EDUCAUSE Research in E-Learning

July 31, 2013

Susan Grajek, EDUCAUSE Vice President

Topics 1. Interest in e-learning

2. Who benefits?

3. Delivering e-learning services

4. Challenges

5. A MOOC moment

6. Making headway with e-learning

POLL:

Compared to last year, is there greater interest in elearning on your campus? Yes No

Widespread interest in e-learning

More than 80% of institutions offer at least several courses online

Motivations: Serve the “post-

traditional learner” Reduce the cost of a

degree Increase enrollments Improve the quality of

teaching and learning

Who Benefits?

The ability for everyone in the class to respond, regardless of how shy they are or how much thought it takes for them to be

able to put their words into coherent messages or whether they have a language challenge.

—Teaching and Learning Director

We’re seeing that our students who

take online courses graduate faster. —

Associate Provost

I've heard so many faculty say, ‘I'm a

better teacher now because I taught

online.’—Instructional Designer

It's all about access for us. This is a way for us to

disseminate our content to our rural communities, tap

into our international audience, and build

business partnerships. —Teaching and Learning Director

E-learning helps us meet the strategic initiatives of the university in a rapidly growing environment of diminishing resources.—Teaching and Learning

Officer

Music education is a program that’s always

under the gun, and for no other reason than low enrollments. Our e-

learning initiatives have now given them the

money to self-sustain. —Assistant Dean

Benefits of e-learning

Who Benefits?Delivering E-learning Services

How e-learning is managedNo clear model

Doctoral institutions are most likely to have multiple programs managing e-learning

Dedicated e-learning center is an advantage More mature in their e-learning initiatives Twice as likely to consider themselves e-learning leaders or innovators

Central IT is not involved in e-learning in 34% of institutions

Community colleges are e-learning leaders

Most likely to have a center dedicated to e-learning and

Most likely to offer a significant number of online courses.

Everyone needs more staff: 124% more

Some roles are needed more than others

Course designers

Professional development staff

Managing e-learning services

Innovative services: Least

common Most likely to

be distributed (41% vs 24% of more mainstream services)

A gap with students

What students most want more of…

A gap with students

Fewest institutions provide Open

educational resources

Gaming/simulations

A gap with students

It is not clear whether students’ preferences are understood

Outsourcing e-learning services

Average rate of outsourcing: 29%

Most common for: E-portfolios Social networks

Least common for: Project

management Technical support

Challenges

Some institutions are not offering e-learning

There are still a number of faculty on our campus who question what we are doing to our students. They think that if they are not going to get the campus experience, they aren’t going to get the interaction they used to get

—CIO

Mission or resources hold some back

Reasons for not offering online courses

Mission or resources hold some back

Reasons for not offering online courses

We’re a small, traditional, private university. People aren't going to spend the tuition money to come to us online

when they could do it at a state university for a third of the price. But where we've

really tried to gain our foothold is our master's programs, our graduate

programs for our graduates. So someone gets a degree, moves away; well, hey, come back to our online program. You can have a master's degree from [your

alma mater]. —Department Chair

Most concerns: Minor to moderateConcerns about e-learning initiatives

Smaller institutions

Smaller institutions significantly more concerned

Concerns about e-learning initiatives

Two-year institutions

Two-year institutions least concerned

Concerns about e-learning initiatives

Publics and privates

Private institutions significantly more concerned than publics

Concerns about e-learning initiatives

Implications of e-learning: Where are we headed?

Outsourcing and shared services Faculty: Will some full-time, tenure-track faculty be based off-

site? Staff: Financial aid, registration, LMS Niche programs, entire degrees

Longer prep time, less last-minute scrambling to pull a course together

On-demand courses Tailoring for specific groups: Military, regional Revised metrics for faculty productivity Need for 24/7 IT support Impact of “free” courses on mission and business model

A MOOC Moment

MOOCs vs. Online Learning

Institutions delivering

Undergraduates taking

Institutional leaders' interest

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

MOOCs Online learning

MOOCs may have the headlines, but online learning is much more widespread

Which institutions offer MOOCs today?

Doctoral institutions

Enrollment over 15,000

Other institutions

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

Offering today Future plans to offer

MOOC creation is primarily centered in large doctoral institutions, and likely to remain so.

Why are institutions choosing whether to offer MOOCs?

Strategy (risk vs. innovation)

Resources Interest

among leadership/faculty

Exploration

To attract new students

Build/maintain institutional reputation

Faculty interest

Leadership interest

For the greater good

As a future revenue source

To showcase faculty

Build/maintain program reputation

Alumni interest

To attract new faculty

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90%

Why institutions offer MOOCs

Unproven business model

No demand

Leaders have no interest

Lack of financial resources

Faculty have no interest

MOOCs are a fad

MOOCs are "not for us"

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%

Why institutions do NOT offer MOOCs

Which students know about and take MOOCs?

Familiar with

Have taken a MOOC

0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35%Women Men

Men Private

doctoral Hispanic/

White/other (but Black and Asian students are more familiar)

Over 25 Non-US

Familiar with

Have taken a MOOC

0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35%Hispanic, White, otherBlack or Asian

Familiar with

Have taken a MOOC

0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35%25 and under Over 25

Familiar with

Have taken a MOOC

0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35%All others Private doctoral

Familiar with

Have taken a MOOC

0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35%US Non-US

BUT, which students complete MOOCs?

0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40%Women Men

Women Community

college Black Over 25

(same as take and know)

US and Canada

0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40%Other Black

0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40%25 and under Over 25

0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40%All others Community college

0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40%US and CanadaOther

What is the value proposition?

For institutions Exploring the business case Moody Investors Services has designated

them as a “credit positive” Among a select set of institutions that are

offering MOOCs: 45% are discussing possibility of awarding credit 33% are considering monetizing

What is the value proposition?

For students: What is a badge worth?

0%

20%

40%

60%

USCanadaNon-US

Making Headway with E-learning: A Maturity Model

Seven components of maturity:Where higher education stands today

Maturity strengths

Maturity strengths

Less progress

Least progress

Why does maturity matter?

Mature institutions Expand technology provisioning and

support to meet the needs of the course and faculty

Have more staff and are more satisfied with e-learning staff levels

Have a dedicated e-learning center

Why does maturity matter?

Mature institutions select e-learning technologies and services differently. Selection emphasizes:

Ease of use Features Ease of integration Contribution to learning objectives

Less mature institutions place greatest importance on cost

Security Reliability Effectiveness

Thank you!sgrajek@educause.edu