This file contains data from a quick-response survey titled "Distance Education at Postsecondary Institutions, 2006–07." The survey was conducted by the National Center for Education Statistics, Institute of Education Sciences, using the Postsecondary Education Quick Information System (PEQIS). It was designed to provide national estimates on distance education at 2-year and 4-year Title IV eligible, degree-granting institutions. Distance education was defined as a formal education process in which the student and instructor are not in the same place. NCES released the results of the survey in the publication Distance Education at Degree-Granting Postsecondary Institutions: 2006–07 (NCES 2009-044).
In fall 2007, questionnaires and cover letters for the study were mailed to the PEQIS survey coordinators at the approximately 1,600 Title IV degree-granting postsecondary institutions in the 50 states and the District of Columbia that compose the PEQIS panel. Coordinators were informed that the survey was designed to be completed by the person(s) at the institution most knowledgeable about the institution's distance education programs. Respondents were given the option of completing the survey online or on paper. Telephone follow-up for survey nonresponse and data clarification was initiated 3 weeks after mailout and data collection was completed in March 2008. The responses rates were 90 percent unweighted and 87 percent weighted.
The 2006-07 study on distance education collected information on the prevalence, types, delivery, policies, and acquisition or development of distance education courses and programs. Instruction may be synchronous or asynchronous, and it may involve communication through the use of video, audio, or computer technologies, or by correspondence (which may include both written correspondence and the use of technology such as CD-ROM). The questionnaire instructed institutions to include distance education courses and programs that were formally designated as online, hybrid/blended online, and other distance education courses and programs. Hybrid/blended online courses were defined as a combination of online and in-class instruction with reduced in-class seat time for students.
Online Availability
