NATIONAL CENTER FOR EDUCATION STATISTICS

Statistical Analysis Report October 1997

Distance Education

in Higher Education

Institutions

U.S. Department of Education

Office of Educational Research and Improvement NCES 98-062
NATIONAL CENTER FOR EDUCATION STATISTICS

Statistical Analysis Report October 1997

Distance Education

in Higher Education

Institutions

Laurie Lewis

Debbie Alexander

Elizabeth Farris

Westat

Bernie Greene

Project Officer

National Center for Education Statistics

U.S. Department of Education

Office of Educational Research and Improvement NCES 98-062
U.S. Department of Education

Richard W. Riley

Secretary

Office of Educational Research and Improvement

Ramon Cortines

Acting Assistant Secretary

National Center for Education Statistics

Pascal D. Forgione, Jr.

Commissioner

The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) is the primary federal entity for collecting, analyzing, and

reporting data related to education in the United States and other nations. It fulfills a congressional mandate to

collect, collate, and report full and complete statistics on the condition of education in the United States; conduct

and publish reports and specialized analyses of the meaning and significance of such statistics; assist state and

local education agencies in improving their statistical systems; and review and report on education activities in

foreign countries.

NCES activities are designed to address high priority education data needs; provide consistent, reliable,

complete, and accurate indicators of education status and trends; and report timely, useful, and high quality data

to the U.S. Department of Education, the Congress, the states, other education policymakers, practitioners, data

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from you. Please direct your comments to:

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October 1997

Contact:

Bernie Greene

(202) 219-1366

Bernard_Greene@ed.gov

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Suggested Citation

U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Distance Education in Higher

Education Institutions, NCES 98-062, by Laurie Lewis, Debbie Alexander, and Elizabeth Farris. Bernie Greene,

project officer. Washington, DC: 1997.
iii

Highlights The Survey on Distance Education Courses Offered by Higher

Education Institutions was requested by the National Institute on

Postsecondary Education, Libraries, and Lifelong Learning, U.S.

Department of Education. The survey was designed to provide the

first nationally representative data about distance education course

offerings in higher education institutions. The study obtained

information about the percentage of institutions that currently offer

and that plan to offer distance education courses in the next 3 years;

distance education course offerings, including the types of

technologies used to deliver distance education courses and the sites to

which such courses are directed; distance education enrollments and

completions; characteristics of distance education courses and

programs; distance education program goals; future plans for distance

education course offerings; and factors keeping institutions from

starting or expanding their distance education offerings. For this

study, distance education was defined as education or training courses

delivered to remote (off-campus) locations via audio, video, or

computer technologies. Data were collected in fall 1995 from

2-year and 4-year higher education institutions and were weighted to

provide national estimates.

• A third of higher education institutions offered distance

education courses in fall 1995, another quarter planned to offer

such courses in the next 3 years, and 42 percent did not offer

and did not plan to offer distance education courses in the next

3 years (table 1). Public institutions offered distance education

courses with much greater frequency than did private

institutions: 58 percent of public 2-year and

62 percent of public 4-year institutions offered distance

education courses in fall 1995, compared with 2 percent of

private 2-year and 12 percent of private 4-year institutions.

• An estimated 25,730 distance education courses with different

catalog numbers were offered by higher education institutions

in academic year 1994-95 (table 2). Public 4-year institutions

offered 45 percent, public 2-year institutions 39 percent, and

private 4-year institutions 16 percent of the distance education

courses in 1994-95. About half of the institutions that offered

distance education courses in fall 1995 offered 10 or fewer such

courses in academic year 1994-95 (figure 2).

• Distance education courses were delivered by two-way

interactive video at 57 percent, and by one-way prerecorded

video at 52 percent of the institutions offering distance

education courses in fall 1995 (table 3). About a quarter of the

institutions used two-way audio with one-way video, and

computer-based technologies other than two-way online
iv

interactions during instruction (e.g., the Internet) to deliver their

distance education courses.

• About half of the higher education institutions that offered

distance education courses in fall 1995 directed such courses to

students’ homes (table 4). Institutions also frequently directed

distance education courses to other branches of their institution

(39 percent) and other college campuses

(35 percent). About a quarter of the institutions directed

distance education courses to elementary/secondary schools.

• More higher education institutions offered distance education

courses designed primarily for undergraduate students

(81 percent of institutions) and graduate students (34 percent of

institutions) than for any other type of student (table 6).

Professionals seeking recertification were targeted by

39 percent, and other workers seeking skill updating or

retraining were targeted by 49 percent of institutions that

offered distance education courses in fall 1995 (table 8).

• There were an estimated 753,640 students formally enrolled

in distance education courses in academic year 1994-95

(table 10). Public 2-year institutions enrolled 55 percent,

public 4-year institutions 31 percent, and private 4-year

institutions 14 percent of the students enrolled in distance

education courses in 1994-95.

• About a quarter of the institutions that offered distance

education courses in fall 1995 offered degrees that students

could complete by taking distance education courses

exclusively, and 7 percent offered certificates that could be

completed that way (table 11). There were an estimated 690

degrees and 170 certificates offered in fall 1995 that students

could receive by taking distance education courses exclusively.

An estimated 3,430 students received degrees and 1,970

received certificates in 1994-95 by taking distance education

courses exclusively.

• Access to library resources varied depending on the type of

library resource. Access to an electronic link with the

institution’s library was available for some or all courses at

56 percent of the institutions, and cooperative agreements for

students to use other libraries were available at 62 percent of

institutions (tables 12 and 13). Institution library staff were

assigned to assist distance education students at 45 percent of

the institutions, while library deposit collections were available

at remote sites at 39 percent of institutions.
v

• Increasing student access was an important goal for most

distance education programs, with making courses available at

convenient locations rated as very important by 82 percent of

institutions, and reducing time constraints for course taking

rated as very important by 63 percent of institutions (table 16).

Making educational opportunities more affordable for students,

another aspect of student access, was rated as very important

by about half of the institutions. Goals concerning increasing

the institution’s audiences and enrollments were also perceived

as quite important, with increasing the institution’s access to

new audiences and increasing the institution’s enrollments rated

as very important by 64 percent and 54 percent of institutions,

respectively. In general, institutions indicated that most of the

goals were met to a minor or moderate extent. Goals

particularly likely to be met to a major extent concerned student

access.

• Among all institutions, including those with no future plans to

offer distance education courses, factors frequently reported as

keeping the institution from starting or expanding their distance

education course offerings to a major extent were program

development costs (43 percent), limited technological

infrastructure to support distance education

(31 percent), and equipment failures and costs of maintaining

equipment (23 percent; table 23). However, in general, most

factors were not perceived to be major hindrances keeping

institutions from starting or expanding their distance education

offerings.
vi
vii

Table of Contents

Section Page

Highlights..................................................................................................... iii

1 Background .................................................................................................. 1

2 Distance Education Course Offerings............................................................ 5

Institutions Offering Distance Education Courses .......................................... 5

Number of Distance Education Courses Offered ............................................ 8

Types of Technologies Used to Deliver Distance Education Courses.............. 10

Delivery of Distance Education Courses to Remote Sites ............................... 11

Primary Student Audience for Distance Education Courses............................ 14

Individuals Targeted for Distance Education Courses..................................... 17

Primary Course Developers........................................................................... 18

3 Distance Education Enrollments and Completions.......................................... 21

Number of Students Enrolled in Distance Education Courses......................... 21

Degrees or Certificates Received Through Distance Education....................... 24

4 Characteristics of Distance Education Courses and Programs ........................ 27

Availability of Resources for Students Enrolled in Distance Education

Courses............................................................................................ 27

Procedures for Test Administration ............................................................... 29

Training Opportunities for Faculty ................................................................ 30

5 Distance Education Program Goals ............................................................... 31

6 Future Plans for Distance Education Course Offerings................................... 35

Delivery of Distance Education Courses to Remote Sites in the Next

3 Years............................................................................................. 35

Technologies to be Pursued During the Next 3 Years..................................... 37

7 Factors Keeping Institutions from Starting or Expanding Distance

Education Course Offerings .......................................................................... 39

8 Summary ...................................................................................................... 43
viii

9 Survey Methodology and Data Reliability...................................................... 47

Postsecondary Education Quick Information System...................................... 47

Sample and Response Rates.......................................................................... 48

Sampling and Nonsampling Errors................................................................ 49

Variances...................................................................................................... 50

Background Information................................................................................ 51

List of Appendices

Appendices Page

A Tables of Standard Errors............................................................................. A-1

B Survey Questionnaire .................................................................................... B-1

List of Tables

Table

1 Percent of higher education institutions currently offering distance education

courses, percent planning to offer them in the next 3 years, and percent not

currently offering or planning to offer them, by institutional characteristics:

1995.................................................................................................................... 6

2 Total number and percentage distribution of distance education courses with

different catalog numbers offered in academic year 1994-95, by institutional

characteristics...................................................................................................... 8

3 Percent of higher education institutions currently offering distance education

courses that use various types of technologies to deliver distance education

courses, by institutional characteristics: 1995 ...................................................... 11

4 Percent of higher education institutions currently offering distance education

courses directed to different types of remote sites, by institutional

characteristics: 1995 ........................................................................................... 12

5 Total number of distance education courses directed by higher education

institutions to different types of remote sites, by institutional characteristics:

1995.................................................................................................................... 13

6 Percent of higher education institutions currently offering distance education

courses designed primarily for specific types of students, by institutional

characteristics: 1995 ........................................................................................... 14

7 Total number of distance education courses designed by higher education

institutions primarily for specific types of students, by institutional

characteristics: 1995 ........................................................................................... 16
ix

8 Percent of higher education institutions currently offering distance education

courses targeted toward certain types of individuals, by institutional

characteristics: 1995 ........................................................................................... 17

9 Percent of higher education institutions currently offering distance education

courses composed by various types of developers, by institutional

characteristics: 1995 ........................................................................................... 18

10 Total number and percentage distribution of students formally enrolled in the

institution’s distance education courses in academic year 1994-95, by

institutional characteristics................................................................................... 22

11 Percent of higher education institutions currently offering distance education

courses that offer degrees and certificates to students taking distance education

courses exclusively, total number of degrees and certificates students can

receive by taking distance education courses only, and total number of such

degree and certificate recipients in 1994-95, by institutional characteristics........... 24

12 Percent of higher education institutions currently offering distance education

courses that have various resources available for students enrolled in distance

education courses: 1995 ...................................................................................... 28

13 Percent of higher education institutions currently offering distance education

courses indicating that various resources are available for some or all courses

for students enrolled in distance education courses, by institutional type: 1995 ..... 28

14 Percent of higher education institutions currently offering distance education

courses using various procedures to administer tests to students enrolled in forcredit distance education courses: 1995 ............................................................... 30

15 Percent of higher education institutions currently offering distance education

courses indicating whether certain training opportunities are required, available

but not required, or not available to faculty teaching distance education

courses: 1995...................................................................................................... 30

16 Percent of higher education institutions currently offering distance education

courses indicating the importance of various goals to their distance education

programs, and the extent to which the institution is meeting those goals: 1995....... 31

17 Percent of higher education institutions currently offering distance education

courses indicating that various goals are very important to their distance

education programs, by institutional type: 1995................................................... 32

18 Percent of higher education institutions currently offering distance education

courses indicating the extent to which their distance education program has met

various goals, by importance of the goal to the institution: 1995........................... 34
x

19 Percent of higher education institutions specifying plans regarding the number

of distance education courses directed to various remote sites in the next 3

years: 1995......................................................................................................... 36

20 Percent of higher education institutions specifying that they plan to start or

increase the number of distance education courses directed to various remote

sites in the next 3 years, by institutional type: 1995.............................................. 36

21 Percent of higher education institutions indicating their plans for the next 3

years concerning the number of distance education courses using various types

of technology: 1995............................................................................................. 37

22 Percent of higher education institutions currently offering distance education

courses that use various types of technologies to deliver distance education

courses, and the percent of higher education institutions currently offering or

planning to offer distance education courses in the next 3 years that plan to

start or increase their use of various types of technologies in the next 3 years:

1995.................................................................................................................... 38

23 Percent of higher education institutions indicating the extent to which various

factors are keeping the institution from starting or expanding their distance

education course offerings: 1995 ......................................................................... 40

24 Percent of higher education institutions indicating the extent to which various

factors are keeping the institution from starting or expanding their distance

education course offerings, by distance education program status: 1995............... 41

25 Number and percent of higher education institutions in the study, and the

estimated number and percent in the nation, for the total sample and for

institutions currently offering distance education courses, by institutional

characteristics: 1995 ........................................................................................... 49

List of Figures

1 Percent of higher education institutions currently offering distance education

courses that have a separate distance education department/office, by

institutional characteristics: 1995 ........................................................................ 7

2 Percent of higher education institutions offering distance education courses in

fall 1995 that offered various numbers of distance education courses in

academic year 1994-95 ........................................................................................ 9

3 Percent of distance education courses that are offered only as distance

education courses, by institutional characteristics: 1995....................................... 10

4 Percent of distance education courses offered in fall 1995 that were composed

by various types of developers.............................................................................. 19
xi

5 Percent of higher education institutions currently offering distance education

courses that enrolled various numbers of students in those courses in academic

year 1994-95 ....................................................................................................... 23

6 Percent of higher education institutions offering degrees and certificates

exclusively through distance education courses that offered various numbers of

such degrees and certificates: 1995...................................................................... 25
xii
1

1. Background

echnology-based distance education is emerging as an increasingly important component of higher education. Publications

such as the Chronicle of Higher Education regularly feature articles

about the distance education efforts of various higher education

institutions and systems, states, and consortia. According to the

Chronicle of Higher Education (July 6, 1994), while distance

education to date has primarily concentrated on part-time students,

students who cannot travel easily to campus, and courses in selected

graduate programs (such as engineering and business administration),

distance education specialists and academic policymakers expect

technology to help higher education institutions provide a wide range

of programs, including undergraduate degree programs, to larger

proportions of the student population.

Many states have active distance education programs. For example,

the Education Network of Maine, an independent arm of the Maine

university system, televises college courses to 11 regional centers and

other sites throughout the state and helps make available 85 courses

and 14 degree programs, which served about 2,900 students in the fall

of 1995 (Chronicle of Higher Education, May 31, 1996). Colorado

took a somewhat different approach when it established Colorado

Electronic Community College as the state’s 12th community college.

Colorado Electronic Community College was created when the state’s

other 11 community colleges joined forces with Mind Extension

University (now known as Jones Education Connection), a for-profit

institution that uses cable television and videotapes to deliver courses

from more than 30 colleges and universities. The focus of the new

institution is to reach people in rural areas of Colorado who are far

from other colleges (Chronicle of Higher Education, December 8,

1995). Among the other notable education networks for distance

education run by states and higher education systems are EdNet in

Oregon, the Iowa Communications Network, the TeleLinking Network

in Kentucky, and BadgerNet in Wisconsin.

In the West, the governors of 15 states (and one U.S. territory) are

developing a “virtual university” called the Western Governors

University. This virtual university will have no campus and will rely

heavily on computers and other technology such as interactive video to

deliver instruction. Other states and institutions have joined together

into cooperatives and consortia to support and offer distance

T
2

education. Examples of such cooperatives and consortia include the

Western Cooperative for Educational Telecommunications, a project

of the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education, and the

Committee on Institutional Cooperation, which consists of 12 large

institutions, including Pennsylvania State University, the University of

Iowa, Ohio State University, the University of Minnesota, the

University of Wisconsin, and the University of Illinois (Chronicle of

Higher Education, December 8, 1995). A number of large

universities (e.g., the University of Maryland, Duke University, and

Purdue University) offer complete master’s degrees in business

through the Internet.

In recent years, 60 community colleges have joined with 22 public

television stations around the country to offer associate’s degree

programs through distance education telecourses under a program

called “Going the Distance” (Higher Education & National Affairs,

American Council on Education, August 15, 1994). This program is

part of an initiative of the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) aimed at

expanding career opportunities for working adults and increasing

work force competitiveness through adult education services. PBS

has offered telecourses through PBS stations and local colleges since

1981, but students could not use them to completely fulfill degree

requirements. Enrollment in PBS telecourses has grown from 55,000

in 1981 to about 400,000 in 1996 (information from the Adult

Learning Service, PBS, August 27, 1997). “Going the Distance”

focuses on reaching students who could not otherwise attend college

and work toward a degree (The Washington Post, August 4, 1994).

While those examples highlight the growing importance of distance

education for higher education, they do not provide information about

distance education on a national scale. This PEQIS study was

designed to provide nationally representative data about distance

education course offerings in higher education institutions. The study

obtained information about the percentage of institutions that currently

offer and that plan to offer distance education courses in the next 3

years; distance education course offerings, including the types of

technologies used to deliver distance education courses and the sites to

which such courses are directed; distance education enrollments and

completions; characteristics of distance education courses and

programs; distance education program goals; future plans for distance

education course offerings; and factors keeping institutions from

starting or expanding their distance education offerings.
3

For this study, distance education was defined as education or training

courses delivered to remote (off-campus) locations via audio, video, or

computer technologies. For purposes of this study, the following

types of courses were not included: (1) courses conducted exclusively

on campus, although some on-campus instruction might be involved in

the courses that were included; (2) courses conducted exclusively via

correspondence, although some instruction might be conducted

through correspondence in the courses that were included; and (3)

courses in which the instructor traveled to a remote site to deliver

instruction in person.

The following institutional characteristics were used as variables for

analyzing the survey data:

• Type of institution: public 2-year, private 2-year, public 4-

year, private 4-year. Type was created from a combination of

level (2-year, 4-year) and control (public, private). Two-year

institutions are defined as institutions at which the highest level

of offerings is at least 2 but less than 4 years (below the

baccalaureate degree); 4-year institutions are those at which the

highest level of offering is 4 or more years (baccalaureate or

higher degree).1 Private comprises private nonprofit and

private for-profit institutions; these private institutions are

reported together because there are too few private for-profit

institutions in the sample for this survey to report them as a

separate category.

• Region: Northeast, Southeast, Central, and West, based on the

National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP)

definitions of region. The states in each region are as follows:

- Northeast: Connecticut, Delaware, District of

Columbia, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New

Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania,

Rhode Island, and Vermont.

- Southeast: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia,

Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina,

Puerto Rico, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and

West Virginia.

 

1

 Definitions for level are from the data file documentation for the Integrated Postsecondary

Education Data System (IPEDS) Institutional Characteristics file, U.S. Department of Education,

National Center for Education Statistics.
4

- Central: Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan,

Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio,

South Dakota, and Wisconsin.

- West: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii,

Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma,

Oregon, Texas, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming.

Size of institution: less than 3,000 students (small); 3,000 to 9,999

students (medium); and 10, 000 or more students (large).

The survey was conducted in fall of 1995 by the National Center for

Education Statistics using the Postsecondary Education Quick

Information System (PEQIS). PEQIS is designed to collect limited

amounts of policy-relevant information on a quick turn-around basis

from a previously recruited, nationally representative sample of

postsecondary institutions. PEQIS surveys are generally limited to

two to three pages of questions with a response burden of 30 minutes

per respondent.2 The survey was mailed to the PEQIS survey

coordinators at 1,276 2-year and 4-year higher education institutions.3

Coordinators were told that the survey was designed to be completed

by the person(s) at the institution most knowledgeable about the

institution’s distance education course offerings. The unweighted

survey response rate was 94 percent (the weighted survey response

rate was 96 percent). Data were adjusted for questionnaire

nonresponse and weighted to provide national estimates. The section

of this report on survey methodology and data reliability provides a

more detailed discussion of the sample and survey methodology. The

survey questionnaire is reproduced in appendix B.

