Is (Scaled) Online Learning an Engine for Diversity? Not according to the data

There are lots of women and minority students in online CS. Numbers are high. Proportions are low.  Reach (what percentage of women and minority get access to online CS) is low.  Diversity in terms of economic success is low (as discussed in this blog post and in this one too), so scaled online learning is unlikely to be an engine to bridge economic divides.  There are a large number of (rich) female and minority students in the OMS CS populations (higher numbers but lower proportion than in our face-to-face MS CS program), but if they remain a small proportion of the whole and the reach is low, then not much is changing. The graduate pool and the Tech industry over all does not become more diverse.

If Georgia Tech is indeed able leverage scaled online learning to graduate underrepresented minorities at much higher rates than comparable residential programs, then it seems that all of us in higher ed should be taking notice. I remain skeptical that an online degree program that is not built around intensive interaction, mentoring, and coaching between faculty and students can be successful.  Going to scale in order to drive down the costs seems to require a transactional, rather than relational, approach to teaching and learning.

Source: Is (Scaled) Online Learning an Engine for Diversity? | Technology and Learning