Large Enrollment Online Arts Course from an Administrative Perspective or Dollars & Cents of Online Learning

An online course in popular music uses material developed by Kelly. Fixed-term instructors work with the students, answer questions, and grade. In terms of money and practicality, there needs to be an incentive/reward to:
Department heads
Departments
Individual instructors

Currently pay instructors $4,500
8 sections/semester; $36,000/semester to generate 1,200 enrollments
cost per student enrollment $30
cost per credit hour $10
Next year increasing instructor cost to $5,000 and adding a course manager for $30,000.
Cost per enrollment will increase to $51.99, credit hour/$17.40.

Instructors are paid well, so there is good retention; less time training instructors.

From a department head standpoint, it is like heaven. It generates lots of enrollments, predominantly because it’s online. It’s convenient; it fits in students’ schedule.

In 2007-08, World Campus produced 150 enrollments, an increase of 110 from previous year. Why? It’s on the pull-down menu on Registrar’s site.

The e-Learning at PSU Cooperative had 4-5 enrollments.
There was a $400 variance in return between World Campus and the e-Learning at PSU Cooperative.

There are Serious questions about the viability of the e-Learning at PSU Cooperative from a strategic standpoint.