All specific statements of comparisons made in this report have been

tested for statistical significance through chi-square tests and t-tests

adjusted for multiple comparisons using the Bonferroni adjustment

and are significant at the 95 percent confidence level or better.

However, not all statistically different comparisons have been

presented, since some were not of substantive importance.

 

2

 Additional information about PEQIS is presented in the methodology section of this report.

3

 Higher education institutions are institutions accredited at the college level by an agency

recognized by the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Education, and are a subset of all

postsecondary education institutions.
5

2. Distance Education

Course Offerings

his section provides information about the distance education

courses offered by higher education institutions. These are the

first nationally representative data about such distance education

offerings. Institutions were asked whether they currently offer any

distance education courses or planned to offer any such courses in the

next 3 years. Institutions that currently offered distance education

courses (i.e., offered distance education courses in fall 1995) were

asked about the number of courses offered in academic year 1994-95,

the types of technologies used to deliver courses, the kinds of remote

sites to which courses were directed, the types of students for whom

courses were designed, and the primary developers of distance

education course curricula.

Institutions

Offering Distance

Education Courses

A third of higher education institutions offered distance education

courses in fall 1995, another quarter planned to offer such courses in

the next 3 years, and 42 percent did not offer and did not plan to offer

distance education courses in the next 3 years (table 1). A much

greater percentage of public than of private institutions offered

distance education courses: 58 percent of public 2-year and 62

percent of public 4-year institutions offered distance education

courses, compared with 2 percent of private 2-year and 12 percent of

private 4-year institutions. The percentage of institutions offering

distance education courses also varied by institutional size and

geographic region, with fewer small institutions and fewer institutions

in the Northeast offering distance education.

T
6

Table 1.—Percent of higher education institutions currently offering distance education courses,

percent planning to offer them in the next 3 years, and percent not currently offering or

planning to offer them, by institutional characteristics: 1995

Institutional characteristic

Currently offering distance

education courses

Planning to offer distance

education courses in the next 3

years

Not currently offering and not

planning to offer distance

education courses

All institutions.................. 33 25 42

Institutional type

Public 2-year......................... 58 28 14

Private 2-year........................ 2 14 84

Public 4-year......................... 62 23 14

Private 4-year........................ 12 27 61

Geographic region

Northeast .............................. 20 27 53

Southeast .............................. 31 28 41

Central.................................. 39 24 37

West ..................................... 40 23 37

Size of institution

Less than 3,000 .................... 16 27 56

3,000 to 9,999 ...................... 61 24 15

10,000 or more ..................... 76 14 10

NOTE: Data are for higher education institutions in the 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. Percents may not sum to

100 because of rounding.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Postsecondary Education Quick Information System,

Survey on Distance Education Courses Offered by Higher Education Institutions, 1995.

Some of the variation in distance education offerings by region and

size was related to the control of the institutions: 66 percent of

institutions in the Northeast are private, compared with about half of

the institutions in the other regions; and 72 percent of small

institutions (i.e., those with less than 3,000 students) are private,

compared with 24 percent of medium institutions (those with 3,000 to

9,999 students), and 11 percent of large institutions (those with

10,000 or more students; not shown in tables). This report focuses on

presenting the findings by institutional type (which is a combination of

institutional level and control), but the findings by region and size are

presented in the tables for those interested in these variables.
7

About a third (36 percent) of higher education institutions offering

distance education courses in fall 1995 had a separate distance

education department or office (figure 1). Large institutions were

particularly likely to have such a department or office.

Figure 1.—Percent of higher education institutions currently

offering distance education courses that have a

separate distance education department/office, by

institutional characteristics: 1995

50%

31%

30%

39%

34%

40%

29%

33%

40%

34%

36%

0 20 40 60 80 100

10,000 or more

3,000 to 9,999

Less than 3,000

Size of institution

West

Central

Southeast

Northeast

Geographic region

Private 4-year

Public 4-year

Public 2-year

Institutional type*

All institutions

Percent of institutions

*Data for private 2-year institutions are not reported as a separate type of institution

because too few of them in the sample offered distance education courses in fall 1995 to

make reliable estimates. Data for private 2-year institutions are included in the totals and

in analyses by other institutional characteristics.

NOTE: Data are for higher education institutions in the 50 states, the District of

Columbia, and Puerto Rico. Percents are based on institutions that offered distance

education courses in fall 1995.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics,

Postsecondary Education Quick Information System, Survey on Distance Education

Courses Offered by Higher Education Institutions, 1995.
8

Number of Distance

Education Courses

Offered

In academic year 1994-95, an estimated 25,730 distance education

courses with different catalog numbers4 were offered by higher

education institutions (table 2). Public 4-year institutions offered

45 percent of the distance education courses, public 2-year institutions

offered 39 percent, and private 4-year institutions offered 16 percent

of the distance education courses in 1994-95. About half of the

institutions that offered distance education courses in fall 1995 offered

10 or fewer such courses in academic year 1994-95, with 24 percent

offering 1 to 4 courses and 21 percent offering 5 to 10 courses (figure

2). About a quarter of the institutions offered more than 25 distance

education courses.

Table 2.—Total number and percentage distribution of distance

education courses with different catalog numbers

offered in academic year 1994-95, by institutional

characteristics

Institutional characteristic Number Percentage

distribution

All institutions.................................. 25,730 100

Institutional type*

Public 2-year.................................... 10,150 39

Public 4-year.................................... 11,470 45

Private 4-year................................... 4,030 16

Geographic region

Northeast.......................................... 2,670 10

Southeast.......................................... 5,590 22

Central ............................................. 8,230 32

West................................................. 9,240 36

Size of institution

Less than 3,000................................ 6,070 24

3,000 to 9,999.................................. 7,970 31

10,000 or more................................. 11,700 45

*Data for private 2-year institutions are not reported as a separate type of institution

because too few of them in the sample offered distance education courses in fall 1995 to

make reliable estimates. Data for private 2-year institutions are included in the totals and

in analyses by other institutional characteristics.

NOTE: Data are for higher education institutions in the 50 states, the District of

Columbia, and Puerto Rico. The numbers of courses have been rounded to the nearest 10.

Numbers may not sum to totals because of rounding. Percents are computed within each

classification variable.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics,

Postsecondary Education Quick Information System, Survey on Distance Education

Courses Offered by Higher Education Institutions, 1995.

 

4

 Courses with different catalog numbers excluded multiple sections of the same course (e.g., five

sections of English 101 would be counted as one course).
9

Figure 2.—Percent of higher education institutions offering

distance education courses in fall 1995 that offered

various numbers of distance education courses in

academic year 1994-95

No courses*

1 to 4 courses

11 to 25 5 to 10 courses

courses

More than 25 

courses

24%

25% 21%

26%

4%

*Approximately 4 percent of the institutions offered distance education courses in fall

1995, but did not offer such courses in academic year 1994-95.

NOTE: Data are for higher education institutions in the 50 states, the District of

Columbia, and Puerto Rico. Percents are based on institutions that offered distance

education courses in fall 1995.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics,

Postsecondary Education Quick Information System, Survey on Distance Education

Courses Offered by Higher Education Institutions, 1995.

Institutions were asked how many of their distance education courses

are offered only as distance education courses (i.e., there is no

equivalent course taught on campus). Institutions offered an estimated

3,260 courses only as distance education courses (not shown in

tables). The percentage of distance education courses offered

exclusively through distance education did not vary by institutional

type. Public 2-year institutions offered 9 percent of their distance

education courses exclusively as distance education courses; public 4-

year institutions, 13 percent; and private 4-year institutions, 19

percent (figure 3).
10

Figure 3.—Percent of distance education courses that are offered

only as distance education courses, by institutional

characteristics: 1995

13%

9%

13%

19%

25%

8%

12%

13%

21%

10%

11%

0 20 40 60 80 100

10,000 or more

3,000-9,999

Less than 3,000

Size of institution

West

Central

Southeast

Northeast

Geographic region

Private 4-year

Public 4-year

Public 2-year

Institutional type*

All institutions

Percent of institutions

*Data for private 2-year institutions are not reported as a separate type of institution

because too few of them in the sample offered distance education courses in fall 1995 to

make reliable estimates. Data for private 2-year institutions are included in the totals and

in analyses by other institutional characteristics.

NOTE: Data are for higher education institutions in the 50 states, the District of

Columbia, and Puerto Rico. Percents are based on institutions that offered distance

education courses in fall 1995.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics,

Postsecondary Education Quick Information System, Survey on Distance Education

Courses Offered by Higher Education Institutions, 1995.

Types of

Technologies Used

to Deliver Distance

Education Courses

Two-way interactive video and one-way prerecorded video were used

to deliver distance education courses by 57 percent and

52 percent, respectively, of the institutions offering distance education

courses in fall 1995 (table 3). About a quarter of the institutions used

two-way audio with one-way video, and computer-based technologies

other than two-way online interactions during instruction (e.g., the

Internet). Each of the other technologies was used by 14 percent or

fewer of the institutions.

Public 4-year institutions were more likely than other types of

institutions to use two-way interactive video and two-way audio with

one-way video, while public 2-year institutions were more likely than

other types of institutions to use one-way prerecorded video
11

(table 3). Two-way online interactions during instruction and other

computer-based technologies were used more frequently by private 4-

year than by public 2-year institutions.

Table 3.—Percent of higher education institutions currently offering distance education courses that

use various types of technologies to deliver distance education courses, by institutional

characteristics: 1995

Type of technology

Institutional

characteristic

Two-way

interactive

video

Two-way

audio,

one-way

video

One-way

live video

One-way

prerecorded

video

AudiographicsTwo-way

audio

One-way

audio

Two-way

online

interactions

Other

computerbased

technology

Other

technologies

All institutions......... 57 24 9 52 3 11 10 14 22 5

Institutional type*

Public 2-year................ 49 18 9 67 1 5 10 8 14 5

Public 4-year................ 78 36 13 42 5 17 6 17 26 6

Private 4-year............... 40 14 4 30 3 16 20 25 38 7

Geographic region

Northeast ..................... 51 15 6 43 2 7 6 15 22 6

Southeast ..................... 60 24 7 64 2 11 5 11 10 4

Central......................... 68 23 6 39 3 16 15 13 26 6

West ............................ 46 28 17 62 3 7 11 16 26 6

Size of institution

Less than 3,000 ........... 51 20 4 42 1 10 12 13 18 4

3,000 to 9,999 ............. 56 17 8 57 2 10 9 9 19 4

10,000 or more ............ 67 40 19 59 6 13 9 22 31 9

*Data for private 2-year institutions are not reported as a separate type of institution because too few of them in the sample offered

distance education courses in fall 1995 to make reliable estimates. Data for private 2-year institutions are included in the totals and in

analyses by other institutional characteristics.

NOTE: Data are for higher education institutions in the 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. Percents are based on

institutions that offered distance education courses in fall 1995. Percents sum to more than 100 because an institution could use more

than one type of technology.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Postsecondary Education Quick Information System,

Survey on Distance Education Courses Offered by Higher Education Institutions, 1995.

Delivery of Distance

Education Courses

to Remote Sites

About half of the higher education institutions that offered distance

education courses in fall 1995 directed distance education courses

to students’ homes (table 4). Other sites to which institutions

frequently directed courses were other branches of their institution

(39 percent) and other college campuses (35 percent). About a

quarter of the institutions directed distance education courses to

elementary/secondary schools, and 18 percent directed courses to

work sites. Courses were directed to libraries, community-based
12

organizations (e.g., YMCA), and correctional institutions by

10 percent or less of the institutions.

The types of remote sites to which courses were directed showed some

variation by institutional type. For example, public 4-year institutions

directed courses to other college campuses more frequently than did

public 2-year or private 4-year institutions, while public 2-year

institutions directed courses to students’ homes more frequently than

did public 4-year institutions (table 4).

Table 4.—Percent of higher education institutions currently offering distance education courses

directed to different types of remote sites, by institutional characteristics: 1995

Type of remote site

Institutional

characteristic

Other

branches of

the

institution

Other

college

campuses

Students’

homes

Work sites Libraries

Elementary/

secondary

schools

Communitybased

organizations

Correctional

institutions

Other

sites

All institutions......... 39 35 49 18 10 24 4 6 13

Institutional type*

Public 2-year................ 39 25 58 8 14 24 2 10 7

Public 4-year................ 45 56 38 31 10 32 6 5 21

Private 4-year............... 27 22 41 23 1 10 3 0 15

Geographic region

Northeast ..................... 34 17 49 23 7 31 2 8 15

Southeast ..................... 38 31 50 16 14 18 3 3 15

Central......................... 38 49 36 16 10 35 4 5 14

West ............................ 43 33 62 20 9 14 4 10 9

Size of institution

Less than 3,000 ........... 41 28 42 7 8 24 3 7 11

3,000 to 9,999 ............. 32 33 49 18 11 20 2 6 13

10,000 or more ............ 48 48 57 35 12 30 6 8 16

*Data for private 2-year institutions are not reported as a separate type of institution because too few of them in the sample offered

distance education courses in fall 1995 to make reliable estimates. Data for private 2-year institutions are included in the totals and in

analyses by other institutional characteristics.

NOTE: Data are for higher education institutions in the 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. Percents are based on

institutions that offered distance education courses in fall 1995. Percents sum to more than 100 because an institution could direct courses

to more than one type of remote site. Zeros appear in the table when no institution in the sample gave the indicated response.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Postsecondary Education Quick Information System,

Survey on Distance Education Courses Offered by Higher Education Institutions, 1995.
13

Institutions were asked how many of their distance education courses

were directed to each type of remote site. If a course was directed to

more than one type of site, the institution was instructed to count the

course for each type of site to which it was directed. Thus, the

numbers of courses directed to specific sites are duplicated counts.

Institutions directed an estimated 10,380 distance education courses to

students’ homes and 9,580 courses to other branches of their

institution (table 5). A sizable number of courses were also directed

to other college campuses and work sites.

Table 5.—Total number of distance education courses directed by higher education institutions to

different types of remote sites, by institutional characteristics: 1995

Type of remote site

Institutional

characteristic

Other

branches of

the

institution

Other

college

campuses

Students’

homes

Work sites Libraries

Elementary/

secondary

schools

Communitybased

organizations

Correctional

institutions

Other

sites

All institutions......... 9,580 5,700 10,380 5,240 2,030 2,220 540 1,630 1,860

Institutional type*

Public 2-year................ 3,720 1,720 5,010 470 1,030 850 50 810 440

Public 4-year................ 5,400 3,870 3,230 3,460 970 1,310 480 820 850

Private 4-year............... 450 110 2,090 1,250 (+) 60 10 0 570

Geographic region

Northeast ..................... 940 160 1,120 850 90 160 10 30 190

Southeast ..................... 1,930 1,290 2,220 1,330 750 400 280 340 420

Central......................... 2,610 2,160 2,840 910 430 1,110 90 350 720

West ............................ 4,100 2,090 4,210 2,150 760 550 170 910 530

Size of institution

Less than 3,000 ........... 2,670 1,510 2,480 170 350 670 70 320 490

3,000 to 9,999 ............. 2,380 1,520 3,440 830 550 470 20 440 750

10,000 or more ............ 4,520 2,660 4,450 4,240 1,130 1,080 450 870 620

*Data for private 2-year institutions are not reported as a separate type of institution because too few of them in the sample offered

distance education courses in fall 1995 to make reliable estimates. Data for private 2-year institutions are included in the totals and in

analyses by other institutional characteristics.

(+) Rounds to fewer than 10 courses.

NOTE: Data are for higher education institutions in the 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. The numbers of courses

directed to specific sites are duplicated counts. If a course was directed to more than one type of site, the course was counted for each type

of site where it was directed. The numbers of courses have been rounded to the nearest 10. Numbers may not sum to totals because of

rounding. Zeros appear in the table when no institution in the sample gave the indicated response.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Postsecondary Education Quick Information System,

Survey on Distance Education Courses Offered by Higher Education Institutions, 1995.
14

Primary Student

Audience for

Distance Education

Courses

More higher education institutions offered distance education courses

designed primarily for undergraduate and graduate students than for

any other type of student (table 6). Eighty-one percent of institutions

that offered distance education courses in fall 1995 reported offering

distance education courses designed primarily for undergraduate

students, and 34 percent reported offering courses designed primarily

for graduate students. Fewer institutions offered courses designed

primarily for the other types of students listed. Thirteen percent of

institutions offered distance education courses designed primarily for

professional continuing education students, and 6 percent or fewer

offered courses designed primarily for each of the following types of

students: elementary/secondary, adult basic education, other

continuing education students, and other types of students.

Table 6.—Percent of higher education institutions currently offering distance education courses

designed primarily for specific types of students, by institutional characteristics: 1995

Type of student

Institutional characteristic Elementary/

secondary

Undergraduate

Graduate

Adult basic

education

Professional

continuing

education

Other

continuing

education

Other

All institutions......... 6 81 34 2 13 6 2

Institutional type*

Public 2-year................ 5 97 3 4 5 5 2

Public 4-year................ 11 75 66 1 26 9 2

Private 4-year............... 1 47 60 0 11 3 1

Geographic region

Northeast ..................... 11 75 33 1 11 5 2

Southeast ..................... 5 80 37 3 11 4 2

Central......................... 5 84 31 2 18 10 1

West ............................ 6 83 34 4 11 3 2

Size of institution

Less than 3,000 ........... 2 78 26 2 13 5 2

3,000 to 9,999 ............. 8 83 26 2 8 7 1

10,000 or more ............ 10 82 56 3 22 5 1

*Data for private 2-year institutions are not reported as a separate type of institution because too few of them in the sample offered

distance education courses in fall 1995 to make reliable estimates. Data for private 2-year institutions are included in the totals and in

analyses by other institutional characteristics.

NOTE: Data are for higher education institutions in the 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. Percents are based on

institutions that offered distance education courses in fall 1995. Percents sum to more than 100 because an institution could offer different

courses designed primarily for different types of students. Zeros appear in the table when no institution in the sample gave the indicated

response.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Postsecondary Education Quick Information System,

Survey on Distance Education Courses Offered by Higher Education Institutions, 1995.
15

Public 2-year institutions were more likely than public 4-year

institutions, which in turn were more likely than private 4-year

institutions, to offer distance education courses designed primarily for

undergraduate students (table 6). Public 4-year institutions also were

more likely than other types of institutions to offer distance education

courses designed primarily for professional continuing education

students.

Institutions were asked how many of their distance education courses

were designed primarily for each type of student. They were

instructed not to double count courses (i.e., if a course was designed

for more than one type of student, they were to count it for the group

for which it was primarily designed). Institutions offered 15,680

courses designed primarily for undergraduate students and 7,590

courses designed primarily for graduate students (table 7).

