Online courses and programs continue to grow in both K-12 and higher education settings; this widespread growth means that most high school students have taken online courses before enrolling in college or university. These new students demand the flexibility and transparency of online learning and the instructional support of highly-qualified faculty; frequent student-teacher interaction and communication has been identified as a key component of engaging educational experiences. As educators, we must translate this into online teaching and learning.
Education has changed. In recent years, the proliferation of distance, virtual, and online learning has invaded every aspect of education, from K-12 to higher education to certificate programs. Students can take almost any class at any time from a plethora of providers, including traditional universities, private entities, or for-profit commercial school programs. Accrediting agencies, like the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS), now offer status to these fully-online proprietary university programs. In addition, these programs can often offer courses and degree programs at a significant discount over a traditional university, since they don’t bear costs for things like facilities or laboratories.
It would seem that the traditional university program has come under attack. Colleges and universities that have been community icons for decades have been forced to close their doors. According to Forbes, the cost of a college degree continues to rise—even adjusted for inflation, a degree in 2017 cost more than twice the amount of that same degree in 1987—causing some to question whether a degree is worth that cost (Forbes, 2018). There has also been a renewed interest and resurgence in enrollment in trade schools and certificate programs.
Throughout this downward trend in higher education, online and distance education enrollments have increased for the fourteenth straight year (Seaman, Allen, & Seaman, 2018). According to Hibel and McCullough, enrollments in online university classes have grown 20% annually over the last five years, while the recent trend of overall enrollment decline continues for higher education institutions (2016). Through this traditional decline and online increase, three non-profit fully-online university programs emerged to enroll one-third of all online university students (Fain, 2019). How do online degree programs continue to expand while traditional higher education programs fight to enroll and retain students? How do certain for-profit online colleges and universities attract and retain such a large percentage of total online students?
Today’s high school students have grown up taking online classes; enrollment in K-12 online schools grows at a rate of 6% per year. (Digital Learning Collaborative, 2019.) Many high schools today offer not only supplemental online courses—advanced courses which are not available at the local school as well as credit recovery courses via summer programs—but also offer a full curriculum; students can complete their K-12 education fully online. It’s not surprising that these students would be interested in fully-online higher education programs. However, K-12 online learning differs significantly from the typical higher education online course or program. Because online K-12 schools and programs are regulated by state Departments of Education, these programs must meet the same guidelines as any public school program. Courses must be aligned to approved state curriculum; standards and student learning outcomes are well-defined and assessed. Teachers must be credentialed and evaluated regularly by qualified administrators; these evaluations emphasize student achievement and success based on those assessments. There is a level of accountability with K-12 education that, in the past, has not been emphasized in many higher education institutions. Additionally, because these schools serve younger students, careful monitoring of the students’ progress is a requirement—K-12 schools regularly document student-teacher interactions, grades, progress toward objectives, attendance, etc.
Traditionally, university faculty have three responsibilities: research, service to the institution through participation in governance, and teaching. In many cases, research and publication is valued above teaching. This can lead to a “Sage on the Stage” mentality; there may be little teacher-student interaction in a traditional university classroom. K-12 students have typically had trouble transitioning to this more “hands-off” type of instruction; here in Tennessee, the student retention rate, at 77%, is well below the national average (Complete Tennessee, 2017). Enter the for-profit, fully-online school programs; with almost one-third of college students taking courses online, the opportunity to market and enroll this new breed of high school students is significant (Protopsaltis and Baum, 2019.)
When these private-sector online college and university programs lobbied Congress in 2006, the case was made to allow fully-online programs access to federal student financial aid. Congress provided this, but out of a concern for legitimacy, required them to “support regular and substantive interaction between the students and the instructor” (Protopsaltis and Baum, 2019). This meant that in order to accept federal funding, these for-profit, private online programs had to meet strict instructional guidelines, including accreditation, licensure, and teacher evaluation standards, similar to those implemented at the K-12 level. This, along with enrollment flexibility, may be the key to the success and retention of these programs.
For decades, research has shown that the key to effective teaching is student engagement. In the online environment, how do we measure student engagement? New research states that student-faculty interaction in the online setting is critical to student success (Protopsaltis and Baum, 2019, Patrick and Powell, 2009, and Fain, 2019). In fact, even Fain notes in his “Takedown of Online Education” that “regular and substantive student-instructor interactivity is a key determinant of quality in online education, leading to improved student satisfaction, learning, and outcomes.” (2019) The success and growth of both K-12 online school programs and for-profit, fully-online higher education programs would seem to support that, and student surveys indicate that although online learning is valuable and flexible, they often note a lack of interactivity and missing sense of community (Song, 2004). For this reason, it is imperative that we redesign the online learning experience from the learner perspective.
However, traditional universities can be slow to implement change. Changes to curriculum and programs often must pass through years of faculty senate reviews and red tape. Typical university faculty have multiple responsibilities; by contrast, for-profit online schools can create new curriculum and career tracks and begin marketing these in weeks or months, and these online teachers have a single role: to facilitate student success. (Hibel and McCullough, 2016.) If traditional universities are to remain competitive in a changing educational market, they must meet the needs of a new population of diverse learners.
Clearly, online students desire more interaction with instructors. Student surveys indicate that online learning is valuable and flexible; however, they often note a lack of interactivity and missing sense of community (Song, 2004). We must design educational experiences that incorporate frequent, meaningful communication and interactivity. The abundance of online degrees, programs, and opportunities for students today make education a buyers’ market; in order to increase enrollment, improve retention rates, and improve student success, we must improve our product.