WISE Economics: ROI of Quality and Consortiums

This article describes the literature of quality online education, explores the economics of online courses and programs, and calculates the return on investment yielded by participation in an online consortium. Financial information from public sources is used to show that the cost of an online classroom is comparable to the cost of a face-to-face classroom. The cost savings from course sharing by the 15 programs that are members of the Web-based Information Science Education (WISE) consortium is calculated to show that the return on investment for membership in an online consortium ranges from 1.0 to 10.5 depending on the number of consortium members, student enrollments, and assumptions on cost. Keywords: Online learning, ROI, WISE, consortium, cost-benefit analysis An Introduction to Quality Online Education A body of research examining quality metrics for online courses and programs has emerged alongside the growth of online delivery as an integral method in higher education (Association for the Study of Higher Education (ASHE), 2006; Cavanaugh, 2005; McGorry, 2003; Moore, 2005; Ruth, 2006). This research has grown from a set of professional organizations and related conferences that focus on quality online education including the American Distance Education Consortium, the Distance Learning Association, the Sloan Consortium (Sloan-C), the Society for Applied Learning Technology, WCET, and Web-based Information Science Education, among others. The websites for these organizations feature quality metrics plus a wealth of papers, research reports, journal articles, and books that define quality online education. Technology, when used appropriately and effectively, can expand the reach of talented faculty and provide geographically bound students with access to highly regarded academic programs. It may also enable instructors to enrich course content with multimedia materials and access to relevant web-based resources at the point of need (e.g.: embedded in a PowerPoint lecture), and it allows instructors to encourage ongoing discussions in the online forum that extend far beyond the constraints of a single face-to-face class meeting. To preserve the integrity of the academy as use of emerging technologies in the online teaching environment increases, several national organizations and independent researchers have proposed guidelines for high-quality online education delivery. Sloan-C frames quality with five pillars for asynchronous learning networks. Sloan-C stresses the importance of continuous quality improvement (CQI) in online education. CQI, which "measures progress towards goals using metrics and feedback from stakeholders for continuous improvement," is an imperative process in establishing and maintaining quality in an online program (Moore, 2005, p. 9). The growth and evolution of these dynamic programs is rapid, and the offering institution has the responsibility of oversight and modification at each stage to ensure quality. The Sloan Consortium Five Pillars of Quality in Online Programs: * Learning effectiveness - The quality of learning online is demonstrated to be at least as good as the institutional norm * Cost effectiveness - The institution continuously improves services while reducing costs * Access - All learners who wish to learn online can access learning in a wide array of programs and courses * Faculty satisfaction - Faculty are pleased with teaching online, citing appreciation and happiness * Student satisfaction - Students are pleased with their experiences in learning online, including interaction with peers and instructors, learning outcomes that match expectations, services, and orientations While the Sloan-C pillars address quality on the program level, the American Distance Education Consortium presents guidelines for individual course quality (American Distance Education Consortium (ADEC), 2003). …