Institutions offered many fewer courses primarily designed for other

types of students. Public 2-year institutions offered more courses

designed primarily for undergraduate students and public 4-year

institutions offered more courses designed primarily for graduate

students than did other types of institutions.
16

Table 7.—Total number of distance education courses designed by higher education institutions

primarily for specific types of students, by institutional characteristics: 1995

Type of student

Institutional characteristic Elementary/

secondary

Undergraduate

Graduate

Adult basic

education

Professional

continuing

education

Other

continuing

education

Other

All institutions......... 360 15,680 7,590 70 1,750 540 50

Institutional type*

Public 2-year................ 70 9,620 140 60 130 140 30

Public 4-year................ 280 4,750 5,040 10 1,350 210 20

Private 4-year............... (+) 1,250 2,410 0 230 190 (+)

Geographic region

Northeast ..................... 40 1,630 650 (+) 300 130 10

Southeast ..................... 20 3,100 2,200 10 240 20 20

Central......................... 130 5,210 2,020 10 710 290 (+)

West ............................ 160 5,750 2,720 50 500 100 10

Size of institution

Less than 3,000 ........... 20 4,350 1,300 30 300 120 30

3,000 to 9,999 ............. 140 5,890 1,650 20 260 200 10

10,000 or more ............ 200 5,440 4,640 20 1,190 230 10

*Data for private 2-year institutions are not reported as a separate type of institution because too few of them in the sample offered

distance education courses in fall 1995 to make reliable estimates. Data for private 2-year institutions are included in the totals and in

analyses by other institutional characteristics.

(+) Rounds to fewer than 10 courses.

NOTE: Data are for higher education institutions in the 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. The numbers of courses

designed for various types of students are for fall 1995. These numbers exceed the total number of courses offered in academic year 1994-

95 because approximately 4 percent of the institutions offered distance education courses in fall 1995 but did not offer such courses in

academic year 1994-95. These institutions account for approximately 300 additional courses. The numbers of courses have been rounded

to the nearest 10. Numbers may not sum to totals because of rounding. Zeros appear in the table when no institution in the sample gave

the indicated response.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Postsecondary Education Quick Information System,

Survey on Distance Education Courses Offered by Higher Education Institutions, 1995.
17

Individuals

Targeted for

Distance Education

Courses

Professionals seeking recertification and other workers seeking skill

updating or retraining were targeted by more institutions that offered

distance education courses in fall 1995 than were other types of

individuals (table 8). Thirty-nine percent of institutions that offered

distance education courses in fall 1995 targeted professionals seeking

recertification, and 49 percent targeted other workers seeking skill

updating or retraining. About 15 percent of institutions targeted

individuals with disabilities, military personnel, and other types of

individuals. Non-English-speaking individuals and Native

Americans/Alaskan Natives on tribal lands were targeted by 3 percent

and 7 percent of institutions, respectively. Public 4-year institutions

were more likely than other types of institutions to target professionals

seeking recertification and other workers seeking skill updating or

retraining.

Table 8.—Percent of higher education institutions currently offering distance education courses

targeted toward certain types of individuals, by institutional characteristics: 1995

Type of individual

Institutional characteristic

Non-Englishspeaking

individuals

Military

personnel

Individuals

with

disabilities

Native

Americans/

Alaskan

Natives on

tribal lands

Professionals

seeking

recertification

Other workers

seeking skill

updating or

retraining

Other types

of

individuals

All institutions......... 3 12 16 7 39 49 17

Institutional type*

Public 2-year................ 4 11 22 8 24 45 18

Public 4-year................ 2 15 12 8 65 60 15

Private 4-year............... 1 9 7 1 30 37 17

Geographic region

Northeast ..................... 2 11 20 2 40 51 18

Southeast ..................... 3 16 15 1 40 47 12

Central......................... 3 6 11 9 41 52 16

West ............................ 5 16 21 13 35 47 21

Size of institution

Less than 3,000 ........... 2 6 8 9 30 39 17

3,000 to 9,999 ............. 3 13 19 6 36 50 15

10,000 or more ............ 4 19 22 6 54 61 19

*Data for private 2-year institutions are not reported as a separate type of institution because too few of them in the sample offered

distance education courses in fall 1995 to make reliable estimates. Data for private 2-year institutions are included in the totals and in

analyses by other institutional characteristics.

NOTE: Data are for higher education institutions in the 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. Percents are based on

institutions that offered distance education courses in fall 1995. Percents sum to more than 100 because an institution’s distance

education courses could target more than one type of individual.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Postsecondary Education Quick Information System,

Survey on Distance Education Courses Offered by Higher Education Institutions, 1995.
18

Primary Course

Developers

Three-quarters of the higher education institutions that offered

distance education courses in fall 1995 used distance education course

curricula developed by the institution’s subject area departments or

schools (table 9). Courses developed by commercial or

noncommercial vendors were used by 30 percent of the institutions.

Courses from other types of developers were each used by 12 percent

or fewer of the institutions. More public 2-year institutions than

public and private 4-year institutions used courses developed by

commercial or noncommercial vendors, while more public and private

4-year than public 2-year institutions used courses developed by the

institution’s subject area departments or schools.

Table 9.—Percent of higher education institutions currently offering distance education courses

composed by various types of developers, by institutional characteristics: 1995

Type of developer

Institutional

characteristic

Institution’s

distance

education

department/

office

Institution’s

subject area

departments or

schools

Another

institution of

higher education

Commercial or

noncommercial

vendor

Other developer

Developer

unknown

All institutions......... 7 75 12 30 6 (+)

Institutional type*

Public 2-year................ 7 66 17 45 5 1

Public 4-year................ 6 87 9 17 7 0

Private 4-year............... 11 82 4 11 7 0

Geographic region

Northeast ..................... 5 70 8 33 6 0

Southeast ..................... 7 68 11 38 3 1

Central......................... 6 88 14 16 6 1

West ............................ 10 71 15 37 10 (+)

Size of institution

Less than 3,000 ........... 7 74 14 23 5 0

3,000 to 9,999 ............. 5 71 11 33 6 1

10,000 or more ............ 9 83 12 33 8 (+)

*Data for private 2-year institutions are not reported as a separate type of institution because too few of them in the sample offered

distance education courses in fall 1995 to make reliable estimates. Data for private 2-year institutions are included in the totals and in

analyses by other institutional characteristics.

(+) Less than 0.5 percent.

NOTE: Data are for higher education institutions in the 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. Percents are based on

institutions that offered distance education courses in fall 1995. Percents sum to more than 100 because an institution could offer different

courses composed by different developers. Zeros appear in the table when no institution in the sample gave the indicated response.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Postsecondary Education Quick Information System,

Survey on Distance Education Courses Offered by Higher Education Institutions, 1995.
19

Institutions were asked how many of their distance education course

curricula were developed primarily by various types of developers.

Institutions were instructed not to double count courses, i.e., they were

to count each course only once and to count it for its primary

developer. Two-thirds of the distance education courses offered in fall

1995 were developed by the institution’s subject area departments or

schools, and 18 percent were developed by commercial or

noncommercial vendors (figure 4). Each of the other types of

developers composed 5 percent or fewer of the distance education

courses.

Figure 4.—Percent of distance education courses offered in fall

1995 that were composed by various types of

developers

Another higher 

education 

institution

Commercial or 

noncommercial 

vendor

Institution's 

distance 

education 

department/

office

Developer 

unknown

Less than 1%

Other 

developer

Institution's 

subject area 

departments or 

schools

68%

5%

18%

4% 5%

NOTE: Data are for higher education institutions in the 50 states, the District of

Columbia, and Puerto Rico. Percents are based on institutions that offered distance

education courses in fall 1995.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics,

Postsecondary Education Quick Information System, Survey on Distance Education

Courses Offered by Higher Education Institutions, 1995.
20
21

3. Distance Education

Enrollments and

Completions

his section provides the first nationally representative information about distance education enrollments and completions.

Institutions that offered any distance education courses in fall 1995

were asked about the number of students formally enrolled in distance

education courses, whether students could complete degrees or

certificates by taking distance education courses exclusively, and the

number of students completing such degrees or certificates.

Number of Students

Enrolled in

Distance Education

Courses

Institutions that offered any distance education courses in fall 1995

were asked how many students were formally enrolled in the

institution’s distance education courses in academic year 1994-95. If

a student was enrolled in multiple courses, institutions were instructed

to count the student for each course in which he or she was enrolled.

There were an estimated 753,640 students formally enrolled in

distance education courses at these higher education institutions in

academic year 1994-955 (table 10). Public 2-year institutions enrolled

the most distance education students: 414,160 (55 percent) of the

students enrolled in distance education courses were at public 2-year

institutions. Public 4-year institutions also enrolled many distance

education students, with 234,020 students, i.e., 31 percent, of the

students enrolled in distance education courses in 1994-95.

 

5

 To put this number into context, there were approximately 14.3 million students enrolled in

higher education institutions in fall 1994 (U.S. Department of Education. National Center for

Education Statistics. Digest of Education Statistics 1996. Washington, DC: 1996; information

from table 174).

T
22

Table 10.—Total number and percentage distribution of students

formally enrolled in the institution’s distance

education courses in academic year 1994-95, by

institutional characteristics

Institutional characteristic Number Percentage

distribution

All institutions..................................... 753,640 100

Institutional type*

Public 2-year....................................... 414,160 55

Public 4-year....................................... 234,020 31

Private 4-year...................................... 104,960 14

Geographic region

Northeast............................................. 72,960 10

Southeast............................................. 200,230 27

Central ................................................ 205,030 27

West.................................................... 275,420 37

Size of institution

Less than 3,000................................... 116,320 15

3,000 to 9,999..................................... 232,750 31

10,000 or more.................................... 404,570 54

*Data for private 2-year institutions are not reported as a separate type of institution

because too few of them in the sample offered distance education courses in fall 1995 to

make reliable estimates. Data for private 2-year institutions are included in the totals and

in analyses by other institutional characteristics.

NOTE: Data are for higher education institutions in the 50 states, the District of

Columbia, and Puerto Rico. The number of students have been rounded to the nearest 10.

Numbers may not sum to totals and percents may not sum to 100 because of rounding.

Percents are computed within each classification variable.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics,

Postsecondary Education Quick Information System, Survey on Distance Education

Courses Offered by Higher Education Institutions, 1995.
23

About half of the institutions that offered any distance education

courses in fall 1995 enrolled 200 or fewer students in those courses,

with 23 percent enrolling from 1 to 50 students, and 24 percent

enrolling from 51 to 200 students (figure 5). Twenty-two percent of

the institutions enrolled more than 800 students.

Figure 5.—Percent of higher education institutions currently

offering distance education courses that enrolled

various numbers of students in those courses in

academic year 1994-95

No students*

1 to 50 students

51 to 200 

students

201 to 800 

students

More than 800 

students

23%

27% 24%

22%

4%

*Approximately 4 percent of the institutions offered distance education courses in fall

1995, but did not offer such courses (and therefore did not enroll any students) in

academic year 1994-95.

NOTE: Data are for higher education institutions in the 50 states, the District of

Columbia, and Puerto Rico. Percents are based on institutions that offered distance

education courses in fall 1995.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics,

Postsecondary Education Quick Information System, Survey on Distance Education

Courses Offered by Higher Education Institutions, 1995.
24

Degrees or

Certificates

Received Through

Distance Education

Institutions were asked whether students could complete degrees or

certificates by taking distance education courses exclusively, and if so,

how many different degrees or certificates could be received in this

way. About a quarter of the institutions that offered distance

education courses in fall 1995 offered degrees that students could

complete by taking distance education courses exclusively, and 7

percent offered certificates that could be completed this way (table

11). More public and private 4-year than public 2-year institutions

offered degrees that students could complete by taking distance

education courses exclusively.

Table 11.—Percent of higher education institutions currently offering distance education courses that

offer degrees and certificates to students taking distance education courses exclusively,

total number of degrees and certificates students can receive by taking distance education

courses only, and total number of such degree and certificate recipients in 1994-95, by

institutional characteristics

Institutional Percent offering Total number offered Total number of recipients

characteristic Degrees Certificates Degrees Certificates Degrees Certificates

All institutions......... 23 7 690 170 3,430 1,970

Institutional type*

Public 2-year................ 12 3 130 20 170 50

Public 4-year................ 35 9 390 90 2,180 1,770

Private 4-year............... 29 14 160 60 1,080 160

Geographic region

Northeast ..................... 14 5 50 30 90 10

Southeast ..................... 24 6 180 30 1,080 240

Central......................... 26 7 270 30 560 1,260

West ............................ 23 8 200 80 1,700 460

Size of institution

Less than 3,000 ........... 17 5 160 30 1,080 100

3,000 to 9,999 ............. 19 7 210 50 710 160

10,000 or more ............ 34 10 320 90 1,640 1,720

*Data for private 2-year institutions are not reported as a separate type of institution because too few of them in the sample offered

distance education courses in fall 1995 to make reliable estimates. Data for private 2-year institutions are included in the totals and in

analyses by other institutional characteristics.

NOTE: Data are for higher education institutions in the 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. Percents are based on

institutions that offered distance education courses in fall 1995. The numbers of degrees and certificates offered and the numbers of

degree and certificate recipients have been rounded to the nearest 10. Numbers may not sum to totals because of rounding.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Postsecondary Education Quick Information System,

Survey on Distance Education Courses Offered by Higher Education Institutions, 1995.
25

There were an estimated 690 degrees and 170 certificates offered in

fall 1995 that students could receive by taking distance education

courses exclusively (table 11). Public 4-year institutions offered more

of these degrees than did private 4-year and public 2-year institutions,

and offered more certificates than did public 2-year institutions. Most

institutions that offered degrees or certificates that students could

receive by taking distance education courses exclusively only offered a

few of them. Forty-four percent of institutions offering such degrees

offered 1 degree, and 23 percent offered 2 degrees; among institutions

offering certificates, 61 percent offered 1 certificate and 27 percent

offered 2 or 3 certificates (figure 6).

Figure 6.—Percent of higher education institutions offering degrees and certificates exclusively

through distance education courses that offered various numbers of such degrees and

certificates: 1995

3 to 5 

degrees

1 degree

2 degrees

44%

23%

23%

10%

More than 

5 degrees

Number of degrees

1 

certificate

61% 27%

13%

More than 3 

certificates

2 to 3

certificates

Number of certificates

NOTE: Data are for higher education institutions in the 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. Percents are based on

institutions in fall 1995 that offered at least one degree or certificate that students could complete by taking distance education courses

exclusively. Percents may not sum to 100 because of rounding.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Postsecondary Education Quick Information System,

Survey on Distance Education Courses Offered by Higher Education Institutions, 1995.
26

Institutions were asked how many students received degrees or

certificates in academic year 1994-95 by taking distance education

courses exclusively. An estimated 3,430 students received degrees

and 1,970 received certificates by taking distance education courses

exclusively6 (table 11). Public 4-year institutions had many more

degree and certificate recipients than did public 2-year institutions,

and more certificate recipients than did private 4-year institutions.

About half (49 percent) of the institutions that offered degrees that

students could complete by taking distance education courses

exclusively had 10 or fewer degree recipients in academic year 1994-

95 (not shown in tables). The distribution of certificate recipients is

not estimated because there are too few cases for a reliable estimate.

 

6

 To put these numbers into context, there were approximately 2.2 million degrees awarded at the

associate through doctorate level and approximately 72,000 less-than-1-year awards in 1992-93,

the most recent year for which data are available (U.S. Department of Education. National

Center for Education Statistics. Digest of Education Statistics 1996. Washington, DC: 1996;

information from tables 240 and 242).
27

4. Characteristics of

Distance Education

Courses and

Programs

o date, information has not been available on a national basis

about some of the general characteristics of distance education

courses and programs that affect the distance education experience for

students. This section provides information about the resources

available to students enrolled in distance education courses,

procedures used to administer tests to students enrolled in for-credit

distance education courses, and training opportunities for faculty

teaching distance education courses.

Availability of

Resources for

Students Enrolled

in Distance

Education Courses

Institutions that offered distance education courses in fall 1995 were

asked about the availability of various resources for students enrolled

in their distance education courses. Institutions were asked to indicate

whether the resource was available for all courses, available for some

courses, or not available. Access to instructors in some form was

generally available to students. Instructors visiting remote site(s) on

occasion was available for some courses at 42 percent of institutions

and for all courses at 25 percent of institutions (table 12). Toll-free

telephone, E-mail, or other online access to the instructor was

available for some courses at 24 percent and for all courses at 58

percent of institutions. Access to a teaching assistant, tutor, or

facilitator was somewhat less available. These staff were regularly

available at remote site(s) or by telephone, E-mail, or other online

access for some or all courses at about half of the institutions (tables

12 and 13). Telephone, E-mail, or other online access to technical

support staff was available to students for some or all courses at

about two-thirds of the institutions. Online access to wide area

networks (e.g., the Internet) was available at about half of the

institutions.

T
28

Table 12.—Percent of higher education institutions currently offering distance education courses that

have various resources available for students enrolled in distance education courses:

1995

Resource

Not

available

Available

for some

courses

Available

for all

courses

Don’t know

Instructor visits remote site(s) on occasion............................................ 32 42 25 2

Toll-free telephone, E-mail, or other online access to instructor ............ 17 24 58 2

Teaching assistant, tutor, or facilitator regularly available at remote

site(s)................................................................................................ 41 32 23 3

Toll-free telephone, E-mail, or other online access to teaching assistant,

tutor, or facilitator............................................................................. 47 22 27 3

Toll-free telephone, E-mail, or other online access to technical support

staff .................................................................................................. 35 17 46 2

Access to an electronic link with institution’s library ............................ 40 18 39 4

Institution library staff assigned to assist distance education students .. 50 11 33 5

Cooperative agreements for students to use other libraries.................... 30 18 45 8

Deposit collections at remote sites......................................................... 51 21 18 10

Online access to wide area networks (e.g., Internet).............................. 44 27 26 4

NOTE: Data are for higher education institutions in the 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. Percents are based on

institutions that offered distance education courses in fall 1995. Percents are computed across each row, but may not sum to 100 because

of rounding.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Postsecondary Education Quick Information System,

Survey on Distance Education Courses Offered by Higher Education Institutions, 1995.

Table 13.—Percent of higher education institutions currently offering distance education courses

indicating that various resources are available for some or all courses for students

enrolled in distance education courses, by institutional type: 1995

All Institutional type*

Resource institutions Public

2-year

Public

4-year

Private

4-year

Instructor visits remote site(s) on occasion ........................................... 67 62 82 48

Toll-free telephone, E-mail, or other online access to instructor............ 82 73 89 91

Teaching assistant, tutor, or facilitator regularly available at remote

site(s) ............................................................................................... 56 44 76 50

Toll-free telephone, E-mail, or other online access to teaching assistant,

tutor, or facilitator ............................................................................ 50 34 64 65

Toll-free telephone, E-mail, or other online access to technical support

staff.................................................................................................. 63 54 72 74

Access to an electronic link with institution’s library............................ 56 40 78 62

Institution library staff assigned to assist distance education students.. 45 41 45 53

Cooperative agreements for students to use other libraries.................... 62 58 75 54

Deposit collections at remote sites ........................................................ 39 38 47 25

Online access to wide area networks (e.g., Internet) ............................. 53 36 76 55

*Data for private 2-year institutions are not reported as a separate type of institution because too few of them in the sample offered

distance education courses in fall 1995 to make reliable estimates. Data for private 2-year institutions are included in the totals.

