It's no surprise to anybody that distance and online courses cost students more (a least, when they're offered by traditional educational institutions). But more controversial in this WECT report (79 page PDF) is the contention that they cost more to produce. This result is based on 197 responses (from an unknown number of institutions) to an email survey sent to WCET members. Reading the results, the main reason distance education costs more seems to be "distance education costs more" (p.48). Every category of expense was higher for distance education. The main costs are faculty support and development (52%), tech (37%), and student support (28%). The report also makes the point that lowering cost isn't seen as part of the mandate by many institutions. Via Inside Higher Ed.
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