The Optimal Online Student-Instructor Ratio
15-17 would be the optimal student/instructor ratio. In an online format, discussion is essential to both the cultivation of new ideas, but also, the internalization of the information just learned. 15-17 students would allow for the right amount of response opportunities, as well as, a wealth of different perspectives. As an instructor, having 15-17 students would provide the opportunity to receive substantive posts most of the time, and posts that indicate that the student has browsed some of the other view points by other students at other times.
Your recommendation is inline with the average class size that many online institutions maintain in the career school segment. Especially with indepth or technical content, many teachers and students seem work best in a 'closed circle' of smaller groups. Many of these schools have a maximum cap of about 30 students per class section, but average out to approximately 20 in each class. Very good.
I believe that the student-instructor ratio should be close to 20:1. I feel that anything above this number may cause a lack in the instructor’s ability to properly monitor students and their work or activity accurately. Being an online instructor, I find that when I have approximately 18 students, my attention to detail is a lot stronger opposed to having 25 students. I believe it is in the best interest of the students to keep the ratio 20:1, even lower would be more beneficial to all.
What is an optimal online student-instructor ratio? Justify your answer.
I think you are right Lee! Tina
One instructor for every twenty five students. This is to ensure that every student gets their fair share of individualized instruction. From my experience teaching online, roughly 5 mins a student a day seems reasonable. This of course is considering the student-instructor ratio per course.
Tina, thank you.
I think in the future colleges and universities will be all online where students graduate from high school are losing four years of workplace experiences. The normal instance for a student that graduates high school and goes off to a college or university for four years and does not work and just studies is missing on that well rounded business workplace and educational learning experience. What should happen? After a student graduates high school and begins to work full time and start a bachelor degree program at a college or university seems to be the future of the world of online learning. Students are missing four years of workplace experiences. Students working in a business can relate and connect class work material online to business workplace experiences in being able to apply pertinent examples in assisting the online learning. This is a perfect connection where there is a gap and needs to be filled using online learning.
Hi Lee, I agree with your comment about asynchronous learning as the most effective. Most learners who choose online learning, do so because they can learn anytime and anywhere. Tina
The optimal online student-instructor ratio is limitless pending on the communication approach. If you are deciding to teach an online course in a synchronous fashion then a smaller group size such as 10:1 student-instructor ratio would be conducive. Trying to get all students and instructor in meeting online on a specified day and time can be an arduous task to overcome. On the other hand, if you decide to teach an asynchronous online course 100+:1 student-instructor ratio then class optimal range does not really have any bearing. Actually in this instance the larger the class could lead to a more productive quality learning outcome. In my expert opinion I would suggest asynchronous learning as the most effective way to learn. Synchronous learning has its benefits such as small group work and projects.
From the point of view of the student, I think that a ration of 20 to 1 is optimal. This should provide for active discussions. It also allows a student to be able to connect with one or more students in the class.
From the point of view of the instructor, I think that the ratio should be a little less, perhaps 15 to 1. With a maximum of 15 students, I feel that an online instructor can still connect with each student individually and manage the work load of the class efficiently. With more than 15 students, faculty members may risk the chance of not giving enough attention to all students. Personal attention or connection to each student may become muddled or confusing, especially in the threads.
I have worked at a ground campus for two years and our classes held 24 students. That was a heavy workload. Everyone of them needed something. In a ground campus it is pretty obvious that the majority of the class wants or needs the interaction.
Now that I am teaching online I find that I still like the 24-30 students to one instructor. I think that it depends on what is being taught and also the education level of the student.
I find that not all of them require the interaction. As a matter of fact, it appears that most of them don't want interaction.
I think that the ratio should be equal with small classes as well as higher level classes
Various things go into answering this question. If depends on several things:
type of course
complexity of the course
assignments in the course
whether there are team projects or not in the course.
I teach math. Some math classes are centered around a online math tools (MML, ALEKs). For these classes, I can provide a quality course with more students, say 20 to 25.
Other statistic/research classes I teach are not dependent on these math tools and if I get to more than 15 or 18 students, the quality of the class suffers.
The reason quality of the class suffers is due mostly to my time limitations.
I think that depends upon the course.
For math, I believe the number of students can be higher because it is a 'hard' science. However, when there is an extensive amount of participation upon the professor, such as in a class of Composition, the students should be kept to around 20 to 25. This could be done to avoid the instructor from becoming overwhealmed and ensure the students receive the attention they deserve.
Hi William, we limit the number of discussions by unit, so it makes it more manageable for learners. Larger classes require different interaction strategies, so we use weaving and summarizing to make sure that faculty are present in the discussions but not interacting with 30 students! Tina
Hi Michelle, we have found 15:1 to be a good ratio also. In the first course students take we have higher enrollments because of the number of dropouts. Tina
Tough question, it would depend on how complex the subject matter is and how much time each individual needs direct access to the instructor. If the instructor can not interact in a timely manner to each students needs then the students can become detached and fustration can set in. Which in the end could lead to the student dropping the course.
Having taught online courses for three different schools with enrollments between 8 and 36, I believe that 10-15 students would be optimal. This allows for a great deal of one on one interaction with the students and also ensures that there are plenty of discussions on the Discussion Board without the students feeling overwhelmed by having 30 different discussions to choose from. Having more than 30 students makes it difficult to spend time with each student and having fewer than 10 feels too small.
I really feel there a few items one needs to look at before choosing the optimal student-instructor ratio. What course is being taught? What is the course's level of difficulty? Are these new students? What type of student population is being served?
If the course is considered to have a higher level of difficulty, the ration should be smaller. If the course contains new students, the ration should be smaller as well. Ideally, I would like to see a 15:1 ration; however, with course enrollment this ratio is usually doubled. Whatever the ration is the instructor needs to provide individualized attention to each student.
I feel that there should be a cap of 20 students in an online course. This number provides an instructor with enough time to interact more with the students. The discussion boards can become confusing for students when they are five pages in length. The instructor's and students' reponses do not get lost. I also think they feel more comfortable in a smaller environment.