NOTE: Data are for higher education institutions in the 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. Percents are based on

institutions that offered distance education courses in fall 1995.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Postsecondary Education Quick Information System,

Survey on Distance Education Courses Offered by Higher Education Institutions, 1995.
29

Access to library resources varied depending on the type of library

resource. Access to an electronic link with the institution’s library

was available for some or all courses at 56 percent of the institutions,

and cooperative agreements for students to use other libraries were

available at 62 percent of institutions (tables 12 and 13). Institution

library staff were assigned to assist distance education students at 45

percent of the institutions, while library deposit collections were

available at remote sites at 39 percent of institutions.

The availability of these resources for students showed some variation

by institutional type (table 13). In particular, students at public 4-

year institutions more frequently had access to the resources than did

those at public 2-year institutions, with the exception of institution’s

library staff assigned to assist distance education students and library

deposit collections at remote sites.

Procedures for Test

Administration

In order to better understand if and how students enrolled in distance

education courses are evaluated, institutions were asked about test

administration for students enrolled in for-credit distance education

courses. If tests are administered, institutions were asked whether

various testing procedures were used “almost never,” “sometimes,” or

“almost always.”

Almost all of the institutions (98 percent) administered some type of

test to students enrolled in for-credit distance education courses (not

shown in tables). A third of the institutions administering tests

indicated that they almost always used tests that are group

administered (non-interactively) at remote learning sites, and a third

indicated that they almost always used tests administered at oncampus sites (i.e., distance education students travel to campus; table

14). Fifteen percent of the institutions indicated that they almost

always used tests individually mailed or faxed to students, and 8

percent of the institutions almost always used tests taken at remote

sites interactively via computer, video, or telephone.
30

Table 14.—Percent of higher education institutions currently offering distance education courses

using various procedures to administer tests to students enrolled in for-credit distance

education courses: 1995

Testing procedure

Almost

never

Sometimes

Almost

always

Don’t

know

Tests individually mailed or faxed to students, who mail or fax them

back .................................................................................................. 54 28 15 3

Tests taken at remote sites interactively via computer, video, or

telephone........................................................................................... 64 23 8 4

Tests group administered (non-interactively) at remote learning sites....

38 27 33 2

Tests administered at on-campus site (distance education students

travel to campus)............................................................................... 47 19 32 2

NOTE: Data are for higher education institutions in the 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. Percents are based on the

98 percent of institutions that offered distance education courses in fall 1995 and administered tests to students enrolled in those courses.

Percents are computed across each row, but may not sum to 100 because of rounding.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Postsecondary Education Quick Information System,

Survey on Distance Education Courses Offered by Higher Education Institutions, 1995.

Training

Opportunities for

Faculty

Institutions that offered distance education courses in fall 1995 were

asked whether various training opportunities for faculty teaching

distance education courses were available and whether they were

required. The various forms of training opportunities were generally

available but not required of faculty teaching distance education

courses at about 60 percent of the institutions (table 15). About a

quarter of the institutions required faculty to have training in the use

and application of distance education technologies, and to consult with

support center staff; about 13 percent required training in curriculum

development, and about 17 percent training in teaching methods for

distance education courses.

Table 15.—Percent of higher education institutions currently offering distance education courses

indicating whether certain training opportunities are required, available but not

required, or not available to faculty teaching distance education courses: 1995

Training opportunity Required

Available

but not

required

Not

available

Training in the use and application of distance education technologies ............................ 27 59 14

Training in the development of curricula for distance education courses.......................... 13 60 27

Training in teaching methods for distance education courses ........................................... 17 63 19

Consultation with support center staff.............................................................................. 28 64 8

NOTE: Data are for higher education institutions in the 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. Percents are based on

institutions that offered distance education courses in fall 1995. Percents are computed across each row, but may not sum to 100 because

of rounding.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Postsecondary Education Quick Information System,

Survey on Distance Education Courses Offered by Higher Education Institutions, 1995.
31

5. Distance Education

Program Goals

nstitutions were asked about the importance of various goals to the

institution’s distance education program and the extent to which the

distance education program is meeting those goals it considers

important. Increasing student access was an important goal for most

distance education programs. Increasing access by making courses

available at convenient locations was rated as very important by 82

percent of institutions, and increasing access by reducing time

constraints for course taking was rated as very important by 63

percent of institutions (table 16). Making educational opportunities

more affordable for students, another aspect of student access, was

rated as very important by about half of the institutions.

Table 16.—Percent of higher education institutions currently offering distance education courses

indicating the importance of various goals to their distance education programs, and the

extent to which the institution is meeting those goals: 1995

Importance1Extent goal met2

Goal Not

important

Somewhat

important

Very

important

Not

at all

Minor

extent

Moderate

extent

Major

extent

Reducing your institution’s per-student costs..... 29 51 20 20 46 29 5

Making educational opportunities more

affordable for students................................... 17 34 49 7 35 42 15

Increasing institution enrollments ...................... 8 37 54 4 40 46 10

Increasing student access by reducing time

constraints for course taking.......................... 10 27 63 3 25 44 27

Increasing student access by making courses

available at convenient locations.................... 5 13 82 1 19 40 40

Increasing institution’s access to new audiences

3 33 64 5 37 43 15

Improving the quality of course offerings........... 15 39 46 4 41 44 11

Meeting the needs of local employers................. 19 43 38 10 49 33 8

1

Percents are based on institutions that offered distance education courses in fall 1995. Percents are computed across each row, but may

not sum to 100 because of rounding.

2

Percents are based on institutions that rated that goal as somewhat or very important. Percents are computed across each row, but may

not sum to 100 because of rounding.

NOTE: Data are for higher education institutions in the 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Postsecondary Education Quick Information System,

Survey on Distance Education Courses Offered by Higher Education Institutions, 1995.

I
32

Goals concerning increasing the institution’s audiences and

enrollments were also perceived as quite important, with increasing

the institution’s access to new audiences and increasing the

institution’s enrollments rated as very important by 64 percent and

54 percent of institutions, respectively (table 16). Reducing the

institution’s per-student costs, often mentioned as an important reason

for institutions to offer distance education, was rated as very

important by 20 percent of the institutions. Meeting the needs of local

employers was considered a very important goal by 38 percent of the

institutions, and improving the quality of course offerings was

considered very important by 46 percent of the institutions.

The percentage of institutions rating various goals as very important

showed some variation by institutional type (table 17). Public 2-year

institutions were more likely than public 4-year institutions to perceive

the following goals to be very important: reducing per-student costs,

making educational opportunities more affordable, increasing

institution enrollments, and increasing student access by reducing time

constraints. Public 2-year institutions were more likely than private 4-

year institutions to perceive reducing per-student costs and meeting

the needs of local employers as very important.

Table 17.—Percent of higher education institutions currently offering distance education courses

indicating that various goals are very important to their distance education programs, by

institutional type: 1995

All Institutional type*

Goal institutions Public

2-year

Public

4-year

Private

4-year

Reducing your institution’s per-student costs........................................ 20 26 17 9

Making educational opportunities more affordable for students............ 49 56 44 39

Increasing institution enrollments.......................................................... 54 59 48 53

Increasing student access by reducing time constraints for course

taking................................................................................................ 63 70 58 55

Increasing student access by making courses available at convenient

locations............................................................................................ 82 83 83 78

Increasing institution’s access to new audiences.................................... 64 68 61 54

Improving the quality of course offerings .............................................. 46 46 47 45

Meeting the needs of local employers.................................................... 38 43 37 27

*Data for private 2-year institutions are not reported as a separate type of institution because too few of them in the sample offered

distance education courses in fall 1995 to make reliable estimates. Data for private 2-year institutions are included in the totals.

NOTE: Data are for higher education institutions in the 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. Percents are based on

institutions that offered distance education courses in fall 1995.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Postsecondary Education Quick Information System,

Survey on Distance Education Courses Offered by Higher Education Institutions, 1995.
33

In general, institutions indicated that most of the goals were met to a

minor or moderate extent (table 16). Goals particularly likely to be

met to a major extent concerned student access, with the goal of

making courses available at convenient locations met to a major extent

by 40 percent of the institutions that considered this important, and the

goal of reducing time constraints for course taking met to a major

extent by 27 percent of the institutions that perceived this goal as

important.

The extent to which institutions believed that they had met various

goals varied by how important the particular goal was perceived to be

(table 18). In general, institutions that perceived a particular goal as

very important more frequently indicated that the goal had been met to

a moderate or major extent, while institutions that perceived a goal as

somewhat important more frequently indicated that the goal had been

met to a minor extent. For example, the majority of institutions that

perceived making educational opportunities more affordable for

students to be a very important goal indicated that the goal had been

met to a moderate extent (52 percent) or major extent (23 percent),

while 59 percent of institutions that perceived this goal to be

somewhat important indicated that the goal had been met to a minor

extent.
34

Table 18.—Percent of higher education institutions currently offering distance education courses

indicating the extent to which their distance education program has met various goals, by

importance of the goal to the institution: 1995

Importance of goal

Not

at all

Minor

extent

Moderate

extent

Major extent

Reducing your institution’s per-student cost

Somewhat important.......................................................................... 21 52 23 3

Very important .................................................................................. 18 31 42 9

Making educational opportunities more affordable for students

Somewhat important.......................................................................... 10 59 27 4

Very important .................................................................................. 5 19 52 23

Increasing institution enrollments

Somewhat important.......................................................................... 5 54 37 4

Very important .................................................................................. 4 30 51 14

Increasing student access by reducing time constraints for course

taking

Somewhat important.......................................................................... 5 49 43 4

Very important .................................................................................. 2 16 45 37

Increasing student access by making courses available at convenient

locations

Somewhat important.......................................................................... 1 53 40 6

Very important .................................................................................. 1 13 40 46

Increasing institution’s access to new audiences

Somewhat important.......................................................................... 8 52 37 3

Very important .................................................................................. 4 29 46 21

Improving the quality of course offerings

Somewhat important.......................................................................... 8 56 34 2

Very important .................................................................................. 2 28 53 18

Meeting the needs of local employers

Somewhat important.......................................................................... 10 59 31 1

Very important .................................................................................. 10 38 35 16

NOTE: Data are for higher education institutions in the 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. Percents are based on

institutions that offered distance education courses in fall 1995 and that rated that goal as somewhat or very important to their distance

education program. Percents are computed across each row, but may not sum to 100 because of rounding.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Postsecondary Education Quick Information System,

Survey on Distance Education Courses Offered by Higher Education Institutions, 1995.
35

6. Future Plans for

Distance Education

Course Offerings

nstitutions’ plans for distance education course offerings is

important information for policymakers as they consider how

distance education may serve students in the future. To provide some

of this information, institutions currently offering distance education

courses (i.e., in fall 1995) and those planning to offer distance

education courses in the next 3 years were asked about the number of

distance education courses they plan to direct to various remote sites

and the types of technologies they plan to use to deliver these courses.

Institutions were asked to indicate whether they plan to reduce the

number of courses, keep the same number, start or increase the

number of courses, or had no plans with regard to that site or

technology.

Delivery of Distance

Education Courses

to Remote Sites in

the Next 3 Years

With the exception of correctional facilities, where 18 percent of the

institutions plan to start or increase their distance education course

offerings (table 19), about half to three-quarters of the institutions that

currently offer or plan to offer distance education courses plan to start

or increase their distance education course offerings to the other types

of remote sites. About three-quarters of the institutions plan to start

or increase their distance education offerings to other branches of their

institution or to other college campuses, about two-thirds plan to start

or increase their offerings to work sites, 61 percent plan to start or

increase their offerings to libraries, elementary/secondary schools, or

community-based organizations, and about half plan to start or

increase their offerings to students’ homes.

I
36

Table 19.—Percent of higher education institutions specifying plans regarding the number of distance

education courses directed to various remote sites in the next 3 years: 1995

Remote site

Reduce or keep

the same

number

Start or

increase

No

plans

Other branches of the institution or other college campuses.............................. 3 76 21

Students’ homes................................................................................................ 3 51 46

Work sites......................................................................................................... 2 65 32

Libraries, elementary/secondary schools, or community-based organizations....

3 61 35

Correctional institutions .................................................................................... 4 18 79

NOTE: Data are for higher education institutions in the 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. Percents are based on

institutions that offered distance education courses in fall 1995 or that planned to offer distance education courses in the next 3 years.

Percents are computed across each row, but may not sum to 100 because of rounding.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Postsecondary Education Quick Information System,

Survey on Distance Education Courses Offered by Higher Education Institutions, 1995.

In general, more public 2-year and 4-year institutions than private 4-

year institutions plan to start or increase their distance education

course offerings to most remote sites (table 20). For example, while

68 percent of public 2-year and 69 percent of public 4-year

institutions plan to start or increase their offerings to libraries,

elementary/secondary schools, or community-based organizations, 45

percent of private 4-year institutions indicated that they plan to start

or increase their offerings to the same sites. Similarly, 82 percent of

public 2-year and 86 percent of public 4-year institutions plan to start

or increase their offerings to other branches of their institutions or

other college campuses, compared with 61 percent of private 4-year

institutions.

Table 20.—Percent of higher education institutions specifying that they plan to start or increase the

number of distance education courses directed to various remote sites in the next 3 years,

by institutional type: 1995

Institutional type*

Remote site Public

2-year

Public

4-year

Private

4-year

Other branches of the institution or other college campuses.................... 76 82 86 61

Students’ homes...................................................................................... 51 58 48 42

Work sites............................................................................................... 65 69 70 58

Libraries, elementary/secondary schools, or community-based

organizations....................................................................................... 61 68 69 45

Correctional institutions .......................................................................... 18 23 17 12

*Data for private 2-year institutions are not reported as a separate type of institution because too few of them in the sample offered

distance education courses in fall 1995 to make reliable estimates. Data for private 2-year institutions are included in the totals.

NOTE: Data are for higher education institutions in the 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. Percents are based on

institutions that offered distance education courses in fall 1995 or that planned to offer distance education courses in the next 3 years.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Postsecondary Education Quick Information System,

Survey on Distance Education Courses Offered by Higher Education Institutions, 1995.

All

institutions
37

Technologies to be

Pursued During the

Next 3 Years

About three-quarters of the institutions that currently offer or plan to

offer distance education courses plan to start or increase their use of

two-way interactive video, two-way online (computer-based)

interactions during instruction, and other computer-based technologies

to deliver their distance education courses in the next 3 years (table

21). Fewer institutions had plans to start or increase their use of the

other technologies, ranging from 8 percent planning to start or

increase their use of audiographics to 49 percent planning to start or

increase their use of one-way prerecorded video.

Table 21.—Percent of higher education institutions indicating their plans for the next 3 years

concerning the number of distance education courses using various types of technology:

1995

Technology

Reduce or keep

the same

number

Start or increase No plans

Two-way interactive video............................................................................ 2 79 19

Two-way audio, one-way video .................................................................... 7 35 58

One-way live video ....................................................................................... 6 28 66

One-way prerecorded video.......................................................................... 8 49 43

Audiographics.............................................................................................. 3 8 89

Two-way audio (e.g., audio/phone conferencing) ......................................... 6 20 75

One-way audio (e.g., radio, audiotapes) ....................................................... 6 11 83

Two-way online (computer-based) interactions during instruction ............... (+) 71 29

Other computer-based technology (e.g., Internet)......................................... 1 79 20

(+) Less than 0.5 percent.

NOTE: Data are for higher education institutions in the 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. Percents are based on

institutions that offered distance education courses in fall 1995 or that planned to offer distance education courses in the next 3 years.

Percents are computed across each row, but may not sum to 100 because of rounding.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Postsecondary Education Quick Information System,

Survey on Distance Education Courses Offered by Higher Education Institutions, 1995.

It is interesting to compare the current use of various technologies

with plans for their use in the next 3 years (see table 22). Among

institutions that offered distance education courses in fall 1995, twoway interactive video and one-way prerecorded video were the most

frequently used technologies, with 57 percent and 52 percent of the

institutions reporting that they currently used these technologies to

deliver their distance education courses. Among institutions that

offered distance education courses in fall 1995 or that planned to offer

distance education courses in the next 3 years, 81 percent and 77

percent, respectively, plan to start or increase their use of two-way

interactive video, and 52 percent and 44 percent, respectively, plan to

start or increase their use of one-way prerecorded video. While 14

percent of institutions that offered distance education
38

courses in fall 1995 reported that they currently used two-way online

interactions during instruction, three-quarters of institutions that

offered distance education courses in fall 1995 and 64 percent of

institutions that planned to offer distance education courses in the next

3 years plan to start or increase their use of two-way online

interactions during instruction. Similarly, while

22 percent of institutions that offered distance education courses in

fall 1995 currently used other types of computer-based technologies,

84 percent of institutions that offered distance education courses in

fall 1995 and 74 percent of institutions that planned to offer distance

education courses in the next 3 years plan to start or increase their use

of other computer-based technologies.

Table 22.—Percent of higher education institutions currently offering distance education courses that

use various types of technologies to deliver distance education courses, and the percent of

higher education institutions currently offering or planning to offer distance education

courses in the next 3 years that plan to start or increase their use of various types of

technologies in the next 3 years: 1995

Plan to start or increase use of the

technology

Technology Currently use the

technology1

Currently offer

distance

education

courses

1

Plan to offer

distance

education

courses

2

Two-way interactive video...................................................................... 57 81 77

Two-way audio, one-way video .............................................................. 24 33 38

One-way live video ................................................................................. 9 27 31

One-way prerecorded video.................................................................... 52 52 44

Audiographics........................................................................................ 3 9 7

Two-way audio (e.g., audio/phone conferencing) ................................... 11 18 21

One-way audio (e.g., radio, audiotapes) ................................................. 10 11 11

Two-way online (computer-based) interactions during instruction ......... 14 75 64

Other computer-based technology (e.g., Internet)................................... 22 84 74

1

Percents are based on institutions that offered distance education courses in fall 1995.

2

Percents are based on institutions that did not offer distance education courses in fall 1995, but that planned to offer distance education

courses in the next 3 years.

NOTE: Data are for higher education institutions in the 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Postsecondary Education Quick Information System,

Survey on Distance Education Courses Offered by Higher Education Institutions, 1995.
39

7. Factors Keeping

Institutions From

Starting or

Expanding Distance

Education Course

Offerings

n important question for policymakers is the extent to which

various kinds of factors may keep institutions from fully

pursuing distance education as an instructional option. To help

answer this question, all institutions in the study, including those with

no future plans to offer distance education courses, were asked the

extent to which each of 16 factors was keeping their institution from

starting or expanding their distance education course offerings. The

response categories were “not at all,” “minor extent,” “moderate

extent,” and “major extent.” Among the factors institutions frequently

reported as keeping their institution from starting or expanding their

distance education course offerings to a major extent were program

development costs (43 percent), limited technological infrastructure to

support distance education (31 percent), and equipment failures and

costs of maintaining equipment (23 percent; table 23). However, in

general, most of the factors listed were not perceived to be major

hindrances keeping institutions from starting or expanding their

distance education offerings. For example, factors to which many

institutions responded “not at all” include inability to obtain state

authorization (79 percent), restrictive federal, state, or local policies

(58 percent), legal concerns (57 percent), lack of support from

institution administrators (60 percent), and lack of fit with the

institution’s mission (58 percent).

