The Optimal Online Student-Instructor Ratio
I think the student to teacher ratio for online courses should not exceed 30:1. My argument is mostly from experience with classes of difficult students that require extra support and guidance. When the class size grows past 30 students, the amount of time needed to support the difficult or problem students, starts to reduce the time spent with the rest of the class. This leads to an overall difficult class with the majority of students not learning as much as they could have.
What is an optimal online student-instructor ratio? Justify your answer.
There should be a cap at 20/1 for better manageability. My experience has been with more than 20 students, although the participation in discussions are greater the time the instructor can put into students on an individual level is lessened. I've had students complain to me about instructors not providing feedback on assignments or not being available to them. You tend to hear more negative feedback from students in larger classrooms. Perhaps the instructor is overwhelmed? I'm not sure. On the other hand, I think some of my most effective and successful classes were those where I had a larger student group versus the smaller groups (less than seven students). There was more interaction and participation which allowed me to be more involved as well.
An optimal student-instructor ratio would depend on the type of course being taught as well as the number of assignments and assessments associated with the course. For example, a pharmacy math course would be more complicated than an introductory pharmacy course. So, there should be fewer students enrolled in the math course (perhaps cap it off at 20 students) compared to an introductory course (could be capped off at 30). This would be due to the complex nature of pharmacy math compared to the introductory material.
Also, the amount of time required by faculty for grading assignments and assessments should be considered. Pharmacy externship is the final course for my training program. This particular course has additional assignments for students to complete each week compared to other courses in the program. Also, the length for the externship is 2 weeks longer when compared to the other courses. The number of students in an advanced course like externship should be capped at 15. TROY
Virginia,
Class size is a very much discussed topic due to all of the issues that have been raised by participants. They class size has to be maintained at a level where the students feel engaged and the instructor can interact sufficiently. If this is not the case the quality of the course is greatly reduced as we all know.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Our classes cap out at a very high 35 - 40 students, in my assessment it is too much. It makes for overwhelming amounts of work, grading and burn-out. It's also hard for students to all get complete attention and guidance due to the large number of students. I believe that 25 is optimal.
This depends partly on the content. Many online career colleges differentiate between writing intensive student caps or ceilings from those of courses where students do multiple choice or short answer activities.
Accrediting agencies may cap class size. I know one case in which the maximum is 25 students.
One thing is certain. The fewer students the more attention each receives.
Jonathan,
Thank you for that reference discussing establishing a "community of learners". This should be the core focus of what we are trying to do with our classes and as a result the size will be discussed in terms of effectiveness, not just revenue generated or classes covered.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Small classes generally provide greater attention to students, and there can be unintended consequences. The smaller the class size in an online environment the less interaction the online learner may have depending on the class engagement on a particular topic. Therefore you do need a minimum of 20 students. This ensures enough interaction to ensure a thorough guided discussion on a given topic.
However, this must be weighed carefully based on the topic. Consider what you realistically can accomplish given your subject matter, the nature of assignments, and types of assessment. Many sources stress that quality teaching online requires smaller student/faculty ratios than in traditional classes. According to the faculty report from the University of Illinois:
“Online, attentiveness must be tangible, and may involve more effort than in a face-to-face setting. These considerations imply an inherent limitation of online class size; size is determined by the amount of effort required to form a “community of learners.â€
“Teaching at an Internet Distance: the Pedagogy of Online Teaching and Learning.†The Report of a 1998-1999 University of Illinois Faculty Seminar.
I feel that the appropriate student to instructor ratio may depend on the subject matter. A ration of 30:1 is very reasonable for many courses. Sometimes, if there are too many students in a class, the discussion can suffer. It is difficult for them to get to know each other. Discussions can be more in depth and critical if students have the ability to know each other’s perspectives and feel comfortable being open and honest. An instructor can help with this by being active in discussions and getting to know all of the students – this will help to foster the open dialogue. Group projects can also be a place that students can work together and get to know each other. These relationships will also help foster better interaction. Since the instructor has a lot of responsibilities to keep online student engaged, to go much over 30 students makes it difficult to accomplish all of the requirements as well as get to know everyone.
Michael,
I think this is a very reasonable number as well for the reasons you state. I have to keep reminding my college of this ever so often.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
