids for Role in Credit Courses. 30 May 2013. 3 February 2014 <http://chronicle.com/article/In-Deals-With-10-Public/139533/>. —. Texas MOOCs for Credit? 16 October 2012. 3 February 2014 <http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2012/10/16/u-texas-aims-use-moocs-reduce-costs-increase-completion>. Rubin, Beth. "University Business Models and Online Practices: A Third Way." Online Journal of Distance Learning Administration XV.1 (2013): http://www.westga.edu/~distance/ojdla/spring161/rubin.html. Simonite, Tom. The Cleverest Business Model in Online Education. 29 November 2012. 2 February 2014 <http://www.technologyreview.com/news/506656/the-cleverest-business-model-in-online-education/>. Udacity. Course Catalog. 3 February 2014. 3 February 2014 <https://www.udacity.com/courses#!/All>. University of California Office of the President. UC Online Education: Frequently Asked Questions. 3 February 2014. 3 February 2014 <http://www.ucop.edu/uconline/about/uc-online-education-faqs.html>. —. UC Online: Course List. 3 February 2014. 3 February 2014 <http://www.ucop.edu/uconline/about/course-list.html>. University of North Carolina Tomorrow Commission. Final Report. Chapel Hill, 2007. Yuan, Li and Stephen Powell. MOOCs and Open Education: Implications for Higher Education. White Paper. Centre for Educational Technology & Interoperability Standards. United Kingdom: JISC Cetis, 2013.

By Stephen Moore Moore Full Capstone.… · THE DEMAND FOR AND INNOVATIONS IN ONLINE EDUCATION: A...

Documents

Transcript of By Stephen Moore Moore Full Capstone.… · THE DEMAND FOR AND INNOVATIONS IN ONLINE EDUCATION: A...