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

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).

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

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

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

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

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