015--The Upper Limit: The Issues for Faculty in Setting Class Size in Online Courses Presented by: Joy Colwell, Purdue University Calumet

What is the right balance between the economic issues of online instruction and the quality of the education experience for the asynchronous student? Faculty can face pressures from administration to “maximize” class sizes in online courses to make them more efficient or profitable. Instructors in online courses must not only safeguard demands on their own time but also the quality of the educational experience for the students. In this paper the authors will explore the issues surrounding class sizes in online courses, and discuss some of the research on class size. Also discussed are size v. quality issues (what gets sacrificed as class size increases), negotiated solutions or limits on class size, and alternatives to class size limits, such as increases in FTE status, graders and assistants, release time, etc.