Distance, Online, and Mobile
Learning – Facts, Impact,
and Projections
Dr. Sue Day-Perroots, Dean
WASSA Annual Conference
October 4, 2010
Setting the Stage - Quiz
• 1 in ___ couples first met online.
• Ebook sales exceeded print book sales by a margin
of ____ to _____.
• 1 in ___ students are taking an online course.
• ____ equals the percentage of 18-22 year old full
time students living on campus.
LOVE – just a click away 
• According to a recent study
by Michael Rosenfeld
from Stanford University,
as many as one quarter of
all couples first met online.
• The Web is the greatest technological shake-up the
dating scene has ever witnessed.
More Americans Finding Their Mates Online, Terrence O'Brien on August 17, 2010.
Who are our Students?
Only 16% of US students are full-time,
traditional age and living on campus
• The “over 25” population is the fastest-growing student
segment in higher education and has consistently
increased during the last three decades. Peter Stokes, Paper for the
Secretary of Education’s Commission on the Future of Higher Education
The 75% Non-traditionals
• Want sequential degree steps: certificate, AA, BA/BS,
Masters
• Continuous enrollment, year-round
• Flexible scheduling and services
• Advising upfront and as needed
• Flexible payment and financial aid opportunities
• From 2007 to 2016, the population of college students
ages 18 to 24 will increase by 11.1 percent, but the
population of students ages 25 to 34 will increase by
26.8 percent (US Dept of Ed -Center for Ed Statistics)
Distance Eduction,
Online, e-learning or
Mobile Learning
Online Learners
• Nothing is as likely to change the face of
higher education over the next decade as the
switch to more online learning.
• The enrollment in distance-education courses nearly
quadrupled, from 3,077,000 to 12,153,000 from
2000 - 2007.
• Students (digital natives) AND adult learners
(convenience) are demanding online courses.
• Greater than 25% of students are enrolled in at
least 1 online course (Fall, 2008 ).
Online Learning
• Associate’s institutions teach over ½ of all online
students. Community Colleges entered online later, but
identified as central to mission
• Colleges serving working adults are most positive about
enrollment potential
• 85% online enrollments w/in 50 mile radius of campus –
beginning to see change with for-profit private marketing
• 1 in 5 institutions offered 1st online courses in 2007.
WVU began in 1999.
• Amazon announced in July 2010 that ebook sales
exceeded print book sales by a margin of 143:100.
Why is this important?
• Summer Sessions will more than likely be called upon
even more heavily to generate revenue to add to the
institution’s bottom line
• Programs focused on serving adult students are the
largest potential growth market, according to
demographics, in higher education
• Online courses able to serve minority students well will be
better positioned to compete (particularly in the West &
South)
Importance – continued
• Online addresses flexibility in schedules & lives
• Online addresses access during commute, or from
workplace, home
• Online addresses career focus and advancement
• Increases revenue w/o increasing physical infrastructure
3 Common Characteristics of
Schools Successful at Serving
Online Students
• Entrepreneurial Spirit
• University Leadership allows units to try new things
• Commitment to Adult & Mobile Student Population
Summer
WVU Extended Learning
• Extended Learning = 62,634 credit hours
(77% distance ed); Over 3,200 online students per
term + 1,300 enrolled in “both” online & oncampus.
• Continuing and Professional Education served 2,747
adult learners. Collaboration with Forensics and its
numerous online opportunities accounted for much
of this 68% annual increase.
• Over 647 high school students enrolled in WVU
courses in their high schools – great recruits for
Summer programming
• And…………
Summer
• Summer 09 – 11.3k enrollment w/ over $5 million
to Colleges for on-campus; another $5 million for online
• Over 400 courses online Summer 10;
• Enrollment in “Online & Both” = 49% of total enrollmenty
On-campus
5542
EL
4923
Both
1389
ELug
2409
ELg
2487
• Growth in Online – ’10 nearly equal to on-campus
• SREC courses allow Non-Residents to enroll at
Resident tuition for online courses
• Invested $120k in grants for on-campus programming
West Virginia University
Main Campus Headcount
Summer 2009 and Summer 2010
Summer
2010
2009
# Diff
% Change
Total Headcount
Full-time
Part-time
11,805
1,629
10,176
11,371
1,461
9,910
434
168
266
3.8%
11.5%
2.7%
Residency
In-State
Out-of-State
7,113
4,692
6,956
4,415
157
277
2.3%
6.3%
Gender
Male
Female
5,285
6,520
5,225
6,146
60
374
1.1%
6.1%
Level
Undergraduate
Graduate
Professional
6,835
4,429
541
6,528
4,192
651
307
237
-110
4.7%
5.7%
-16.9%
Campus
On-Campus
Off-Campus
6,289
5,516
6,956
4,415
-667
1,101
-9.6%
24.9%
History of Online Growth
Growth in Distance Education Courses from 2001 - 2010
450
Number of Courses
400
350
300
250
Online
200
Travel
IViN
150
100
50
0
2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010
Years
History of Summer Online Growth
Student Credit Hours
30000
25000
20000
Online
15000
Travel
IViN
10000
5000
0
2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010
WVU Extended Learning
• Combined Entrepreneurial Units –
 Online = 83% return to colleges
 Summer = Multiplier for level & Residency
• Leadership- Strong support
for innovation
 Recognized for
entrepreneurial models
 Not dependent on State
dollars or central funding
• Flexible programming and
faculty incentives
(WVU Online ribbon)
• Undergraduate – Online
 3 degree completion
 college courses for high school students
• Graduate




3 Site based
6 Blended
12 Online (fully)
4 Certificates
• Continuing & Professional Education
 Over 70 courses offered (90% online)
A View of 2020
• The location of a college, and the geographic spread of
its influence and recruiting area, will be the most
significant factor in determining its flow of enrollees in
the next decade. *
• The Western states will see an overall increase in
graduates of about 1% per year.
Projected Change in H.S. Graduates to 2018
Shift Happens
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ILQrUrEWe8
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f5kJ00t9UM&feature=related
Post test
• 1 in ___ couples first met online.
• Ebook sales exceeded print book sales by a margin
of ____ to _____.
• 1 in ___ students are taking an online course.
• ____ equals the percentage of 18-22 year old full
time students living on campus.
Show & Tell
• Online.wvu.edu
• Instructional Technology Resource Center (ITRC)
• https://ecampus.wvu.edu/
• A Vision of K-12 Students Today (video)
• A Vision of Students Today (video)
• http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/collegeinc/view/