It has become evident that there is a great deal of confusion about how to interpret the 50% rules because of the interplay between institutional and student eligibility.  The University of Phoenix, which enrolls large numbers of students in courses offered via telecommunications and has more degree programs than certificate programs, retains its eligibility as long as it has one more onsite course than distance education courses – even if more than 50% of its students are enrolled in telecommunications and correspondence courses.  UMUC, on the other hand, loses its eligibility if more than 50% of its students are enrolled in telecommunications courses since UMUC has more certificate than degree programs. 

There is considerable overlap in the curricular areas of distance education programs offered by participants.  Almost all have degree programs in business and computer/information science at the level appropriate to the institution.  Other popular disciplines include liberal arts or general studies, and health professions at the undergraduate level; social sciences/psychology at both undergraduate and graduate levels; and education and engineering at the graduate level.  In this regard, the participants reflect a strategy that is common among postsecondary institutions engaged in distance education – to offer programs that address workforce needs and/or that are likely to attract large numbers of adult students.

            Women predominate in all three of the groups on which demonstration program participants were asked to report: students enrolled in distance education programs, onsite students taking one or more distance education courses, and onsite students who did not take any distance education courses.  (In the following discussion, these groups will be referred to as distance education, mixed and onsite students.)  The gap between women and men is smallest in the onsite group, where 53% of the population is female.  There is a slightly higher percentage of women in the mixed group (60%) than in the distance education group (58%) and the mixed group tends to be younger and to include more full-time students.  These factors suggest that a portion of the mixed group is traditional students who, for a variety of reasons, are augmenting their on-campus education with distance learning courses.  These reasons may include students’ desire for more flexibility, the lack of seats in a traditional class, and the attraction of the mode of study.