More students gravitate toward distance learning at UND
09/25/2015
Distance learning and part-time enrollment continue to grow at UND, according to new figures from the university.
Official enrollment data released this week showed 78 percent of students were attending classes on campus.
Over the last five years, the percentage of all enrolled students who are taking courses solely on campus has decreased by 9 percent to 9,691 this year.
The percentage of the student body enrolled solely in distance or online courses has increased from 16 percent in 2010 to 22 percent this year.
There are also students enrolled both online and on campus, and the number of those has also increased by 42 percent over the last five years and currently makes up 13 percent of the whole student body.
Total enrollment increased less than 1 percent from last year to 14,951 students this year.
The National Center for Education Statistics reported that, in 2012, 26 percent of students enrolled at Title IV institutions were enrolled exclusively in distance courses or a combination of campus and distance learning.
Distance learning includes taking courses by correspondence, such as courses taken online, over broadcasts or through mail.
UND spokesman Peter Johnson said even if students only take classes online it doesn't mean they don't live in the area.
"You can pursue entire degrees online, be living here and maybe you work all day long, so you don't have the opportunity to take time off and go to classes," he said.
Johnson said UND has provided distance education for about a century, starting with correspondence courses completed entirely by mail and then later by email.
Decisions to update programs or buildings on campus have revolved around knowing which students will be physically on campus, Johnson said, referring to the new School of Medicine and Health Sciences building, which is seeing growth through the North Dakota Healthcare Workforce Initiative.
"You try to look at what programs you're building that are likely to have people who are physically here," he said.
More popular
While the majority of students at UND in the past five years have been full time, part-time enrollment is rising in popularity.
In 2010, 76 percent of the student body was enrolled full time, a grouping that has shrunk slightly to 73 percent now.
The state's 11 public institutions, including UND, are funded partially through student credit hours, but Johnson said the focus is on meeting educational needs.
"It's more about providing opportunities for students, so obviously we have to pay attention to how we get the funding to get those opportunities, but certainly we're encouraging students to take full course loads and graduate in four years," Johnson said.
The size of UND's first-time, first-year class has yo-yoed somewhat over the last five years but overall decreased by 9 percent to 1,900 students this year, making up 13 percent of the total enrollment. In 2010, new freshmen made up 15 percent of UND's total enrollment.
The number of high school graduates in North Dakota decreased continually every year from 2009 to 2013, according to data from the Department of Public Instruction.
According to UND's online enrollment dashboard, most enrolled students are from North Dakota, with Minnesota residents being the second-largest group.
K-12 student enrollment in the state grew from 93,715 in 2009 to 104,278 in 2014, equal to 10,563 more students or an 11 percent increase, according to Herald archives. But that increase isn't boosting the number of high school graduates yet.
Johnson said while high school graduation rates are noted, UND's focus will be on providing or enhancing programs students want and need.
"Most demographics in North Dakota, up until the Bakken (oil boom began), said classes were small," he said. "That's changed now."
The number of transfer students has increased by less than 1 percent over last year to 706 students but has seen a 20 percent decrease since 2010, when the figure totaled 880, according to data from the Office of Institutional Research.
"For us, it's stability," Johnson said. "We want stability. That's the best thing for any institution. If you go up too much or down too much, you have problems, and right now we have stability."
Students enrolled in "traditional" classes
2010 - 10,493 of 14,194 = 74%
2011 - 10,544 of 14,697 = 72%
2012 - 10,704 of 15,250 = 70%
2013 - 10,301 of 15,143 = 68%
2014 - 9,871 of 14,906 = 66%
2015 - 9,691 of 14,951 = 65%
"Distance" students
2010 - 2,309 of 14,194 = 16%
2011 - 2,665 of 14,697 = 18%
2012 - 2,872 of 15,250 = 19%
2013 - 3,019 of 15,143 = 20%
2014 - 3,172 of 14,906 = 21%
2015 - 3,283 of 14,951 = 22%
"Combo" students enrolled in both distance and on campus courses
2010 - 1,392 of 14,194 = 10%
2011 - 1,488 of 14,697 = 10%
2012 - 1,674 of 15,250 = 11%
2013 - 1,823 of 15,143 = 12%
2014 - 1,863 of 14,906 = 12%
2015 - 1,977 of 14,951 = 13%
By Anna Burleson