Colleges and universities make online courses available
to students at significantly lower fees than traditional on-campus classes. At
the same time, the size of the institution plays a role in that cost, according
to a report in eCampus News.
A University of Massachusetts Dartmouth study found online
courses cost about a third less than traditional classes. It also noted that
medium-sized institutions tended to set online fees higher than small and
large universities, and that private schools were lower than public
institutions.
The research compared the online and on-campus course
offerings from 103 colleges and universities in the United States. The pricing
information was freely available online for each institution.
“This study makes an initial attempt to test hypotheses
of whether different types of educational institutions set the same prices for
their online courses and on-campus courses,” wrote Shouhong Wang, professor of
management information systems at UMass Dartmouth and author of the report.
“The database evidences might be helpful for administrators to understand more
about how different types of educational institutions adopt different online
course pricing strategies and practices.”