A
40

Table 23.—Percent of higher education institutions indicating the extent to which various

factors are keeping the institution from starting or expanding their distance education

course offerings: 1995

Factor

Not

at all

Minor

extent

Moderate

extent

Major extent

Lack of fit with institution’s mission...................................................... 58 13 10 19

Lack of perceived need (e.g., limited student market) ............................ 47 22 15 17

Lack of support from institution administrators..................................... 60 21 12 7

Program development costs.................................................................... 16 16 25 43

Equipment failures/costs of maintaining equipment ............................... 28 23 26 23

Limited technological infrastructure to support distance education........ 22 22 25 31

Concerns about faculty workload........................................................... 33 32 22 13

Lack of faculty interest........................................................................... 35 35 21 9

Lack of faculty rewards or incentives..................................................... 41 29 21 10

Legal concerns (e.g., intellectual property rights, copyright laws).......... 57 29 10 4

Concerns about course quality ............................................................... 32 29 22 17

Lack of access to library or other resources for instructional support..... 45 34 15 7

Interinstitutional issues (e.g., allocations of financial aid, course credit)

45 31 18 6

Restrictive federal, state, or local policies (e.g., limitations on the

number of distance education credits students may earn, student

ineligibility for financial aid).............................................................. 58 25 9 7

Inability to obtain state authorization..................................................... 79 15 3 3

NOTE: Data are for higher education institutions in the 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. Percents are based on all

higher education institutions. Percents are computed across each row, but may not sum to 100 because of rounding.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Postsecondary Education Quick Information System,

Survey on Distance Education Courses Offered by Higher Education Institutions, 1995.

The extent to which some of the factors were perceived to be keeping

institutions from starting or expanding their distance education course

offerings varied depending on whether institutions currently offered,

planned to offer, or did not plan to offer distance education courses in

the next 3 years (table 24). For example, 40 percent of institutions

that did not plan to offer distance education courses in the next 3 years

felt that lack of fit with the institution’s mission was keeping them

from starting distance education course offerings to a major extent,

while 80 percent of institutions currently offering distance education

courses (i.e., in fall 1995) and 78 percent of those planning to offer

distance education courses felt that it was not at all a factor.

Similarly, lack of perceived need was a factor to a major extent for 34

percent of institutions that did not plan to offer distance education

courses, while 61 percent of the institutions currently offering and 53

percent of those planning to offer distance education courses felt that

it was not at all a factor.
41

Table 24.—Percent of higher education institutions indicating the extent to which various factors are

keeping the institution from starting or expanding their distance education course

offerings, by distance education program status: 1995

Factor

Not

at all

Minor

extent

Moderate

extent

Major extent

Lack of fit with institution’s mission

Currently offer..................................................................................... 80 13 6 2

Plan to offer ........................................................................................ 78 11 6 5

Do not plan to offer............................................................................. 31 15 15 40

Lack of perceived need

Currently offer..................................................................................... 61 24 11 3

Plan to offer ........................................................................................ 53 33 10 4

Do not plan to offer............................................................................. 32 13 21 34

Lack of support from institution’s administrators

Currently offer..................................................................................... 61 27 10 3

Plan to offer ........................................................................................ 67 19 11 3

Do not plan to offer............................................................................. 55 17 15 13

Program development costs

Currently offer..................................................................................... 7 25 34 34

Plan to offer ........................................................................................ 7 13 26 55

Do not plan to offer............................................................................. 28 11 18 43

Equipment failures/costs of maintaining equipment

Currently offer..................................................................................... 19 33 27 20

Plan to offer ........................................................................................ 22 25 28 25

Do not plan to offer............................................................................. 39 13 23 25

Limited technological infrastructure to support distance education

Currently offer..................................................................................... 17 27 28 27

Plan to offer ........................................................................................ 12 32 26 30

Do not plan to offer............................................................................. 31 11 23 35

Concerns about faculty workload

Currently offer..................................................................................... 24 38 26 12

Plan to offer ........................................................................................ 31 38 21 10

Do not plan to offer............................................................................. 42 23 20 15

Lack of faculty interest

Currently offer..................................................................................... 26 41 23 10

Plan to offer ........................................................................................ 38 41 17 4

Do not plan to offer............................................................................. 41 26 21 11

Lack of faculty rewards or incentives

Currently offer..................................................................................... 22 36 29 13

Plan to offer ........................................................................................ 40 36 17 7

Do not plan to offer............................................................................. 56 19 16 8

Legal concerns

Currently offer..................................................................................... 49 39 10 2

Plan to offer ........................................................................................ 55 33 8 3

Do not plan to offer............................................................................. 64 19 12 6
42

Table 24.—Percent of higher education institutions indicating the extent to which various factors are

keeping the institution from starting or expanding their distance education course

offerings, by distance education program status: 1995--continued

Factor

Not

at all

Minor

extent

Moderate

extent

Major extent

Concerns about course quality

Currently offer..................................................................................... 30 40 22 8

Plan to offer ........................................................................................ 27 39 22 12

Do not plan to offer............................................................................. 37 15 21 28

Lack of access to library or other resources for instructional support

Currently offer..................................................................................... 46 40 12 2

Plan to offer ........................................................................................ 43 40 13 4

Do not plan to offer............................................................................. 45 25 18 13

Interinstitutional issues

Currently offer..................................................................................... 48 36 12 4

Plan to offer ........................................................................................ 39 34 20 8

Do not plan to offer............................................................................. 48 24 21 7

Restrictive federal, state, or local policies

Currently offer..................................................................................... 58 30 9 3

Plan to offer ........................................................................................ 56 28 9 7

Do not plan to offer............................................................................. 60 20 10 10

Inability to obtain state authorization

Currently offer..................................................................................... 83 14 2 1

Plan to offer ........................................................................................ 76 18 3 3

Do not plan to offer............................................................................. 77 15 3 4

NOTE: Data are for higher education institutions in the 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. Percents are based on all

higher education institutions. Percents are computed across each row, but may not sum to 100 because of rounding.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Postsecondary Education Quick Information System,

Survey on Distance Education Courses Offered by Higher Education Institutions, 1995.
43

8. Summary

 third of higher education institutions offered distance education

 courses in fall 1995, another quarter planned to offer such

courses in the next 3 years, and 42 percent did not offer and did not

plan to offer distance education courses in the next 3 years. Public

institutions offered distance education courses much more frequently

than did private institutions, with 58 percent of public 2-year and

62 percent of public 4-year institutions offering distance education

courses in fall 1995, compared with 2 percent of private 2-year and 12

percent of private 4-year institutions.

In academic year 1994-95, higher education institutions offered an

estimated 25,730 distance education courses with different catalog

numbers. Public 4-year institutions offered 45 percent, public 2-year

institutions 39 percent, and private 4-year institutions 16 percent of

the distance education courses in 1994-95. About half of the

institutions that offered distance education courses in fall 1995 offered

10 or fewer such courses in academic year 1994-95. Three-quarters

of the institutions that offered distance education courses in fall 1995

used courses developed by the institution’s subject area departments

or schools, and 30 percent used courses developed by commercial or

noncommercial vendors.

Distance education courses were delivered by two-way interactive

video at 57 percent and by one-way prerecorded video at 52 percent of

the institutions offering distance education courses in fall 1995.

About a quarter of the institutions used two-way audio with one-way

video and a quarter used computer-based technologies other than twoway online interactions during instruction (e.g., the Internet) to deliver

their distance education courses. Institutions that offered distance

education courses in fall 1995 frequently directed courses to students’

homes (49 percent), other branches of their institution

(39 percent), and other college campuses (35 percent). About a

quarter of the institutions directed distance education courses to

elementary/secondary schools, and 18 percent directed courses to

work sites.

More higher education institutions offered distance education courses

designed primarily for undergraduate students (81 percent of

institutions) and graduate students (34 percent of institutions) than for

any other type of student. Thirteen percent of institutions offered

distance education courses designed primarily for professional

A
44

continuing education students. Thirty-nine percent of institutions that

offered distance education courses in fall 1995 targeted professionals

seeking recertification, and 49 percent targeted other workers seeking

skill updating or retraining.

There were an estimated 753,640 students formally enrolled in

distance education courses in academic year 1994-95. Public 2-year

institutions enrolled 55 percent, public 4-year institutions 31 percent,

and private 4-year institutions 14 percent of the students enrolled in

distance education courses in 1994-95. About a quarter of the

institutions that offered distance education courses in fall 1995 offered

degrees that students could complete by taking distance education

courses exclusively, and 7 percent offered certificates that could be

completed this way. There were an estimated 690 degrees and 170

certificates offered in fall 1995 that students could receive by taking

distance education courses exclusively. Most institutions that offered

degrees or certificates that students could receive in this way only

offered a few of them: 44 percent of institutions offering such degrees

offered only 1 degree, and 61 percent of institutions offering such

certificates offered only 1 certificate. An estimated 3,430 students

received degrees and 1,970 received certificates in 1994-95 by taking

distance education courses exclusively.

Increasing student access was an important goal for most distance

education programs, with making courses available at convenient

locations rated as very important by 82 percent of institutions, and

reducing time constraints for course taking rated as very important by

63 percent of institutions. Making educational opportunities more

affordable for students, another aspect of student access, was rated as

very important by about half of the institutions. Goals concerning

increasing the institution’s audiences and enrollments were also

perceived as quite important, with increasing the institution’s access to

new audiences and increasing the institution’s enrollments rated as

very important by 64 percent and 54 percent of institutions,

respectively. In general, institutions indicated that most of the goals

were met to a minor or moderate extent. Goals particularly likely to

be met to a major extent concerned student access. In general,

institutions that perceived a particular goal as very important more

frequently indicated that the goal had been met to a moderate or major

extent, while institutions that perceived a goal as somewhat important

more frequently indicated that the goal had been met to a minor extent.

Among institutions that offered distance education courses in fall 1995

and those planning to offer such courses in the next 3 years, about half

to three-quarters of the institutions plan to start or
45

increase their distance education course offerings to most types of

remote sites. About three-quarters of these institutions plan to start or

increase their use of two-way interactive video, two-way online

(computer-based) interactions during instruction, and other computerbased technologies to deliver their distance education courses in the

next 3 years.

Among all institutions, including those with no future plans to offer

distance education courses, factors frequently reported as keeping the

institution from starting or expanding their distance education course

offerings to a major extent were program development costs (43

percent), limited technological infrastructure to support distance

education (31 percent), and equipment failures and costs of

maintaining equipment (23 percent). However, in general, most

factors were not perceived to be major hindrances keeping institutions

from starting or expanding their distance education offerings.
46
47

9. Survey Methodology

and Data Reliability

Postsecondary

Education Quick

Information System

The Postsecondary Education Quick Information System (PEQIS)

was established in 1991 by the National Center for Education

Statistics, U.S. Department of Education. PEQIS is designed to

conduct brief surveys of postsecondary institutions or state higher

education agencies on postsecondary education topics of national

importance. Surveys are generally limited to two or three pages of

questions, with a response burden of about 30 minutes per respondent.

Most PEQIS institutional surveys use a previously recruited,

nationally representative panel of institutions. The sampling frame for

the PEQIS panel recruited in 1992 was constructed from the 1990-91

Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS)

Institutional Characteristics file. Institutions eligible for the PEQIS

frame for the panel recruited in 1992 included 2-year and 4-year

(including graduate-level) institutions (both institutions of higher

education and other postsecondary institutions), and less-than-2-year

institutions of higher education located in the 50 states, the District of

Columbia, and Puerto Rico: a total of 5,317 institutions.

The PEQIS sampling frame for the panel recruited in 1992 was

stratified by instructional level (4-year, 2-year, less-than-2-year),

control (public, private nonprofit, private for-profit), highest level of

offering (doctor's/first professional, master's, bachelor's, less than

bachelor's), total enrollment, and status as either an institution of

higher education or other postsecondary institution. Within each of

the strata, institutions were sorted by region (Northeast, Southeast,

Central, West), whether the institution had a relatively high minority

enrollment, and whether the institution had research expenditures

exceeding $1 million. The sample of 1,665 institutions was allocated

to the strata in proportion to the aggregate square root of full-timeequivalent enrollment. Institutions within a stratum were sampled

with equal probabilities of selection. During panel recruitment, 50

institutions were found to be ineligible for PEQIS, primarily because

they had closed or offered just correspondence courses. The final

unweighted response rate at the end of PEQIS panel recruitment in

spring 1992 was 98 percent (1,576 of the 1,615
48

eligible institutions). The weighted response rate for panel recruitment

was 96 percent.

Each institution in the PEQIS panel was asked to identify a campus

representative to serve as survey coordinator. The campus

representative facilitates data collection by identifying the appropriate

respondent for each survey and forwarding the questionnaire to that

person.

Sample and

Response Rates

The sample for this survey consisted of all of the 2-year and 4-year

(including graduate-level) higher education institutions in the PEQIS

panel, for a sample of 1,276 institutions. In late September 1995,

questionnaires (see appendix B) were mailed to the PEQIS

coordinators at the institutions. Coordinators were told that the survey

was designed to be completed by the person(s) at the institution most

knowledgeable about the institution’s distance education courses.

Two institutions were found to be out of the scope of the survey

because they were closed, leaving 1,274 eligible institutions. These

1,274 institutions represent the universe of approximately 3,460

2-year and 4-year (including graduate-level) higher education

institutions in the 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico.

Telephone followup of nonrespondents was initiated in late October

1995; data collection and clarification was completed in late January

1996. For the eligible institutions that received surveys, an

unweighted response rate of 94 percent (1,203 responding institutions

divided by the 1,274 eligible institutions in the sample) was obtained.

The weighted response rate for this survey was

96 percent. The unweighted overall response rate was 92 percent

(97.6 percent panel recruitment participation rate multiplied by the

94.4 percent survey response rate). The weighted overall response

rate was 92 percent (96.1 percent weighted panel recruitment

participation rate multiplied by the 95.6 percent weighted survey

response rate).

Weighted item nonresponse rates ranged from 0 percent to

3.1 percent. Item nonresponse rates for most items were less than

1 percent. Because the item nonresponse rates were so low,

imputation for item nonresponse was not implemented.
49

Sampling and

Nonsampling

Errors

The response data were weighted to produce national estimates (see

table 25). The weights were designed to adjust for the variable

probabilities of selection and differential nonresponse. The findings in

this report are estimates based on the sample selected and,

consequently, are subject to sampling variability.

Table 25.—Number and percent of higher education institutions in the study, and the estimated

number and percent in the nation, for the total sample and for institutions currently

offering distance education courses, by institutional characteristics: 1995

Total sample Currently offering distance education

Institutional characteristic Respondents National estimate* Respondents National estimate*

Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent

All institutions...................................... 1,203 100 3,460 100 561 100 1,130 100

Institutional type

Public 2-year............................................. 370 31 960 28 240 43 560 49

Private 2-year............................................ 78 6 360 10 4 1 10 1

Public 4-year............................................. 349 29 610 18 252 45 380 34

Private 4-year............................................ 406 34 1,540 44 65 12 180 16

Geographic region

Northeast .................................................. 292 24 900 26 94 17 180 16

Southeast .................................................. 283 24 830 24 129 23 260 23

Central...................................................... 309 26 920 27 164 29 360 32

West ......................................................... 319 27 810 24 174 31 320 29

Size of institution

Less than 3,000 ........................................ 522 43 2,330 67 96 17 380 34

3,000 to 9,999 .......................................... 334 28 760 22 201 36 460 41

10,000 or more ......................................... 347 29 370 11 264 47 290 25

*Data presented in all tables are weighted to produce national estimates. The sample was selected with probabilities proportionate to the

square root of full-time-equivalent enrollment. Institutions with larger full-time-equivalent enrollments have higher probabilities of

inclusion and lower weights. The weighted numbers of institutions have been rounded to the nearest 10.

NOTE: Data are for higher education institutions in the 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. Percents may not sum to

100 and numbers may not sum to totals because of rounding.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Postsecondary Education Quick Information System,

Survey on Distance Education Courses Offered by Higher Education Institutions, 1995.
50

The survey estimates are also subject to nonsampling errors that can

arise because of nonobservation (nonresponse or noncoverage) errors,

errors of reporting, and errors made in data collection. These errors

can sometimes bias the data. Nonsampling errors may include such

problems as misrecording of responses; incorrect editing, coding, and

data entry; differences related to the particular time the survey was

conducted; or errors in data preparation. While general sampling

theory can be used in part to determine how to estimate the sampling

variability of a statistic, nonsampling errors are not easy to measure

and, for measurement purposes, usually require that an experiment be

conducted as part of the data collection procedures or that data

external to the study be used.

To minimize the potential for nonsampling errors, the questionnaire

was pretested with respondents at institutions like those that completed

the survey. During the design of the survey and the survey pretest, an

effort was made to check for consistency of interpretation of questions

and to eliminate ambiguous items. The questionnaire and instructions

were extensively reviewed by the National Center for Education

Statistics and the National Institute on Postsecondary Education,

Libraries, and Lifelong Learning, U.S. Department of Education.

Manual and machine editing of the questionnaire responses were

conducted to check the data for accuracy and consistency. Cases with

missing or inconsistent items were recontacted by telephone. Data

were keyed with 100 percent verification.

Variances The standard error is a measure of the variability of estimates due to

sampling. It indicates the variability of a sample estimate that would

be obtained from all possible samples of a given design and size.

Standard errors are used as a measure of the precision expected from

a particular sample. If all possible samples were surveyed under

similar conditions, intervals of 1.96 standard errors below to 1.96

standard errors above a particular statistic would include the true

population parameter being estimated in about 95 percent of the

samples. This is a 95 percent confidence interval. For example,

the estimated percentage of institutions reporting that the institution

plans to offer distance education courses in the future is 25.3 percent,

and the estimated standard error is 1.6 percent. The 95 percent

confidence interval for the statistic extends from [25.3 - (1.6 times

1.96)] to [25.3 + (1.6 times 1.96)], or from 22.2 to 28.4 percent.

Tables of standard errors for each table and figure in the report are

provided in appendix A.
51

Background

Information

Estimates of standard errors were computed using a technique known

as jackknife replication. As with any replication method, jackknife

replication involves constructing a number of subsamples (replicates)

from the full sample and computing the statistic of interest for each

replicate. The mean square error of the replicate estimates around the

full sample estimate provides an estimate of the variances of the

statistics.7 To construct the replications, 51 stratified subsamples of

the full sample were created and then dropped one at a time to define

51 jackknife replicates.8 A computer program (WesVarPC),

distributed free of charge by Westat through the Internet,9 was used to

calculate the estimates of standard errors. WesVarPC is a stand-alone

Windows application that computes sampling errors for a wide variety

of statistics (totals, percents, ratios, log-odds ratios, general functions

of estimates in tables, linear regression parameters, and logistic

regression parameters).

The test statistics used in the analysis were calculated using the

jackknife variances and thus appropriately reflected the complex

nature of the sample design. In particular, an adjusted chi-square test

using Satterthwaite's approximation to the design effect was used in

the analysis of the two-way tables.10 Finally, Bonferroni adjustments

were made to control for multiple comparisons where appropriate.

For example, for an "experiment-wise" comparison involving g

pairwise comparisons, each difference was tested at the 0.05/g

significance level to control for the fact that g differences were

simultaneously tested.

The survey was performed under contract with Westat, using the

Postsecondary Education Quick Information System (PEQIS). This is

the fifth PEQIS survey to be conducted. Westat's Project Director

was Elizabeth Farris, and the Survey Managers were Debbie

Alexander and Laurie Lewis. Bernie Greene was the NCES Project

Officer. The data were requested by the National Institute on

Postsecondary Education, Libraries, and Lifelong Learning, U.S.

