Research Reviews

The increase in the number of online courses in post school education has clearly increased since 2000, although the number of courses offered by institutions may vary. Online courses can offer wider possibilities for access and flexibility of time and place which may be more attractive to some students. Also, online courses may increase administrative options, such as untying course enrolment numbers from physical locations. However, online courses can raise a number of questions about learning, performance, completion, equity, access, support and the like. A recently released study completed by the Community College Research Center examined the differences in the enrolments, completion and learning outcome rates between students who undertook online, hybrid and face-to-face courses in the period 2004 to 2009. The longitudal study, Online and Hybrid Course Enrollment and Performance in Washington State Community and Technical Colleges used a Washington dataset of degree seeking students in community and technical colleges.