Other Integral Variables related to the Study of this Topic

Institutions implementing distance programs do not pursue the same student population as traditional campus-based. Hence, institution size, tuition cost, and reputation have become very significant variables when classifying distance-learning programs. For example, the U.S. News & World Report's annual rankings group schools according to mission as well as region and compare data from each institution on 16 indicators of academic quality. Among the evaluative components are academic reputation, retention rates, student selectivity, financial resources, and graduation rates. These indicators mirror the data found in popular college guides. Barron's Profiles of American Colleges, another example, provides data on more than 1,500 North American colleges and universities; variables include size, costs, geographic recruitment, and selectivity (Bates, 2002).

Institution sizes range from small to large. Small institutions typically focus on personalized student attention, limited class sizes, and the community-based advantages of smallness, albeit often at the expense of program and activity diversity. Large institutions typically focus on advantages of scale such as a greater number of programs and activities. They usually offer less of an in loco parentis environment, albeit with structures and orientations geared toward mass outputs and efficiency (Belcher, 2001).

Institutions can also be categorized by their tuition structures. At one end of the spectrum are publicly funded institutions where students frequently pay less than 20% of their actual educational expenses. On the other end are private institutions where students typically cover 80% or more of their educational expenses. The universities' operating cost structures also typically mirror their overall tuition structures (Landauer, 1999).

Finally, institutions can be classified based on the scope of their reputation. Reputation factors (scope, prestige, and exclusivity) refer

 

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