Department of Education.

 

7

 K. Wolter. Introduction to Variance Estimation, Springer-Verlag, 1985.

8

 Ibid, 183.

9

 WesVarPC is available through the Internet at http://www.westat.com/wesvarpc/index.html/.

10 For example, see J.N.K. Rao and A. Scott, "On Chi-square Tests for Multi-way Contingency

Tables with Cell Proportions Estimated from Survey Data," Annals of Statistics 12 (1984): 46-

60.
52

This report was reviewed by the following individuals:

Outside NCES

• Robert Albrecht, Chief Academic Officer, Western Governors

University

• Cheryl Garnette, Office of Reform Assistance and Dissemination,

U.S. Department of Education

• Gregory Henschel, National Institute on Postsecondary Education,

Libraries, and Lifelong Learning, U.S. Department of Education

Inside NCES

• Michael Cohen, Statistical Standards and Services Group

• Mary Frase, Data Development and Longitudinal Studies Group

• Andrew Malizio, Data Development and Longitudinal Studies

Group

• Roslyn Korb, Surveys and Cooperative Systems Group

• Jeffrey Williams, Surveys and Cooperative Systems Group

For more information about the Postsecondary Education Quick

Information System or the Survey on Distance Education Courses

Offered by Higher Education Institutions, contact Bernie Greene, Data

Development and Longitudinal Studies Group, National Center for

Education Statistics, Office of Educational Research and

Improvement, 555 New Jersey Avenue, NW, Washington, DC

20208-5651, e-mail: Bernard_Greene@ed.gov, telephone (202) 219-

1366.
A-1

Appendix A

Tables of Standard Errors
A-2
A-3

Table 1a.—Standard errors of the percent of higher education institutions currently offering distance

education courses, standard errors of the percent planning to offer them in the next 3

years, and standard errors of the percent not currently offering or planning to offer them,

by institutional characteristics: 1995

Institutional characteristic

Currently offering distance

education courses

Planning to offer distance

education courses in the next 3

years

Not currently offering and not

planning to offer distance

education courses

All institutions................... 1.0 1.6 1.6

Institutional type

Public 2-year......................... 1.9 2.1 1.7

Private 2-year........................ 1.0 3.2 3.3

Public 4-year......................... 2.0 2.2 2.2

Private 4-year........................ 1.2 2.6 2.9

Geographic region

Northeast............................... 1.8 2.6 3.0

Southeast............................... 2.2 3.6 3.2

Central .................................. 2.3 3.2 3.6

West...................................... 3.0 3.0 3.9

Size of institution

Less than 3,000..................... 1.2 2.3 2.2

3,000 to 9,999....................... 2.0 1.8 1.2

10,000 or more*.................... 0.0 0.0 0.0

*The estimated standard error is zero for institutions with 10,000 or more students, because all institutions of this size were included in the

sample with certainty.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Postsecondary Education Quick Information System,

Survey on Distance Education Courses Offered by Higher Education Institutions, 1995.
A-4

Table 2a.—Standard errors of the total number and percentage distribution of distance education

courses with different catalog numbers offered in academic year 1994-95, by institutional

characteristics

Institutional characteristic Number Percentage Distribution

All institutions.................................................. 1,553.8 --

Institutional type1

Public 2-year .................................................... 688.7 1.7

Public 4-year .................................................... 631.7 2.9

Private 4-year ................................................... 871.8 2.7

Geographic region

Northeast.......................................................... 181.6 1.0

Southeast.......................................................... 305.7 1.6

Central.............................................................. 1,359.9 3.9

West ................................................................. 769.6 2.9

Size of institution

Less than 3,000 ................................................ 1,414.7 4.4

3,000 to 9,999 .................................................. 663.2 2.5

10,000 or more2................................................ 0.0 2.8

--Estimate of standard error is not derived because it is based on a statistic estimated at 100 percent.

1Data for private 2-year institutions are not reported as a separate type of institution because too few of them in the sample offered distance

education courses in fall 1995 to make reliable estimates. Data for private 2-year institutions are included in the totals and in analyses by

other institutional characteristics.

2

The estimated standard error is zero for institutions with 10,000 or more students, because all institutions of this size were included in the

sample with certainty.

NOTE: Standard errors are computed on unrounded numbers.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Postsecondary Education Quick Information System,

Survey on Distance Education Courses Offered by Higher Education Institutions, 1995.
A-5

Table 3a.—Standard errors of the percent of higher education institutions currently offering distance

education courses that use various types of technologies to deliver distance education

courses, by institutional characteristics: 1995

Type of technology

Institutional

characteristic

Two-way

interactive

video

Two-way

audio,

one-way

video

One-way

live video

One-way

prerecorded

video

AudiographicsTwo-way

audio

One-way

audio

Two-way

online

interactions

Other

computerbased

technology

Other

technologies

All institutions......... 1.5 1.3 0.9 1.6 0.4 1.3 1.7 1.3 2.0 1.0

Institutional type1

Public 2-year................ 2.7 2.2 1.7 2.7 0.4 1.5 1.7 1.1 2.2 1.1

Public 4-year................ 1.6 2.0 0.9 2.1 0.5 1.8 1.2 1.4 2.0 1.0

Private 4-year............... 5.9 5.8 1.4 5.3 1.8 6.2 6.4 6.6 6.8 2.5

Geographic region

Northeast ..................... 4.4 3.1 1.1 4.5 0.1 3.7 1.2 3.0 3.6 1.7

Southeast ..................... 4.0 3.1 2.5 3.3 0.6 2.4 1.4 2.1 1.3 0.6

Central......................... 3.7 2.5 1.1 3.9 0.6 3.0 4.8 2.9 4.7 2.1

West ............................ 2.6 3.5 2.0 3.4 1.1 1.0 1.9 2.1 2.8 1.7

Size of institution

Less than 3,000 ........... 4.2 3.2 2.1 3.9 0.9 3.5 4.8 3.5 5.0 2.3

3,000 to 9,999 ............. 2.0 2.2 1.4 2.1 0.6 1.4 1.3 1.7 2.7 1.5

10,000 or more2........... 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0

1Data for private 2-year institutions are not reported as a separate type of institution because too few of them in the sample offered distance

education courses in fall 1995 to make reliable estimates. Data for private 2-year institutions are included in the totals and in analyses by

other institutional characteristics.

2

The estimated standard error is zero for institutions with 10,000 or more students, because all institutions of this size were included in the

sample with certainty.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Postsecondary Education Quick Information System,

Survey on Distance Education Courses Offered by Higher Education Institutions, 1995.
A-6

Table 4a.—Standard errors of the percent of higher education institutions currently offering distance

education courses directed to different types of remote sites, by institutional

characteristics: 1995

Type of remote site

Institutional

characteristic

Other

branches of

the

institution

Other

college

campuses

Students’

homes

Work sites Libraries

Elementary/

secondary

schools

Communitybased

organizations

Correctional

institutions

Other

sites

All institutions......... 1.9 1.8 1.8 1.2 1.1 1.6 0.7 0.8 0.9

Institutional type1

Public 2-year................ 3.0 2.8 2.8 1.5 2.2 2.8 0.7 1.6 1.5

Public 4-year................ 2.2 2.1 2.0 1.9 1.1 1.5 1.2 0.9 1.6

Private 4-year............... 6.2 6.5 6.7 4.0 0.1 4.3 2.7 -- 4.5

Geographic region

Northeast ..................... 4.5 3.1 4.3 3.4 2.4 4.3 1.7 2.8 2.9

Southeast ..................... 4.0 3.4 4.2 2.2 3.3 2.0 1.4 0.8 2.1

Central......................... 3.0 3.4 3.3 2.1 1.8 3.4 1.4 1.3 2.1

West ............................ 3.5 3.3 3.7 2.1 1.5 2.1 0.9 2.3 1.6

Size of institution

Less than 3,000 ........... 4.9 4.4 4.4 2.1 2.6 4.4 1.8 1.8 2.5

3,000 to 9,999 ............. 2.1 2.8 2.6 2.0 1.6 1.7 0.8 1.2 1.4

10,000 or more2........... 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0

--Estimate of standard error is not derived because it is based on a statistic estimated at 0 percent.

1Data for private 2-year institutions are not reported as a separate type of institution because too few of them in the sample offered distance

education courses in fall 1995 to make reliable estimates. Data for private 2-year institutions are included in the totals and in analyses by

other institutional characteristics.

2

The estimated standard error is zero for institutions with 10,000 or more students, because all institutions of this size were included in the

sample with certainty.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Postsecondary Education Quick Information System,

Survey on Distance Education Courses Offered by Higher Education Institutions, 1995.
A-7

Table 5a.—Standard errors of the total number of distance education courses directed by higher

education institutions to different types of remote sites, by institutional characteristics:

1995

Type of remote site

Institutional

characteristic

Other

branches of

the

institution

Other

college

campuses

Students’

homes

Work sites Libraries

Elementary/

secondary

schools

Communitybased

organizations

Correctional

institutions

Other

sites

All institutions......... 823.0 670.4 911.8 187.3 182.8 222.2 40.9 203.7 307.3

Institutional type1

Public 2-year................ 574.0 316.7 301.5 68.7 181.7 204.6 12.4 202.4 155.4

Public 4-year................ 624.9 592.0 281.0 53.5 11.5 80.9 38.0 35.4 78.8

Private 4-year............... 37.0 28.3 831.2 183.4 (+) 31.1 9.6 -- 273.2

Geographic region

Northeast ..................... 134.4 32.2 105.0 38.2 25.8 25.0 9.6 11.2 49.1

Southeast ..................... 155.0 112.9 208.5 51.1 142.5 19.5 37.7 12.7 78.7

Central......................... 544.8 264.7 828.0 91.0 81.1 161.3 10.1 128.4 276.0

West ............................ 631.5 634.0 356.1 173.5 69.2 123.9 8.3 169.3 147.4

Size of institution

Less than 3,000 ........... 766.6 630.9 839.3 63.3 113.4 212.8 39.4 136.3 165.8

3,000 to 9,999 ............. 328.1 255.2 352.1 175.3 135.0 74.6 11.1 135.3 266.4

10,000 or more2........... 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0

(+) Standard error rounds to less than 0.1.

--Estimate of standard error is not derived because it is based on a statistic estimated to be zero.

1Data for private 2-year institutions are not reported as a separate type of institution because too few of them in the sample offered distance

education courses in fall 1995 to make reliable estimates. Data for private 2-year institutions are included in the totals and in analyses by

other institutional characteristics.

2

The estimated standard error is zero for institutions with 10,000 or more students, because all institutions of this size were included in the

sample with certainty.

NOTE: Standard errors are computed on unrounded numbers.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Postsecondary Education Quick Information System,

Survey on Distance Education Courses Offered by Higher Education Institutions, 1995.
A-8

Table 6a.—Standard errors of the percent of higher education institutions currently offering distance

education courses designed primarily for specific types of students, by institutional

characteristics: 1995

Type of student

Institutional characteristic Elementary/

secondary

Undergraduate

Graduate

Adult basic

education

Professional

continuing

education

Other

continuing

education

Other

All institutions......... 0.6 1.5 1.4 0.5 1.3 1.0 0.4

Institutional type1

Public 2-year................ 1.1 0.9 1.0 1.0 1.4 1.6 0.8

Public 4-year................ 1.2 2.2 2.4 0.4 1.9 1.1 0.5

Private 4-year............... 0.1 6.5 5.4 -- 3.6 1.8 0.1

Geographic region

Northeast ..................... 2.7 3.8 3.4 (+) 2.5 1.9 0.8

Southeast ..................... 1.0 3.2 3.3 1.4 2.1 1.5 1.2

Central......................... 1.0 3.0 3.0 0.6 2.5 2.6 0.4

West ............................ 1.4 3.3 3.0 1.2 1.6 0.8 1.1

Size of institution

Less than 3,000 ........... 1.2 3.8 3.7 1.2 3.2 2.1 1.2

3,000 to 9,999 ............. 1.3 1.9 1.5 0.7 1.4 1.4 0.5

10,000 or more2........... 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0

(+) Standard error rounds to less than 0.1.

--Estimate of standard error is not derived because it is based on a statistic estimated at 0 percent.

1Data for private 2-year institutions are not reported as a separate type of institution because too few of them in the sample offered distance

education courses in fall 1995 to make reliable estimates. Data for private 2-year institutions are included in the totals and in analyses by

other institutional characteristics.

2

The estimated standard error is zero for institutions with 10,000 or more students, because all institutions of this size were included in the

sample with certainty.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Postsecondary Education Quick Information System,

Survey on Distance Education Courses Offered by Higher Education Institutions, 1995.
A-9

Table 7a.—Standard errors of the total number of distance education courses designed by higher

education institutions primarily for specific types of students, by institutional

characteristics: 1995

Type of student

Institutional characteristic Elementary/

secondary

Undergraduate

Graduate

Adult basic

education

Professional

continuing

education

Other

continuing

education

Other

All institutions......... 51.5 1,100.9 540.1 26.3 121.8 96.5 17.2

Institutional type1

Public 2-year................ 23.7 655.0 63.8 26.0 47.2 60.5 17.0

Public 4-year................ 45.5 527.0 132.4 4.6 80.3 25.4 3.0

Private 4-year............... (+) 394.2 519.4 -- 51.4 66.9 (+)

Geographic region

Northeast ..................... 10.4 162.1 68.8 (+) 20.0 10.0 1.5

Southeast ..................... 3.7 263.9 154.8 3.6 54.0 7.1 16.0

Central......................... 49.9 909.8 485.2 4.8 92.0 93.5 2.6

West ............................ 11.6 614.6 230.8 25.9 24.8 13.1 6.6

Size of institution

Less than 3,000 ........... 10.3 1,000.9 482.7 25.6 83.0 76.4 16.9

3,000 to 9,999 ............. 51.0 487.5 242.4 6.1 71.9 60.4 3.2

10,000 or more2........... 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0

(+) Standard error rounds to less than 0.1.

--Estimate of standard error is not derived because it is based on a statistic estimated to be zero.

1Data for private 2-year institutions are not reported as a separate type of institution because too few of them in the sample offered distance

education courses in fall 1995 to make reliable estimates. Data for private 2-year institutions are included in the totals and in analyses by

other institutional characteristics.

2

The estimated standard error is zero for institutions with 10,000 or more students, because all institutions of this size were included in the

sample with certainty.

NOTE: Standard errors are computed on unrounded numbers.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Postsecondary Education Quick Information System,

Survey on Distance Education Courses Offered by Higher Education Institutions, 1995.
A-10

Table 8a.—Standard errors of the percent of higher education institutions currently offering distance

education courses targeted toward certain types of individuals, by institutional

characteristics: 1995

Type of individual

Institutional characteristic

Non-Englishspeaking

individuals

Military

personnel

Individuals

with

disabilities

Native

Americans/

Alaskan

Natives on

tribal lands

Professionals

seeking

recertification

Other workers

seeking skill

updating or

retraining

Other types

of

individuals

All institutions......... 0.6 1.0 1.3 1.0 2.1 2.0 1.6

Institutional type1

Public 2-year................ 1.0 1.6 2.4 1.7 2.8 3.0 2.7

Public 4-year................ 0.6 1.6 1.1 1.5 2.1 2.6 1.3

Private 4-year............... 1.0 2.3 2.7 0.1 6.8 6.5 3.8

Geographic region

Northeast ..................... 0.8 2.7 3.6 0.8 4.4 4.4 4.2

Southeast ..................... 1.4 2.1 2.4 0.6 3.7 3.8 2.2

Central......................... 0.6 1.4 1.6 2.7 4.6 4.2 2.6

West ............................ 1.3 2.1 2.7 2.0 2.5 3.1 3.6

Size of institution

Less than 3,000 ........... 1.2 2.0 2.5 2.4 5.7 5.1 3.8

3,000 to 9,999 ............. 1.0 2.0 2.3 1.1 2.0 2.6 1.9

10,000 or more2........... 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0

1Data for private 2-year institutions are not reported as a separate type of institution because too few of them in the sample offered distance

education courses in fall 1995 to make reliable estimates. Data for private 2-year institutions are included in the totals and in analyses by

other institutional characteristics.

2

The estimated standard error is zero for institutions with 10,000 or more students, because all institutions of this size were included in the

sample with certainty.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Postsecondary Education Quick Information System,

Survey on Distance Education Courses Offered by Higher Education Institutions, 1995.
A-11

Table 9a.—Standard errors of the percent of higher education institutions currently offering distance

education courses composed by various types of developers, by institutional

characteristics: 1995

Type of developer

Institutional

characteristic

Institution’s

distance

education

department/

office

Institution’s

subject area

departments or

schools

Another

institution of

higher education

Commercial or

noncommercial

vendor

Other developer

Developer

unknown

All institutions......... 1.0 1.7 1.5 1.4 0.9 0.2

Institutional type1

Public 2-year................ 1.5 2.8 2.9 2.6 1.4 0.4

Public 4-year................ 1.1 1.8 1.5 1.7 1.0 --

Private 4-year............... 3.9 4.5 2.4 3.9 2.9 --

Geographic region

Northeast ..................... 0.4 4.2 2.1 4.1 1.4 --

Southeast ..................... 2.8 4.2 2.3 4.1 0.5 0.6

Central......................... 1.9 2.3 3.3 2.5 1.6 0.4

West ............................ 1.8 3.2 2.0 3.3 2.3 (+)

Size of institution

Less than 3,000 ........... 2.6 4.0 3.6 3.6 1.7 --

3,000 to 9,999 ............. 1.0 2.5 1.8 2.4 1.3 0.5

10,000 or more2........... 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0

(+) Standard error rounds to less than 0.1.

--Estimate of standard error is not derived because it is based on a statistic estimated at 0 percent.

1Data for private 2-year institutions are not reported as a separate type of institution because too few of them in the sample offered distance

education courses in fall 1995 to make reliable estimates. Data for private 2-year institutions are included in the totals and in analyses by

other institutional characteristics.

2

The estimated standard error is zero for institutions with 10,000 or more students, because all institutions of this size were included in the

sample with certainty.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Postsecondary Education Quick Information System,

Survey on Distance Education Courses Offered by Higher Education Institutions, 1995.
A-12

Table 10a.—Standard errors of the total number and percentage distribution of students formally

enrolled in the institution’s distance education courses in academic year 1994-95, by

institutional characteristics

Institutional characteristic Number Percentage distribution

All institutions.................................................. 30,045.7 --

Institutional type1

Public 2-year .................................................... 23,587.1 2.0

Public 4-year .................................................... 13,559.1 1.8

Private 4-year ................................................... 13,079.0 1.6

Geographic region

Northeast.......................................................... 6,624.8 0.9

Southeast.......................................................... 11,420.5 1.6

Central.............................................................. 25,212.8 2.6

West ................................................................. 11,706.7 1.6

Size of institution

Less than 3,000 ................................................ 21,339.5 2.5

3,000 to 9,999 .................................................. 22,337.5 2.3

10,000 or more2................................................ 0.0 2.2

--Estimate of standard error is not derived because it is based on a statistic estimated at 100 percent.

1Data for private 2-year institutions are not reported as a separate type of institution because too few of them in the sample offered distance

education courses in fall 1995 to make reliable estimates. Data for private 2-year institutions are included in the totals and in analyses by

other institutional characteristics.

