Middle Tennessee State University’s online program sees record growth this fall with 54% of students taking at least one MTSU Online course.
The number of fully online programs offered more than tripled since 2016 — starting at 20 in 2016 and 72 in 2024, with 43 of those programs launched since 2020.
The number of online students also began steadily increasing in 2020, due in part to students being introduced to online learning during the COVID-19 outbreak.
The pandemic “exposed many faculty to teaching online, so some people that may have been resistant to or inexperienced with teaching online gained some immediate experience,” explained Trey Martindale, associate vice provost for online learning.
However, Martindale noted that emergency remote teaching differs from intentional and carefully designed online courses, and that COVID was “more a catalyst than a reason” for the growth of MTSU Online since university President Sidney A. McPhee recognized and prioritized online learning before the pandemic began.
Now, in fall 2024, MTSU Online supports 28 full-time, temporary instructors in 18 academic departments who focus on providing high-quality online teaching.
Reasons for growth
MTSU Online continues to grow as the Nashville metropolitan area grows. This fall alone, 2,831 students were fully online, which comprises almost 14% of the total student headcount.
Martindale, who co-wrote and edited the recently published book, “Handbook of Research in Online Learning,” explained, “The vast majority of adult and online students, when they enroll in an online program, they are enrolling in an institution within 100 miles of their home.
“MTSU has benefited from the population growth in our region, and MTSU has a positive reputation for teaching and for supporting students, and so we’ve been able to extend that high-quality endeavor into the online domain.”
The University College, which generally focuses on nontraditional students, has been a pioneer in promoting fully online degrees, along with the Jones College of Business.
Most MTSU online courses are asynchronous (students do not have to meet at the same time), providing greater flexibility for working adults to incorporate pursuing a degree into their busy daily lives.
Nontraditional and graduate students may be the majority of online students, but the 18- to 24 year-olds are also participating online.
“Interestingly, we have about two dozen full-time, undergraduate MTSU students living in the residence halls, taking fully online courses,” he said. “That’s unusual now but may become more common.”
This fall, 545 unique online courses were introduced, leading to 27% of all MTSU student credit hours this semester coming from online courses.
The future of online learning
While 30 online programs are in active development, Martindale aims to go beyond increased course offerings.
“Now that we have this critical mass of fully online students, we want to make sure that they are as connected and as involved in the life of MTSU as they can possibly be,” he said.
“We’re working on initiatives such as a virtual student union and virtual clubs — ways for students to connect and engage and feel like they belong at MTSU because they do belong at MTSU, and it’s a significant population,” Martindale continued.
MTSU Online offers key student services for online students such as counseling services, 24/7 live subject tutoring, library services and writing center tutors as well as many faculty services including faculty development and training workshops and peer mentoring.
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