Higher-education costs are spiraling out of control; quality leaves much to be desired. The solution: online learning - Michael Bassis, Business Week

Higher-education costs are spiraling out of control; quality leaves much to be desired. The solution: online learning - Michael Bassis, Business Week

There is another way to define quality that actually makes more sense. That entails thinking of quality in terms of outcomes rather than resources—focusing on student learning instead of the size of the endowment. Research conducted by Dennis Jones and Jane Wellman suggests that we would be able to break the link between cost and quality if we measured quality in terms of performance outcomes. They found that "there is no consistent relationship between spending and performance, whether that is measured by spending against degree production, measures of student engagement, evidence of high-impact practices, students' satisfaction with their education, or future earnings." Are there instructional designs that have the capacity to lower costs and enhance the outcomes of the educational experience? Let's return to the case of online learning.