{"id":6169,"date":"2018-05-02T10:34:49","date_gmt":"2018-05-02T14:34:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.elearninginside.com\/?p=6169"},"modified":"2019-06-11T14:28:41","modified_gmt":"2019-06-11T18:28:41","slug":"colleges-see-online-learning-less-new-asu-study-suggests-high-quality-online-courses-result-solid-roi","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.elearninginside.com\/colleges-see-online-learning-less-new-asu-study-suggests-high-quality-online-courses-result-solid-roi\/","title":{"rendered":"Some Colleges See Online Learning as ‘Less Than.’ But a New ASU Study Suggests High Quality Online Courses Result in a Solid ROI"},"content":{"rendered":"

Many educators and administrators find value in eLearning, online learning, and digital education in general\u2014but is it a good investment? A team of researchers from the Arizona State University (ASU) Action Lab at EdPlus and the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) sought to answer that question with a recent study. Their conclusions were, by and large, in the affirmative. <\/span><\/p>\n

Their report, \u201cMaking Digital Learning Work: Success Strategies from Six Leading Universities and Community Colleges,\u201d drew support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. As the title suggests, the team used six prominent universities and community colleges as case studies. These were the University of Central Florida, Georgia State University, Houston Community College, the Kentucky Community and Technical College System, Rio Salado Community College, and ASU. These schools were chosen because they serve a diverse socioeconomic population and also have robust online learning programs. <\/span><\/p>\n

Many universities see online courses as a method of offering education to students at lower costs<\/a>. More often than not, lower costs translate to lower quality.<\/span><\/p>\n

What ASU and BCG Learned about Online Learning<\/h1>\n

But the ASU and BCG team found that, by investing in high quality online learning with a strategic approach, colleges can achieve three invaluable outcomes. These are 1) higher retention rates for students who took all or some portion of their degree online; 2) a higher total volume of students enrolled; and 3) a more diverse student body, including more learners older than the traditional college age, more women, and more Pell Grant-eligible students. <\/span><\/p>\n

\"ASU\"
Kevin Dooley, Flickr.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cWe are now seeing how scaled digital learning environments circumnavigate barriers of time and space, decrease time to completion amidst a radical demographic shift, and provide pathways for unprecedented program completion,\u201d said Lou Pugliese, managing director and senior education fellow at EdPlus in a release. \u201cThe maturity of digital technologies has given way to new design methods that now allow institutions to more effectively address the unique set of specific learner needs in order to sustain in their academic journey.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

In other words, creating an online program that isn\u2019t \u2018less than\u2019 can turn into a win-win. To bring this about, the report authors have created a short list of general best practices. <\/span><\/p>\n

They are:<\/span><\/p>\n