Abstract:

A recent report by a Stanford economist offered evidence that distance learning courses cost more than traditional ones. While there is considerable controversy over her methodology, it seems intuitively reasonable that she may be correct, since developing online courses requires additional faculty time for preparation, complicated hardware and software setups, and accommodation of students who may be unaccustomed to the process. Since there have been many other concerns over the past two decades, the recent emergence of cost as yet another visible point of controversy suggests that it might be useful to review the disadvantages and downsides of E learning. In this brief article four systemic problems are discussed: cost, institutional resistance, faculty pushback and perennial concerns. Each of these issues has a long history. Since the halcyon days of distance learning's meteoric rise, the trend line has flattened considerably, and there is even controversy about the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) data, questioning whether 6 million or 3 million students are actually learning at distance, out of the 20 million college students today.

Keywords:

e-learning cost, IPEDS, MOOC, Babson Report, NCAT.