The staff in the Office of Distance Learning has a unique opportunity of working with faculty across many departments and colleges. This vantage point allows us to observe common challenges being experienced by faculty in all disciplines and modes of teaching. One consistently observed challenge involves interactions with our university IT Help Desk as members of our learning community report technical issues and request assistance. In full disclosure, the Office of Distance Learning is an investor in the IT Help Desk, through financing of after hours and weekend tech support.

The guest blogger for this post is Mr. Johan Adendorff. He is a Master Instructor in the Health Promotion and Wellness online degree program in the School of Kinesiology housed within the College of Education at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. Learn more about Mr. Adendorff by clicking here. This is a guest blog; the opinions presented here do no reflect the Office of Distance Learning or the University.

A number of Deans and Department Heads have asked the question, “What is the ideal course size for a hybrid or online course section?”  The typical response given by Office of Distance and Electronic Learning staff is,  “Online and hybrid course sizes should be determined on a course by course, department by department, and/or college by college basis.”

The Office of Distance and Electronic Learning Policies and Procedures provides the following parameters for determining electronic course size:

Course Size