**1. Introduction**

272 International Perspectives of Distance Learning in Higher Education

Wubbels, T. (2007). Do we know a community of practice when we see one? *Technology* 

In a country where postsecondary education traditionally results in social and economic advancement, 54 million working American adults lack a college degree (Pusser et al., 2007). Statistically, these adults are more likely to be low-wage earners. In 2009, the median earnings for young adults (25-34) with a bachelor's degree was \$45,000, while the median was \$21,000 for those without a high school diploma, \$30,000 for those with a high school diploma, and \$36,000 for those with an associate's degree. This indicates that young adults with a bachelor's degree earned over 100% more than those without a high school diploma, 50% more than those with high school diplomas, and 25% more than young adults with associate's degrees (Aud et al., 2011). In addition, the median earnings of young adults with a master's degree or higher was \$60,000, which was 33% more than the median for young adults with a bachelor's degree (Aud et al., 2011). Given these numbers, it is not surprising low income and working adults explore (or are encouraged to explore) postsecondary education. The route to degree entry and completion is not easy though.

According to Pusser et al. (2007), the challenges faced by adult learners place them at great risk of failing to complete courses and degrees. Adults not only learn differently than the young, they learn for different reasons (Green, 1998), including what they need to know, how they can take control of learning, what their prior learning experiences are, and why they need to learn (Huang, 2002; Knowles, 1984). Traditional undergraduate education is often inflexible and inconvenient for their schedules and lifestyles. Obligations, such as caring for family or work, are among the main barriers for adult/mature students to enroll in courses (Tones, Fraser, Elder, & White, 2009). These financial, family, and work concerns lead adult learners to nontraditional postsecondary programs, including distance learning (Pusser et al., 2007), because they provide a practical, convenient, and economical opportunity for those who are unable to participate in residential options (Yoon, 2003).

The definition of distance education as proposed by Holmberg (1995) situates it as an instructional delivery method that could be beneficial for low income and working learners. Holmberg defined distance education as:

the learning-teaching activities in the cognitive and/or psychomotor and affective domains of an individual learner and a supporting organization. It is characterized by

online, hybrid/blended, or other distance education courses for the academic year 2006- 2007. For the two-year level, the study revealed that 97% of public institutions and 16% of private for-profit institutions offered undergraduate distance courses. At the four-year level, 87% of public institutions, 51% of private not-for-profit institutions and 50% of private for-

Sixty-two percent of institutions offered online distance education courses. At the two-year level, 96% of the public institutions and 15% of private for-profit institutions offered online undergraduate distance courses. At the four-year level, 86% of public institutions, 47% of private not-for-profit institutions and 52% of private for-profit institutions offered online

Prasad and Lewis (2008) found that only one-fourth of the institutions offered fully online undergraduate degree programs. At the two-year level, 39% of public institutions and 7% of private for-profit institutions offered online undergraduate degree programs. At the fouryear level, 40% of public institutions, 16% of private not-for-profit institutions and 27% of

Prasad and Lewis' (2008) findings are summarized in Table 1. The numbers clearly indicate that while institutions are providing online undergraduate courses at a high rate (62%), they

> Online Undergraduate Courses

16 15 7

51 47 16

50 52 27

Fully Online Undergraduate Degree Programs

private for-profit institutions offered online undergraduate degree programs.

Overall 66 62 25

2-year public 97 96 39

4-year public 87 86 40

Table 1. Percentages of institutions involved in undergraduate distance education, Prasad

Prasad and Lewis (2008) also found that nearly all of the institutions rely on online asynchronous delivery (92%) over synchronous delivery (31%). Asynchronous technologies were used to a large extent in 75% of the institutions that offered college-level creditgranting distance education courses and to a moderate extent in 17%. Only 12% of these institutions used synchronous Internet-based technologies to a large extent while 19% used

are providing fully online programs at a much lower rate (25%).

Undergraduate Distance Courses

profit institutions offered undergraduate distance courses.

undergraduate distance courses.

Offering

2-year private, for-profit

4-year private, not-for-profit

4-year private, for-profit

and Lewis (2008).

them to a moderate extent.

non-contiguous communication and can be carried out anywhere and at any time, which makes it attractive to adults with professional and social commitments. (p. 181)

This chapter describes an exploratory research project that investigated the experiences of low-income and working students enrolled in postsecondary distance study for the purpose of gaining insight to help in the development of instructional and non-instructional interventions to enhance their persistence to graduation. Because of the growing use of Internet-based technologies to facilitate distance learning, the project focused primarily on students enrolled in online study.

Moore et al. (2011) note the need for clarity in the use of the terms distance learning and online learning and their relationship to each other. For this chapter, we define distance education as "some form of instruction [that] occurs between two parties (a learner and an instructor), [that] is held at different times and/or places, and uses varying forms of instructional materials" (Moore et al., p. 130). Online learning, in this chapter, is defined as distance learning mediated primarily by synchronous and/or asynchronous Internet technologies, such as email, discussion boards, chat rooms, and course management systems. Thus, for purposes of this chapter, online learning is considered a subset of distance learning such that all online learning is distance learning but all distance learning is not online learning. For example, print-based correspondence study is a form of distance learning but it is not a form of online learning.

Hybrid/blended is a term used to describe learning environments that use elements of distance learning along with elements of traditional face-to-face learning. The instructional strategies used in hybrid/blended courses typically combine a face-to-face learning environment with computer-mediated activities such as videoconferencing, chats, discussion boards, and tutorials. In addition, using a hybrid/blended approach may encourage instructors to reduce the number of face-to-face sessions for more instructor-tostudent interaction via the Internet.