2

The estimated standard error is zero for institutions with 10,000 or more students, because all institutions of this size were included in the

sample with certainty.

NOTE: Standard errors are computed on unrounded numbers.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Postsecondary Education Quick Information System,

Survey on Distance Education Courses Offered by Higher Education Institutions, 1995.
A-13

Table 11a.—Standard errors of the percent of higher education institutions currently offering

distance education courses that offer degrees and certificates to students taking distance

education courses exclusively, total number of degrees and certificates students can

receive by taking distance education courses only, and total number of such degree and

certificate recipients in 1994-95, by institutional characteristics

Institutional Percent offering Total number offered Total number of recipients

characteristic Degrees Certificates Degrees Certificates Degrees Certificates

All institutions......... 1.7 1.0 70.3 17.8 478.7 120.3

Institutional type1

Public 2-year................ 2.2 0.9 37.9 5.0 68.0 23.4

Public 4-year................ 2.2 1.1 21.0 12.1 416.2 83.0

Private 4-year............... 6.3 5.9 48.7 11.4 232.2 85.4

Geographic region

Northeast ..................... 2.1 1.4 6.1 6.0 1.2 (+)

Southeast ..................... 2.7 1.5 15.3 4.6 190.1 87.4

Central......................... 4.5 2.8 67.1 11.6 164.9 7.7

West ............................ 2.0 1.5 20.8 11.6 420.8 82.7

Size of institution

Less than 3,000 ........... 4.8 2.9 63.6 15.3 436.1 82.7

3,000 to 9,999 ............. 1.9 1.0 30.0 7.2 197.6 87.3

10,000 or more2........... 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0

(+) Standard error rounds to less than 0.1.

1Data for private 2-year institutions are not reported as a separate type of institution because too few of them in the sample offered distance

education courses in fall 1995 to make reliable estimates. Data for private 2-year institutions are included in the totals and in analyses by

other institutional characteristics.

2

The estimated standard error is zero for institutions with 10,000 or more students, because all institutions of this size were included in the

sample with certainty.

NOTE: Standard errors are computed on unrounded numbers.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Postsecondary Education Quick Information System,

Survey on Distance Education Courses Offered by Higher Education Institutions, 1995.
A-14

Table 12a.—Standard errors of the percent of higher education institutions currently offering

distance education courses that have various resources available for students enrolled in

distance education courses: 1995

Resource

Not

available

Available

for some

courses

Available

for all

courses

Don’t know

Instructor visits remote site(s) on occasion............................................ 1.6 1.7 1.4 0.3

Toll-free telephone, E-mail, or other online access to instructor ............ 1.7 1.4 2.2 0.4

Teaching assistant, tutor, or facilitator regularly available at remote

site(s)................................................................................................ 2.0 1.6 1.8 0.5

Toll-free telephone, E-mail, or other online access to teaching assistant,

tutor, or facilitator............................................................................. 1.9 1.5 1.7 0.4

Toll-free telephone, E-mail, or other online access to technical support

staff .................................................................................................. 1.8 1.3 1.9 0.4

Access to an electronic link with institution’s library ............................ 1.9 1.4 2.0 0.6

Institution library staff assigned to assist distance education students .. 2.2 1.1 2.1 0.7

Cooperative agreements for students to use other libraries.................... 1.9 1.1 2.1 0.9

Deposit collections at remote sites......................................................... 1.5 1.2 1.5 1.1

Online access to wide area networks (e.g., Internet).............................. 2.0 1.7 1.6 0.6

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Postsecondary Education Quick Information System,

Survey on Distance Education Courses Offered by Higher Education Institutions, 1995.
A-15

Table 13a.—Standard errors of the percent of higher education institutions currently offering

distance education courses indicating that various resources are available for some or all

courses for students enrolled in distance education courses, by institutional type: 1995

All Institutional type*

Resource institutions Public

2-year

Public

4-year

Private

4-year

Instructor visits remote site(s) on occasion ........................................... 1.6 2.8 1.9 6.7

Toll-free telephone, E-mail, or other online access to instructor............ 1.8 3.0 2.0 3.8

Teaching assistant, tutor, or facilitator regularly available at remote

site(s) ............................................................................................... 2.0 2.6 2.1 6.8

Toll-free telephone, E-mail, or other online access to teaching assistant,

tutor, or facilitator ............................................................................ 2.0 3.1 2.6 6.6

Toll-free telephone, E-mail, or other online access to technical support

staff.................................................................................................. 1.8 3.0 2.1 5.4

Access to an electronic link with institution’s library............................ 1.8 3.0 2.4 6.9

Institution library staff assigned to assist distance education students.. 2.2 3.2 2.0 7.0

Cooperative agreements for students to use other libraries.................... 1.9 2.4 2.0 6.8

Deposit collections at remote sites ........................................................ 1.5 2.9 2.2 6.4

Online access to wide area networks (e.g., Internet) ............................. 2.0 3.2 2.2 6.9

*Data for private 2-year institutions are not reported as a separate type of institution because too few of them in the sample offered

distance education courses in fall 1995 to make reliable estimates. Data for private 2-year institutions are included in the totals.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Postsecondary Education Quick Information System,

Survey on Distance Education Courses Offered by Higher Education Institutions, 1995.
A-16

Table 14a.—Standard errors of the percent of higher education institutions currently offering

distance education courses using various procedures to administer tests to students

enrolled in for-credit distance education courses: 1995

Testing procedure

Almost

never

Sometimes

Almost

always

Don’t

know

Tests individually mailed or faxed to students, who mail or fax them

back .................................................................................................. 2.0 2.1 1.1 0.6

Tests taken at remote sites interactively via computer, video, or

telephone........................................................................................... 1.8 1.6 1.1 0.8

Tests group administered (non-interactively) at remote learning sites....

1.8 1.5 2.0 0.5

Tests administered at on-campus site (distance education students

travel to campus)............................................................................... 1.8 1.4 1.5 0.5

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Postsecondary Education Quick Information System,

Survey on Distance Education Courses Offered by Higher Education Institutions, 1995.
A-17

Table 15a.—Standard errors of the percent of higher education institutions currently offering

distance education courses indicating whether certain training opportunities are

required, available but not required, or not available to faculty teaching distance

education courses: 1995

Training opportunity Required

Available

but not

required

Not

available

Training in the use and application of distance education technologies ............................ 1.7 2.1 1.4

Training in the development of curricula for distance education courses.......................... 1.3 2.1 1.8

Training in teaching methods for distance education courses ........................................... 1.4 1.7 1.6

Consultation with support center staff.............................................................................. 1.6 2.0 1.2

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Postsecondary Education Quick Information System,

Survey on Distance Education Courses Offered by Higher Education Institutions, 1995.
A-18

Table 16a.—Standard errors of the percent of higher education institutions currently offering

distance education courses indicating the importance of various goals to their distance

education programs, and the standard errors of the extent to which the institution is

meeting those goals: 1995

Importance Extent goal met

Goal Not

important

Somewhat

important

Very

important

Not

at all

Minor

extent

Moderate

extent

Major

extent

Reducing your institution’s per-student costs..... 1.9 2.4 1.8 1.6 2.4 2.2 0.7

Making educational opportunities more

affordable for students................................... 1.5 1.9 2.0 1.2 2.4 2.6 1.6

Increasing institution enrollments ...................... 0.8 1.9 1.9 0.8 1.9 2.0 1.3

Increasing student access by reducing time

constraints for course taking.......................... 1.4 1.8 2.2 0.7 1.6 2.0 1.8

Increasing student access by making courses

available at convenient locations.................... 1.3 1.2 1.7 0.4 1.5 2.2 2.0

Increasing institution’s access to new audiences

0.6 2.0 1.8 0.9 2.1 1.9 1.3

Improving the quality of course offerings........... 1.4 2.4 2.3 1.0 2.3 2.2 1.3

Meeting the needs of local employers................. 1.5 1.8 1.8 1.4 2.0 2.3 1.3

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Postsecondary Education Quick Information System,

Survey on Distance Education Courses Offered by Higher Education Institutions, 1995.
A-19

Table 17a.—Standard errors of the percent of higher education institutions currently offering

distance education courses indicating that various goals are very important to their

distance education programs, by institutional type: 1995

All Institutional type*

Goal institutions Public

2-year

Public

4-year

Private

4-year

Reducing your institution’s per-student costs........................................ 1.8 3.2 1.9 2.5

Making educational opportunities more affordable for students............ 2.0 2.6 2.2 7.2

Increasing institution enrollments.......................................................... 1.9 2.8 2.2 6.5

Increasing student access by reducing time constraints for course

taking................................................................................................ 2.2 3.1 2.0 6.6

Increasing student access by making courses available at convenient

locations............................................................................................ 1.7 2.5 1.7 6.5

Increasing institution’s access to new audiences.................................... 1.8 2.7 2.3 6.7

Improving the quality of course offerings .............................................. 2.3 3.6 2.4 6.7

Meeting the needs of local employers.................................................... 1.8 3.0 2.0 4.9

*Data for private 2-year institutions are not reported as a separate type of institution because too few of them in the sample offered

distance education courses in fall 1995 to make reliable estimates. Data for private 2-year institutions are included in the totals.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Postsecondary Education Quick Information System,

Survey on Distance Education Courses Offered by Higher Education Institutions, 1995.
A-20

Table 18a.—Standard errors of the percent of higher education institutions currently offering

distance education courses indicating the extent to which their distance education

program has met various goals, by importance of the goal to the institution: 1995

Importance of goal

Not

at all

Minor

extent

Moderate

extent

Major extent

Reducing your institution’s per-student cost

Somewhat important ........................................................................... 2.0 3.0 2.4 0.8

Very important.................................................................................... 3.1 4.2 4.3 2.0

Making educational opportunities more affordable for students

Somewhat important ........................................................................... 2.2 3.4 2.7 1.0

Very important.................................................................................... 1.4 2.1 3.2 2.7

Increasing institution enrollments

Somewhat important ........................................................................... 1.2 2.9 3.2 1.0

Very important.................................................................................... 1.1 2.8 3.0 2.1

Increasing student access by reducing time constraints for course

taking

Somewhat important ........................................................................... 1.5 3.5 3.3 1.2

Very important.................................................................................... 0.7 1.6 2.4 2.2

Increasing student access by making courses available at convenient

locations

Somewhat important ........................................................................... 1.1 5.4 5.5 1.5

Very important.................................................................................... 0.4 1.4 2.4 2.1

Increasing institution’s access to new audiences

Somewhat important ........................................................................... 1.8 3.5 3.9 0.8

Very important.................................................................................... 0.9 2.3 2.3 1.7

Improving the quality of course offerings

Somewhat important ........................................................................... 2.1 3.3 3.0 0.8

Very important.................................................................................... 0.3 2.9 3.2 2.2

Meeting the needs of local employers

Somewhat important ........................................................................... 1.8 2.9 3.0 (+)

Very important.................................................................................... 1.8 3.0 3.1 2.6

(+) Standard error rounds to less than 0.1.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Postsecondary Education Quick Information System,

Survey on Distance Education Courses Offered by Higher Education Institutions, 1995.
A-21

Table 19a.—Standard errors of the percent of higher education institutions specifying plans

regarding the number of distance education courses directed to various remote sites in

the next 3 years: 1995

Remote site

Reduce or

keep the

same

number

Start or

increase

No

plans

Other branches of the institution or other college campuses............................................. 0.4 1.7 1.6

Students’ homes............................................................................................................... 0.5 2.2 2.3

Work sites........................................................................................................................ 0.5 2.3 2.3

Libraries, elementary/secondary schools, or community-based organizations................... 0.5 1.8 1.8

Correctional institutions ................................................................................................... 0.5 1.5 1.6

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Postsecondary Education Quick Information System,

Survey on Distance Education Courses Offered by Higher Education Institutions, 1995.
A-22

Table 20a.—Standard errors of the percent of higher education institutions specifying that they plan

to start or increase the number of distance education courses directed to various remote

sites in the next 3 years, by institutional type: 1995

Institutional type*

Remote site Public

2-year

Public

4-year

Private

4-year

Other branches of the institution or other college campuses.................... 1.7 1.8 1.5 4.2

Students’ homes...................................................................................... 2.2 2.8 2.4 4.5

Work sites............................................................................................... 2.3 2.6 2.0 5.1`

Libraries, elementary/secondary schools, or community-based

organizations....................................................................................... 1.8 2.6 2.3 3.0

Correctional institutions .......................................................................... 1.5 2.3 1.5 2.7

*Data for private 2-year institutions are not reported as a separate type of institution because too few of them in the sample offered

distance education courses in fall 1995 to make reliable estimates. Data for private 2-year institutions are included in the totals.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Postsecondary Education Quick Information System,

Survey on Distance Education Courses Offered by Higher Education Institutions, 1995.

All

institutions
A-23

Table 21a.—Standard errors of the percent of higher education institutions indicating their plans for

the next 3 years concerning the number of distance education courses using various

types of technology: 1995

Technology

Reduce or

keep the

same

number

Start or

increase

No

plans

Two-way interactive video................................................................................................ 0.3 1.2 1.2

Two-way audio, one-way video ........................................................................................ 0.8 1.4 1.6

One-way live video ........................................................................................................... 0.8 1.8 2.0

One-way prerecorded video.............................................................................................. 0.8 1.6 1.5

Audiographics.................................................................................................................. 0.6 0.9 1.0

Two-way audio (e.g., audio/phone conferencing) ............................................................. 0.9 1.2 1.4

One-way audio (e.g., radio, audiotapes) ........................................................................... 0.8 1.6 1.8

Two-way online (computer-based) interactions during instruction ................................... 0.2 2.0 2.0

Other computer-based technology (e.g., Internet)............................................................. 0.2 1.6 1.6

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Postsecondary Education Quick Information System,

Survey on Distance Education Courses Offered by Higher Education Institutions, 1995.
A-24

Table 22a.—Standard errors of the percent of higher education institutions currently offering

distance education courses that use various types of technologies to deliver distance

education courses, and standard errors of the percent of higher education institutions

currently offering or planning to offer distance education courses in the next 3 years

that plan to start or increase their use of various types of technologies in the next 3

years: 1995

Plan to start or increase use of

technology

Technology Currently use the

technology

Currently offer

distance

education courses

Plan to offer

distance

education courses

Two-way interactive video...................................................................... 1.5 1.6 2.5

Two-way audio, one-way video .............................................................. 1.3 1.6 2.8

One-way live video ................................................................................. 0.9 1.7 3.6

One-way prerecorded video.................................................................... 1.6 1.9 2.4

Audiographics........................................................................................ 0.4 0.9 1.5

Two-way audio (e.g., audio/phone conferencing) ................................... 1.3 1.5 2.4

One-way audio (e.g., radio, audiotapes) ................................................. 1.7 1.3 2.6

Two-way online (computer-based) interactions during instruction ......... 1.3 1.8 3.0

Other computer-based technology (e.g., Internet)................................... 2.0 1.6 2.5

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Postsecondary Education Quick Information System,

Survey on Distance Education Courses Offered by Higher Education Institutions, 1995.
A-25

Table 23a.—Standard errors of the percent of higher education institutions indicating the extent to

which various factors are keeping the institution from starting or expanding their

distance education course offerings: 1995

Factor

Not

at all

Minor

extent

Moderate

extent

Major extent

Lack of fit with institution’s mission...................................................... 1.3 1.1 1.0 1.1

Lack of perceived need (e.g., limited student market) ............................ 1.3 1.0 1.3 1.6

Lack of support from institution administrators..................................... 1.5 1.1 0.9 0.9

Program development costs.................................................................... 1.5 1.2 1.7 1.8

Equipment failures/costs of maintaining equipment ............................... 1.4 1.3 1.4 1.3

Limited technological infrastructure to support distance education........ 1.2 1.2 1.3 1.6

Concerns about faculty workload........................................................... 1.7 1.9 1.2 1.2

Lack of faculty interest........................................................................... 1.5 2.1 1.3 1.0

Lack of faculty rewards or incentives..................................................... 1.6 1.6 1.0 0.9

Legal concerns (e.g., intellectual property rights, copyright laws).......... 1.3 1.6 0.7 0.6

Concerns about course quality ............................................................... 2.1 1.5 1.2 1.6

Lack of access to library or other resources for instructional support..... 1.8 1.5 1.0 0.7

Interinstitutional issues (e.g., allocations of financial aid, course credit)

1.6 1.4 1.0 0.6

Restrictive federal, state, or local policies (e.g., limitations on the

number of distance education credits students may earn, student

ineligibility for financial aid).............................................................. 1.1 1.2 0.8 0.9

Inability to obtain state authorization..................................................... 1.0 0.9 0.5 0.7

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Postsecondary Education Quick Information System,

Survey on Distance Education Courses Offered by Higher Education Institutions, 1995.
A-26

Table 24a.—Standard errors of the percent of higher education institutions indicating the extent to

which various factors are keeping the institution from starting or expanding their

distance education course offerings, by distance education program status: 1995

Factor

Not

at all

Minor

extent

Moderate

extent

Major extent

Lack of fit with institution’s mission

Currently offer..................................................................................... 1.6 1.3 0.9 0.6

Plan to offer ........................................................................................ 1.9 1.5 1.2 1.3

Do not plan to offer............................................................................. 2.4 2.2 2.4 2.8

Lack of perceived need

Currently offer..................................................................................... 1.8 1.7 1.4 0.9

Plan to offer ........................................................................................ 3.1 3.1 1.6 1.0

Do not plan to offer............................................................................. 2.7 1.5 3.0 3.3

Lack of support from institution’s administrators

Currently offer..................................................................................... 2.3 1.6 1.2 0.6

Plan to offer ........................................................................................ 2.0 2.2 1.8 1.0

Do not plan to offer............................................................................. 2.9 1.7 2.0 1.7

Program development costs

Currently offer..................................................................................... 1.2 1.6 1.8 1.9

Plan to offer ........................................................................................ 1.4 2.1 2.7 2.7

Do not plan to offer............................................................................. 2.8 1.8 2.8 3.5

Equipment failures/costs of maintaining equipment

Currently offer..................................................................................... 1.6 1.9 2.1 1.5

Plan to offer ........................................................................................ 2.1 3.2 2.4 2.7

Do not plan to offer............................................................................. 2.3 1.7 2.5 2.4

Limited technological infrastructure to support distance education

Currently offer..................................................................................... 1.4 1.8 1.8 1.7

Plan to offer ........................................................................................ 1.6 3.0 2.8 3.6

Do not plan to offer............................................................................. 2.5 1.5 2.5 3.5

Concerns about faculty workload

Currently offer..................................................................................... 1.8 2.0 1.5 1.2

Plan to offer ........................................................................................ 3.9 4.8 2.9 1.5

Do not plan to offer............................................................................. 2.9 2.2 2.2 2.5

Lack of faculty interest

Currently offer..................................................................................... 1.8 2.0 1.4 1.3

Plan to offer ........................................................................................ 3.3 3.7 2.6 1.1

Do not plan to offer............................................................................. 3.4 3.6 2.2 1.6

Lack of faculty rewards or incentives

Currently offer..................................................................................... 1.8 2.1 1.7 1.5

Plan to offer ........................................................................................ 3.3 2.8 2.2 1.4

Do not plan to offer............................................................................. 2.6 2.6 1.8 1.8

Legal concerns

Currently offer..................................................................................... 2.1 2.1 0.9 0.5

