1. Market Development and Academic Quality in Online Higher Education
President David Decker, PhD
Franklin University
CIEES
Mexico D.F.
May 31, 2017

2. U.S. ONLINE HIGHER EDUCATION 2017
3,000,000 students study exclusively online
(2,200,000 Undergraduate ,000 Graduate)
Another 3,000,000 are partly online
Over 2,000 institutes offer fully online programs
9% of Bachelor’s students, 18% of Master’s students and 5% of Doctoral students are fully online

3. STAGES IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF ONLINE HIGHER EDUCATION IN THE U.S.
Introduction – 2000
Growth – 2012
Maturity Present

4. GROWTH RATES AND STUDENT NUMBERS IN ONLINE HIGHER EDUCATION

5. INTRODUCTION
Many experimenters using homegrown platforms
Skepticism about quality and employer acceptance
Indicators of very large demand possibility
Accreditors / Regulators uncertain about how to respond
About 20 institutions providing full programs online

6. GROWTH 2001 - 2012 Standardization of platforms
Very rapid enrollment growth
Emergence of quality standards
For-profit sector rises rapidly
Professionalization of design / assessment approaches
About 250 institutions providing full online programs
Rapidly rising market acceptance / accreditor approval

7. MATURITY 2013 - PRESENT Slowing demand growth
Rapidly improving multimedia technology
Universal acceptance
Heavy competition - 2,000 institutions, with 600 institutions having more than 1,000 online students
Penetration of all levels of tertiary sector
- Non-credit, 2-year Degrees, 4- year Degrees, Master’s Degrees &
Doctoral Degrees
Diffusion of modality to almost all disciplines
Large state actors investing in modality

8. EXAMPLE OF STATE INVESTMENTS IN ONLINE MODALITY
SAUDI ELECTRONIC UNIVERSITY
A state-run, online/hybrid, English-language university with 60% of places reserved for females
Based in Riyadh with multiple branch locations in provincial cities of KSA
Direct sponsorship of the King; $300MM annual budget
Using Blackboard as platform
Using Franklin as course/program and design/quality assurance resource

9. Development Stages of Online Higher Education
ONLINE MODALITY IS AT DIFFERENT STAGES OF MATURITY IN DIFFERENT PARTS OF THE WORLD
Development Stages of Online Higher Education
UNITED STATES
OUTSIDE UNITED STATES
2017
2017

10. QUESTION: comparable to traditional methods?
Does online higher education produce learning outcomes
comparable to traditional methods?

11. U.S. Department of Education study in 2010 is the most comprehensive review
Evaluated and summarized more than 1,000 empirical studies conducted between 1996 and 2008
Published report: “Evaluation of Evidence-based practices in online learning: A meta-analysis and review of online learning studies”

12. Evaluation of Evidence-Based Practices in Online Learning (2010, Sept)
Findings
Students in online conditions performed modestly better, on average, than those learning the same material through traditional face-to-face instruction
Instruction combining online and face-to-face elements had a larger advantage relative to purely face-to-face instruction than did purely online instruction
Means, B., Toyama, Y., Murphy, R., Bakia, M., & Jones, K. (2009). Evaluation of evidence-based practices in online learning: A meta-analysis and review of online learning studies. US Department of Education.

13. Evaluation of Evidence-Based Practices in Online Learning (2010, Sept)
Findings
Effect sizes were larger for studies in which the online instruction was collaborative or instructor-directed than in those studies where online learners worked independently
The effectiveness of online learning approaches appears quite broad across different content and learner types
Means, B., Toyama, Y., Murphy, R., Bakia, M., & Jones, K. (2009). Evaluation of evidence-based practices in online learning: A meta-analysis and review of online learning studies. US Department of Education.

14. QUALITY CONTROL ORGANIZATIONS
Aims to promote and improve the quality of online education and student learning nationally and internationally.
Provides professional development, instruction, best practice publications and guidance to educators, online learning professionals and organizations around the world.
WCET is the WICHE Cooperative for Educational Technologies, focuses on the policy, practice, and advocacy of technology-enhanced higher education.
Online courses have become increasingly popular
There’s arisen a need to create and assess quality
There are many aspects of this need. I highlight 5 and show how we have addressed these issues:
Design Quality –quality course standards in course reviews to ensure course quality. Review and use course data to revise and improve course quality.
Effective Course Delivery – Use an effective learning management system that enables design and assessment of learning
Accessibility – Use of Universal Design principles to ensure all populations can access materials
Plagiarism and Academic Dishonesty - Use plagiarism detection software and use physical or virtual test proctoring services
Learning and Program Assessment – Use rubrics to assess learning and provide feedback. Systematic methods for evaluating effectiveness of program and improving learning experiences.

15. FRANKLIN’S VIEW OF QUALITY CONTROL IN ONLINE HIGHER EDUCATION
Quality through design – scientific, universal principles
Quality through course delivery – faculty development / training
Quality through academic honesty monitoring – software and proctors
Quality through assessment – data collection and regular feedback

16. The International Institute for Innovation Instruction
FRANKLIN’S INSTITUTIONAL INFRASTRUCTURE TO SUPPORT QUALITY AND WORK WITH PARTNERS
The International Institute for Innovation Instruction
(i4)
16 Instructional Designers (10 with PhD, 6 with M.S.)
Instructor quality and faculty development
Interactive Design / Multimedia
Assessment of learning

17. GENERAL CONCLUSIONS
Institutions in areas where online is entering the growth stage have advantages over the U.S. pioneers of
Resistance and skepticism from Students, Employers, and Accreditors disappear much more quickly than internal resistance from Faculty and Staff
Speed to market and some early successes are key to overcoming internal resistance
External professional support can significantly expedite implementation