1. Unanswered Questions about Online Learning in Higher Education Shanna Smith Jaggars Community College Research Center Teachers College/Columbia University Education Writers Association New Orleans, LA, April 8, 2011

2. DoE report 27 studies comparing entirely-online vs. face-to-face student outcomes 6 focused on college courses U.S. Department of Education, Office of Planning, Evaluation, and Policy Development, Evaluation of Evidence-Based Practices in Online Learning: A Meta- Analysis and Review of Online Learning Studies, Washington, D.C., 2010 (revised). www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/opepd/ppss/reports.html

3. Research Evidence Trade-offs Applies Across People & Contexts Strength of Causal Evidence National survey Small rigorous random-assignment study Large-scale well-controlled studies Small-scale uncontrolled study or survey LowHigh Low High

5. Findings (Jaggars, 2011) Large-scale controlled studies: only in CCs –Higher online course dropout –Slightly lower grades –Dampened persistence

6. Research Evidence Trade-offs Applies Across People & Contexts Strength of Causal Evidence National survey Small rigorous random-assignment study Large-scale well-controlled studies Small-scale uncontrolled study or survey LowHigh Low High

7. Unanswered Questions about Online Education Assist student progression? Cheaper / more efficient? Encourage new college enrollments? Higher-quality experience & learning?

8. For more information: Please visit us on the web at http://ccrc.tc.columbia.edu, http://ccrc.tc.columbia.edu where you can download presentations, reports, CCRC Briefs, and sign-up for news announcements. CCRC is funded in part by: Alfred P. Sloan foundation, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Lumina Foundation for Education, The Ford Foundation, the Kresge Foundation, National Science Foundation (NSF), Institute of Education Sciences of the U.S. Department of Education Community College Research Center Institute on Education and the Economy, Teachers College, Columbia University 525 West 120th Street, Box 174, New York, NY 10027 E-mail: ccrc@columbia.educcrc@columbia.edu Telephone: 212.678.3091