The perceived costs of online learning course delivery by campus-based UK HEIs.

Online learning has been seen to have had a vast uptake in the last decade not only by distance learning institutions but also by institutions primarily involved in traditional, campus-based education. This shift has been partly due to advances in learning technologies but also partly due to the misconception that online education reduces costs (Inglis 2008). While the pedagogically effective course design and the academic staff development on online tutoring are critical factors for the successful delivery of online learning, the issue of cost is also an important factor for its sustainability and viability and should not be neglected. Furthermore, according to Laurillard’s framework for the effective use of learning technologies, the cost of online learning forms part of what needs to be taken into account in order to design an effective organisational infrastructure. This background context has informed the research question regarding the costs of accredited online courses in comparison with their face-to-face equivalent courses delivered by UK campus-based Higher Education Institutions (HEIs)