GVSU Distance Education Report

Notes

This report shows trend data on online and hybrid courses at GVSU. Online courses have no required "in-person" meetings (although they might include synchronous online meetings). Hybrid courses require both "in-person" and online learning. The report can be adjusted to include data on online courses, hybrid courses, or both.

The report shows five years' census data on the selected course format(s), and depending on the time of year, may show provisional data on courses, sections, and instructors in upcoming semesters. The reader can choose which semester is shown, or can show data for full academic years. (Note that academic years run from Spring/Summer through Winter.) Data are captured and updated at each semester's census, which occurs on the last day of drop/add. Using census data assures that data are reported consistently over time and that apparent differences between years don't arise from differences in when the data were captured. Provisional data are added in early March when schedules go live, and will remain until they are replaced with census data.

The report can be adjusted to show data on any of the following characteristics of GVSU online or hybrid classes:

• The number of distinct courses offered in the format(s) -- E.g. if there were 3 different online sections of SOC 101, it still only counts as one course. When full academic years are selected as the time unit, a course is counted if it was offered (and had enrollment) at least once during the year.
• The number of course sections offered in the format(s) -- In this case, 3 online sections of a particular course would each be counted. If academic years are selected as the time unit, then the total number of sections in all three semesters is shown.
• The number of distinct instructors who taught courses in the selected format(s) -- Note that some online or hybrid course sections have more than one instructor. When full academic years are selected as the time unit, the count includes any instructor who taught one or more applicable course in any of the three semesters.
• The total enrollment in courses with the selected format(s) -- In this case, a student who took 3 online courses would be counted three times. When full academic years are selected as the time unit, enrollment totals for the three semesters are summed.
• The unduplicated count of students who took one or more courses in the selected format(s) -- Here, a student who took multiple courses is only counted once. When full academic years are selected as the time unit, a student is counted if she took at least one applicable course in any of the three semesters.

Additional notes on double-counting: Counts are unduplicated (as appropriate per descriptions above) within cells, not across them. So, in any row, a course (or instructor or "unduplicated student") is counted no more than once in a particular column (i.e. semester or academic year), but may be counted in more than one column. Similarly, a cross-listed course (or an instructor or "unduplicated student") is counted no more than once in any cell, but may be counted in more than one cell in the column. For example, consider a student who took 3 online courses in a semester: two in History, and one in Physics. That student will be counted once each in the rows for History, Physics, CLAS Subtotal, and University Total. The upshot is that you cannot add two unduplicated counts and be certain that the sum doesn't include duplicates, but the printed totals and subtotals for unduplicated counts have been unduplicated correctly. (Corollary: the totals or subtotals may be less than the sums of the pertinent rows.)

When values are shown as "percent of Total", the denominator is computed based on courses that either (a) have a pre-scheduled in-person meeting pattern, or (b) are designated as online or hybrid. Independent studies, practica, internships, and other courses with fluid or indeterminate meeting patterns are not considered in the percentages.