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Making the Connection: Broadband Access and Online Course Enrollment at Public Open Admissions Institutions.

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Title: Making the Connection: Broadband Access and Online Course Enrollment at Public Open Admissions Institutions.
Authors: Skinner, Benjamin T.1 btskinner@virginia.edu
Source: Research in Higher Education. Nov2019, Vol. 60 Issue 7, p960-999. 40p. 12 Charts, 3 Graphs, 1 Map.
Subject Terms: *Online education, *Distance education, *Open admission to universities & colleges, *Internet in education, Broadband communication systems
Abstract: Postsecondary students increasingly enroll in online courses, which have the potential to further democratize higher education by expanding access for historically underserved populations. While a number of studies have investigated student outcomes in online courses, past data limitations have hindered robust examination of a potential mechanism underlying the decision to enroll in an online course: access to high speed broadband. With data from the National Broadband Map and IPEDS, I fit a number of Bayesian regression models to investigate the relationship between various measures of broadband access—download speed, upload speed, and the number of providers—and the number of students who take online courses at public colleges and universities with open admissions policies. Results show that increases in broadband speed at the lower end of the speed spectrum are positively associated with the number of students who take some of their courses online, but that the marginal gain diminishes as speeds increase. This finding suggests that there may be a minimum threshold of necessary broadband access, beyond which increases in speed become a less important factor in the take up of online coursework. Open admissions colleges seeking to improve access for local students through increased online course offerings should consider broadband access in the area, particularly if the targeted populations live in communities with low average broadband speeds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Copyright of Research in Higher Education is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Research+in+Higher+Education%22">Research in Higher Education</searchLink>. Nov2019, Vol. 60 Issue 7, p960-999. 40p. 12 Charts, 3 Graphs, 1 Map.
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  Data: *<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Online+education%22">Online education</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Distance+education%22">Distance education</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Open+admission+to+universities+%26+colleges%22">Open admission to universities & colleges</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Internet+in+education%22">Internet in education</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Broadband+communication+systems%22">Broadband communication systems</searchLink>
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  Data: Postsecondary students increasingly enroll in online courses, which have the potential to further democratize higher education by expanding access for historically underserved populations. While a number of studies have investigated student outcomes in online courses, past data limitations have hindered robust examination of a potential mechanism underlying the decision to enroll in an online course: access to high speed broadband. With data from the National Broadband Map and IPEDS, I fit a number of Bayesian regression models to investigate the relationship between various measures of broadband access—download speed, upload speed, and the number of providers—and the number of students who take online courses at public colleges and universities with open admissions policies. Results show that increases in broadband speed at the lower end of the speed spectrum are positively associated with the number of students who take some of their courses online, but that the marginal gain diminishes as speeds increase. This finding suggests that there may be a minimum threshold of necessary broadband access, beyond which increases in speed become a less important factor in the take up of online coursework. Open admissions colleges seeking to improve access for local students through increased online course offerings should consider broadband access in the area, particularly if the targeted populations live in communities with low average broadband speeds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
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  Data: <i>Copyright of Research in Higher Education is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
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      – SubjectFull: Open admission to universities & colleges
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