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We found the questions that Judith V. Boettcher (2006b) of the Corporation for Research and Educational Networking (CREN) and author of online educational resources, put forward on current practices related to class size and online learning thought provoking. She said:
"I think that the issue of class size in online courses is causing us to look at basic issues that we have not discussed for some time in higher education. How do we manage and address issues such as the following?"
"Maybe it is time for us to seriously rethink just what a course is. We know that a course is more than a book-that can be an embodied teacher. We know that a course is more than a set of readings and discussion. But just what is it? Perhaps we are still in the early stages of designing a learning model to really fit the needs of our Information age. We might also consider if, perhaps, we haven't come very far in the science of teaching, if a teacher is always required? In what form might the ‘teaching function’ be constituted? In what other forms might courses be? While it is not something we may want to consider, we may have to put some creative thought into how we can use technology to structure and deliver really great learning experiences with less effort on the part of a teacher. If we continually design and redevelop every semester for the same course, are we not still a cottage industry in how we design and deliver learning? Must we always do it this way? Our situation calls for the design of new models of instruction, and work on managing expectations." (p. 43)
In much of the anecdotal information related to online class size, there are issues of quality just as those issues are present in face-to-face classrooms. Basic questions of the quality of an online course with 15 would be the same as questions of quality of an online course of over 2000 with coaches. Quality is quality. The bigger question relates to how the quality is maintained and how ongoing assessment of that quality is institutionalized. It seems, based solely on literature that is anecdotal, theoretical, or opinion, class size appears to (with the outliers removed) to hover around 22 on average.
Few researchers have conducted studies regarding class size for online education since 2000. Taft, Perkowski, and Martin (2011) reviewed some of the literature in this area, indicating they reviewed research articles; however, numerous articles included in their list of research articles were not noted in our review as research papers. One of the first studies at the turn of the century was in survey format and was conducted by the National Education Association (NEA, 2000) regarding distance education or online learning. At that time, the NEA found that 31% of distance education courses enrolled between 1 to 20 students, 33% included 21 to 40 students, 17% included 41 to 700 students, while 19% were not able to be determined. In 2001, the NEA conducted focus groups as a follow up to the survey conducted in 2000. The responses from faculty members participating in the focus groups indicated concerns with enrollments in online courses. They indicated a need for universities’ faculty committees, faculty senates, or curriculum committees to set limits on enrollments for each online course. Faculty members responded specifically as follows:
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