Scalability in Distance Education: "Can We Have Our Cake and Eat it Too?"

Keywords

distance eduaction, enrollment, scalability

Abstract

The decision to increase distance education enrollment hinges on the factors of pedagogical effectiveness, interactivity, audience, faculty incentives, retention, program type, and profitability. A complex interplay exists among these scalability concerns (i.e., issues related to meeting the growing enrollment demand), and any program’s approach usually requires trade-offs. At Brigham Young University’s Department of Independent Study, administrators have recently evaluated the effectiveness of their highly automated distance education classes, determining that more interactivity requires a trade-off with the accompanying demands. This article provides perspectives on these issues and then proposes four models that increase interactivity while allowing for some scalability.

Original Publication Citation

Laws, D., Howell, S., & Lindsay, N. (2003). Scalability in distance education: Can we have our cake and eat it too? Online Journal of Distance Learning Administration, 6(4). At http://www.westga.edu/~distance/ojdla/winter64/winter64.htm(Recipient of UCEA Elizabeth Powell Award for best paper published with most significant contribution to distance education. Awarded at UCEA conference, April, 2004.)

Document Type

Peer-Reviewed Article

Publication Date

2003

Permanent URL

http://hdl.lib.byu.edu/1877/8500

Publisher

Online Journal of Distance Learning Administration

Language

English

College

David O. McKay School of Education

Department

Instructional Psychology and Technology

University Standing at Time of Publication

Associate Professor

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