Plan to offer ........................................................................................ 3.2 4.1 1.6 0.9

Do not plan to offer............................................................................. 1.8 2.0 1.4 1.3
A-27

Table 24a.—Standard errors of the percent of higher education institutions indicating the extent to

which various factors are keeping the institution from starting or expanding their

distance education course offerings, by distance education program status: 1995--

continued

Factor

Not

at all

Minor

extent

Moderate

extent

Major extent

Concerns about course quality

Currently offer..................................................................................... 2.0 1.9 1.7 1.1

Plan to offer ........................................................................................ 2.7 2.6 2.1 2.0

Do not plan to offer............................................................................. 4.0 2.0 2.4 3.6

Lack of access to library or other resources for instructional support

Currently offer..................................................................................... 2.4 2.1 1.1 0.5

Plan to offer ........................................................................................ 3.4 3.1 1.8 1.0

Do not plan to offer............................................................................. 3.0 2.9 2.3 1.4

Interinstitutional issues

Currently offer..................................................................................... 1.8 2.1 1.4 0.7

Plan to offer ........................................................................................ 2.9 2.9 2.3 1.5

Do not plan to offer............................................................................. 3.2 2.8 1.9 1.0

Restrictive federal, state, or local policies

Currently offer..................................................................................... 1.7 1.5 1.1 0.4

Plan to offer ........................................................................................ 2.5 2.6 1.6 1.5

Do not plan to offer............................................................................. 2.2 2.0 1.8 1.5

Inability to obtain state authorization

Currently offer..................................................................................... 1.2 1.1 0.4 0.3

Plan to offer ........................................................................................ 2.7 2.0 1.0 1.4

Do not plan to offer............................................................................. 1.8 1.8 1.0 1.4

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Postsecondary Education Quick Information System,

Survey on Distance Education Courses Offered by Higher Education Institutions, 1995.
A-28

Table 26.—Standard errors for the figures and for data not shown in tables: 1995

Item Estimate Standard error

Figure 1: Percent of higher education institutions currently offering distance education

courses that have a separate distance education department/office, by institutional

characteristics: 19961

All institution...................................................................................................................................... 36 2.2

Public 2-year ...................................................................................................................................... 34 2.8

Public 4-year ...................................................................................................................................... 40 2.2

Private 4-year ..................................................................................................................................... 33 7.5

Northeast............................................................................................................................................ 29 4.2

Southeast............................................................................................................................................ 40 3.8

Central................................................................................................................................................ 34 4.6

West................................................................................................................................................... 39 3.2

Less than 3,000.................................................................................................................................. 30 5.6

3,000 to 9,999.................................................................................................................................... 31 2.6

10,000 or more2.................................................................................................................................. 50 0.0

Figure 2: Percent of higher education institutions offering distance education courses in fall

1995 that offered various numbers of distance education courses in academic year 1994-951

No courses3........................................................................................................................................ 4 0.8

1 to 4 courses ..................................................................................................................................... 24 1.8

5 to 10 courses ................................................................................................................................... 21 1.5

11 to 25 courses ................................................................................................................................. 25 1.6

More than 25 courses......................................................................................................................... 26 1.9

Figure 3: Percent of distance education courses that are offered only as distance education

courses, by institutional characteristics: 19951

All institutions.................................................................................................................................... 13 1.4

Public 2-year ...................................................................................................................................... 9 1.3

Public 4-year ...................................................................................................................................... 13 2.0

Private 4-year ..................................................................................................................................... 19 6.8

Northeast............................................................................................................................................ 25 4.4

Southeast............................................................................................................................................ 8 1.6

Central................................................................................................................................................ 12 2.6

West................................................................................................................................................... 13 3.1

Less than 3,000.................................................................................................................................. 21 6.7

3,000 to 9,999.................................................................................................................................... 10 1.4

10,000 or more2.................................................................................................................................. 11 0.0

Figure 4: Percent of distance education courses offered in fall 1995 that were composed by

various types of developers1

Institution’s distance education department/office .............................................................................. 5 0.7

Institution’s subject area departments or schools................................................................................ 68 2.2

Another higher education institution................................................................................................... 5 0.6

Commercial or noncommercial vendor ............................................................................................... 18 1.4

Other developer.................................................................................................................................. 4 0.7

Developer unknown............................................................................................................................ <1 0.1

Figure 5: Percent of higher education institutions currently offering distance education

courses that enrolled various numbers of students in those courses in academic year 1994-

951

No students3....................................................................................................................................... 4 0.8

1 to 50 students.................................................................................................................................. 23 1.9

51 to 200 students.............................................................................................................................. 24 1.7

201 to 800 students............................................................................................................................ 27 1.9

More than 800 students...................................................................................................................... 22 1.2
A-29

Table 26.—Standard errors for the figures and for data not shown in tables: 1995 (continued)

Item Estimate Standard error

Figure 6: Percent of higher education institutions offering degrees and certificates

exclusively through distance education courses that offered various numbers of such degrees

and certificates: 19954

1 degree.............................................................................................................................................. 44 4.2

2 degrees............................................................................................................................................ 23 2.5

3-5 degrees......................................................................................................................................... 23 3.9

More than 5 degrees........................................................................................................................... 10 1.4

1 certificate......................................................................................................................................... 61 8.0

2-3 certificates.................................................................................................................................... 27 6.5

More than 3 certificates...................................................................................................................... 13 3.7

Chapter 2, section on institutions offering distance education courses5

Percent of institutions in the Northeast that are private ...................................................................... 66 2.4

Percent of institutions in the Southeast that are private ...................................................................... 48 2.7

Percent of institutions in the Central that are private .......................................................................... 56 1.4

Percent of institutions in the West that are private.............................................................................. 46 1.8

Percent of institutions with less than 3,000 students that are private.................................................. 72 0.6

Percent of institutions with 3,000 to 9,999 students that are private................................................... 24 0.5

Percent of institutions with 10,000 or more students that are private2................................................ 11 0.0

Chapter 3, section on degrees or certificates received through distance education6

Percent of institutions with 10 or fewer degree recipients................................................................... 49 6.3

Chapter 4, section on procedures for test administration1

Percent of institutions administering tests........................................................................................... 98 0.5

1

Percents are based on institutions that offered distance education courses in fall 1995.

2

The estimated standard error is zero for institutions with 10,000 or more students, because all institutions of this size were included in the

sample with certainty.

3Approximately 4 percent of the institutions offered distance education courses in fall 1995, but did not offer such courses (and therefore

did not enroll any students) in academic year 1994-95.

4

Percents are based on those institutions that offered at least one degree or certificate that students could complete by taking distance

education courses exclusively in fall 1995. Percents may not sum to 100 because of rounding.

5

Percents are based on all higher education institutions, not just those that offered distance education courses in fall 1995.

6

Percent is based on institutions that offered degrees that students could complete by taking distance education courses exclusively.

NOTE: Data are for higher education institutions in the 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. Data for private 2-year

institutions are not reported as a separate type of institution because too few of them in the sample offered distance education courses in

fall 1995 to make reliable estimates. Data for private 2-year institutions are included in the totals and in analyses by other institutional

characteristics.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Postsecondary Education Quick Information System,

Survey on Distance Education Courses Offered by Higher Education Institutions, 1995.
B-1

Appendix B

Survey Questionnaire
B-2
B-3

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION FORM APPROVED

NATIONAL CENTER FOR EDUCATION STATISTICS O.M.B. No.: 1850-0722

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20208-5651 EXPIRATION DATE: 12/96

SURVEY ON DISTANCE EDUCATION COURSES OFFERED

BY HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS

POSTSECONDARY EDUCATION QUICK INFORMATION SYSTEM

This survey is authorized by law (20 U.S.C. 1221e-1). While you are not required to respond, your cooperation is

needed to make the results of this survey comprehensive, accurate, and timely.

Definition of distance education for this survey refers to education or training courses delivered to remote (off-campus)

location(s) via audio, video, or computer technologies. For purposes of this survey, courses conducted exclusively on campus

are not included in this definition of distance education (although some on-campus instruction may be involved); courses

conducted exclusively via correspondence are also not included (although some instruction may be conducted via

correspondence). Distance education also does not include courses in which the instructor travels to a remote site to deliver

instruction in person.

The survey is designed to be completed by the person(s) most knowledgeable about your institution's distance education course

offerings. Since we are interested in all such courses offered by your institution, we ask that you consult with your colleagues in

other departments/offices that may also offer distance education courses.

AFFIX LABEL HERE

IF ABOVE INFORMATION IS INCORRECT, PLEASE CORRECT DIRECTLY ON LABEL.

Name of person completing this form: ___________________________ Telephone:_______________________

Title/position: ___________________________________________________________________________________

PLEASE KEEP A COPY OF THIS SURVEY FOR YOUR RECORDS

RETURN COMPLETED FORM TO: IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, CALL:

WESTAT, INC. Debbie Alexander

1650 Research Boulevard 1-800-937-8281, Ext. 2088, or 1-301-294-2088

Rockville, Maryland 20850 8:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m., Eastern time

ATTN: Alexander, 923792 Fax #: 1-301-294-3992

E-mail: Alexand1 @ Westat.com

The time required to complete this information collection is estimated to average 30 minutes per response, including the time to review instructions, search existing data

resources, gather and maintain the data needed, and complete and review the information collection. If you have any comments concerning the accuracy of the time

estimate or suggestions for improving this form, please write to: U.S. Department of Education, Washington, DC 20202-4651. If you have any comments or concerns

regarding the status of your individual submission of this form, write directly to: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, 555 New

Jersey Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20202-5574.

PEQIS Form No. 5, 10/95
B-4

1. Does your institution currently offer any distance education courses (as defined on the front of this questionnaire), or plan to offer any such

courses in the next 3 years?

Yes, currently offer ...................................................................................................................................... 1

Not currently offering, but plan to offer ........................................................................................................ 2 (Skip to Q18.)

No, not currently offering and do not plan to offer ........................................................................................ 3 (Skip to Q20.)

2. Does your institution have a separate distance education department/office? Yes.......... 1 No.......... 2

3. What was the total number of distance education courses with different catalog numbers offered by your institution in academic year

1994-95? Total __________

4. How many of your distance education course curricula are developed primarily by each of the following? (Do not double count courses.)

a. Your institution, by distance education department/office ............................................................................. __________

b. Your institution, by subject-area departments or schools............................................................................... __________

c. Another institution of higher education......................................................................................................... __________

d. Commercial or noncommercial vendor (e.g., NTU, Annenberg/CPB)............................................................ __________

e. Other (specify) _________________________________________________________________________ __________

f. Developer unknown ..................................................................................................................................... __________

5. How many of your distance education courses are offered only as distance education courses (i.e., there is no equivalent course taught on

campus)? Number of courses__________

6. How many distance education courses does your institution direct to each of the following types of remote sites? (If a course is directed to

more than one type of site, count the course for each type of site where it is directed.)

a. Other branches of your institution ................ ____ e. Libraries............................................................... ____

b. Other college campuses................................ ____ f. Elementary/secondary schools............................... ____

c. Students' homes............................................ ____ g. Community-based organizations (e.g., YMCA)...... ____

d. Work sites.................................................... ____ h. Correctional institutions........................................ ____

i. Other (specify) ____________________________ ____

7. Which types of technology are used to deliver the distance education courses your institution offers? (Circle all that apply.)

a. Two-way interactive video......................................... 1 g. One-way audio (e.g., radio, audiotapes).............................. 7

b. Two-way audio, one-way video.................................. 2 h. Two-way online (computer-based) interactions

c. One-way live video ................................................... 3 during instruction............................................................... 8

d. One-way prerecorded video ....................................... 4 i. Other computer-based technology (e.g., Internet)................ 9

e. Audiographics........................................................... 5 j. Other (specify) ___________________________________ 10

f. Two-way audio (e.g., audio/phone conferencing) ....... 6

8. How many of your distance education courses are designed primarily for each of the following? (Do not double count courses.)

a. Elementary/secondary students..................... ____ e. Professional continuing education students

b. Undergraduate students................................ ____ (e.g., doctors, teachers) ......................................... ____

c. Graduate students ........................................ ____ f. Other continuing education students...................... ____

d. Adult basic education students g. Other (specify) ____________________________ ____

(e.g., GED, ESL).......................................... ____

9. Do your distance education courses target any of the following? (Circle one on each line.)

Yes No Yes No

a. Non-English-speaking individuals................ 1 2 e. Professionals seeking recertification........................ 1 2

b. Military personnel........................................ 1 2 f. Other workers seeking skill updating or

c. Individuals with disabilities ......................... 1 2 retraining ................................................................ 1 2

d. Native Americans/Alaskan Natives on g. Other (specify) _____________________________ 1 2

tribal lands................................................... 1 2

10. How many students were formally enrolled in your institution's distance education courses in academic year 1994-95? (If a student was

enrolled in multiple courses, count the student for each course in which he/she was enrolled. Approximate if necessary.)

Students __________

11. Can students complete degrees or certificates by taking distance education courses exclusively?

Yes..................................... 1 No........................................ 2 (Skip to Q14.)

12. How many different degrees or certificates can students receive by taking distance education courses exclusively?

Number of degrees __________ Number of certificates __________

13. How many students received degrees or certificates in academic year 1994-95 by taking distance education courses exclusively?

Number of degree recipients__________ Number of certificate recipients __________
B-5

14. Are the following resources available to students enrolled in your distance education courses? (Circle one on each line.)

Available Available

Not for some for all Don't

available courses courses know

a. Instructor visits remote site(s) on occasion...................................................................... 1 2 3 4

b. Toll-free telephone, E-mail, or other online access to instructor...................................... 1 2 3 4

c. Teaching assistant, tutor, or facilitator regularly available at remote site(s)..................... 1 2 3 4

d. Toll-free telephone, E-mail, or other online access to teaching assistant,

tutor, or facilitator.......................................................................................................... 1 2 3 4

e. Toll-free telephone, E-mail, or other online access to technical support staff................... 1 2 3 4

f. Access to an electronic link with institution's library....................................................... 1 2 3 4

g. Institution library staff assigned to assist distance education students ............................. 1 2 3 4

h. Cooperative agreements for students to use other libraries.............................................. 1 2 3 4

i. Deposit collections at remote sites.................................................................................. 1 2 3 4

j. Online access to wide area networks (e.g., Internet)........................................................ 1 2 3 4

k. Other (specify)___________________________________________________________ 1 2 3 4

15. How often are the following procedures used to administer tests to students in for-credit distance education courses? (If no tests are

given, check here and skip to Q16.)

Almost Almost Don't

never Sometimes always know

(Circle one on each line.)

a. Tests are individually mailed or faxed to students, who mail or fax them back................ 1 2 3 4

b. Tests are taken at remote sites interactively via computer, video, or telephone................ 1 2 3 4

c. Tests are group administered (non-interactively) at remote learning sites........................ 1 2 3 4

d. Tests are administered at on-campus site (distance education students travel to campus) 1 2 3 4

e. Other (specify)___________________________________________________________ 1 2 3 4

16. Are the following training opportunities required of or available to faculty who teach distance education courses? (Circle one on each

line.)

Available but Not

Required not required available

a. Training in the use and application of distance education technologies............. 1 2 3

b. Training in the development of curricula for distance education courses .......... 1 2 3

c. Training in teaching methods for distance education courses............................ 1 2 3

d. Consultation with support center staff ............................................................ 1 2 3

e. Other (specify)___________________________________________________ 1 2 3

17. How important are the following goals to your institution's distance education program? For each goal that is somewhat or very

important, indicate to what extent your distance education program is meeting that goal.

Importance Extent goal met

Not Somewhat Very Not at Minor Moderate Major

important important important all extent extent extent

(Circle one on each line.) (Circle one on each line.)

a. Reducing your institution's per-student costs.... 1 2 3 1 2 3 4

b. Making educational opportunities more

affordable for students..................................... 1 2 3 1 2 3 4

c. Increasing institution enrollments.................... 1 2 3 1 2 3 4

d. Increasing student access by reducing time

constraints for course taking............................ 1 2 3 1 2 3 4

e. Increasing student access by making courses

available at convenient locations ..................... 1 2 3 1 2 3 4

f. Increasing institution's access to new

audiences........................................................ 1 2 3 1 2 3 4

g. Improving the quality of course offerings......... 1 2 3 1 2 3 4

h. Meeting the needs of local employers.............. 1 2 3 1 2 3 4

i. Other (specify)_________________________ 1 2 3 1 2 3 4
B-6

18. In the next 3 years, what are your institution's plans concerning the number of distance education courses directed to the following remote

sites? (Circle one on each line.)

Keep same Start or No

Reduce number increase plans

a. Other branches of your institution or other college campuses...................................... 1 2 3 4

b. Students' homes.......................................................................................................... 1 2 3 4

c. Work sites.................................................................................................................. 1 2 3 4

d. Libraries, elementary/secondary schools, or community-based organizations............... 1 2 3 4

e. Correctional institutions............................................................................................. 1 2 3 4

f. Other (specify)________________________________________________________ 1 2 3 4

19. In the next 3 years, what are your institution's plans concerning the number of distance education courses that use the following

technologies? (Circle one on each line.)

Keep same Start or No

Reduce number increase plans

a. Two-way interactive video.......................................................................................... 1 2 3 4

b. Two-way audio, one-way video................................................................................... 1 2 3 4

c. One-way live video .................................................................................................... 1 2 3 4

d. One-way prerecorded video ........................................................................................ 1 2 3 4

e. Audiographics............................................................................................................ 1 2 3 4

f. Two-way audio (e.g., audio/phone conferencing) ........................................................ 1 2 3 4

g. One-way audio (e.g., radio, audiotapes)...................................................................... 1 2 3 4

h. Two-way online (computer-based) interactions during instruction............................... 1 2 3 4

i. Other computer-based technology (e.g., Internet)........................................................ 1 2 3 4

j. Other (specify)________________________________________________________ 1 2 3 4

20. To what extent, if any, are the following factors keeping your institution from starting or expanding distance education offerings? (Circle

one on each line.)

Not Minor Moderate Major

at all extent extent extent

a. Lack of fit with institution's mission ........................................................................... 1 2 3 4

b. Lack of perceived need (e.g., limited student market)................................................. 1 2 3 4

c. Lack of support from institution administrators........................................................... 1 2 3 4

d. Program development costs........................................................................................ 1 2 3 4

e. Equipment failures/costs of maintaining equipment.................................................... 1 2 3 4

f. Limited technological infrastructure to support distance education.............................. 1 2 3 4

g. Concerns about faculty workload................................................................................ 1 2 3 4

h. Lack of faculty interest............................................................................................... 1 2 3 4

i. Lack of faculty rewards or incentives.......................................................................... 1 2 3 4

j. Legal concerns (e.g., intellectual property rights, copyright laws) ............................... 1 2 3 4

k. Concerns about course quality .................................................................................... 1 2 3 4

l. Lack of access to library or other resources for instructional support........................... 1 2 3 4

m. Interinstitutional issues (e.g., allocations of financial aid, course credit) .................... 1 2 3 4

n. Restrictive federal, state, or local policies (e.g., limitations on the number of

distance education credits students may earn, student ineligibility for financial aid).... 1 2 3 4

o. Inability to obtain state authorization.......................................................................... 1 2 3 4

p. Other (specify)________________________________________________________ 1 2 3 4

Thank you!