The University of Houston Embraces Hybrid Instruction
Demand for Online Instruction
Increased demand for online instruction has resulted from both "push" and "pull" factors. Push factors are largely monetary. With the cost of higher education on the rise, school administrations are faced with unrelenting budget pressures. Public institutions rely heavily upon public subsidy to meet expenses; however the public subsidy of higher education has not kept pace with increasing costs. Without these subsidies, state colleges and universities will need to raise tuition to $15,000 annually (Turoff, 1997).
Moreover, as the use of electronic media grows, traditional geographic monopolies are disappearing and competition for student enrollment between institutions of higher education is increasing (Christensen, Anzkwe & Kessler, 2001). Administrators hope that incorporating distance learning (DL) into the school's instructional offerings will increase institutional cost effectiveness and aid in the competition for new students.
Pull factors flow from a growing recognition among students of the value that DL offers them in terms of flexibility and convenience (Daugherty & Funke, 1998). The demographics of college and university students in the U.S. is experiencing rapid and profound change. According to the U.S. Department of Education's National Center for Education Statistics (as cited in Christensen et al, 2001), the percentage of 25 to 34-year-olds enrolled as college undergraduates has increased by almost 33 percent between 1972 and 1994. Between 1976 and 1994, the percentage of undergraduates age 35 and older has also increased by approximately 33 percent according to Duguet (as cited in Christensen et al, 2001). Turoff (1998) adds that there will be an increasing percentage of working college students (versus the traditional full-time student) and these individuals have greater outside commitments that create barriers to "traditional" education. DL courses can provide the flexibility needed by non-traditional students. These students find that completing course work at home and at a convenient time for their schedule makes it possible to integrate their education with their family and life responsibilities (Daugherty & Funke, 1998).
The attraction of DL instruction is not restricted to traditional distance learners. As students realize that the flexibility of DL courses can shorten their time pending graduation, a high percentage of traditional on-campus students are also enrolling in these courses (Turoff, 1997).
The introduction of web-based online instruction adds new factors to be taken into account when judging the potential of DL. Students utilizing online instruction value the opportunity to learn computer-based technologies as an integrated part of instruction (Daugherty & Funke, 1998). Increasingly, the careers for which students are preparing require conversance in these technologies (Webster & Hackley, 1997).
Public familiarity with and access to computers and the internet has also increased dramatically in the U.S. (Ragothaman & Hoadley, 1997). With the rapid expansion of these technologies, their increased pervasiveness, and subsequent availability, accessibility is no longer a major issue (Christensen et al, 2001). Due to these factors, mediated instruction has been increasing at a dramatic rate and online instruction is growing faster than any other instructional technology according to Crossman (as cited in Daugherty & Funke, 1998).