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Cost of K-12 Online Learning
Anderson, A., J. Augenblick, D. DeCesare, and J. Conrad. 2006. Costs and funding of
virtual schools. A report prepared for the BellSouth Foundation. Denver, CO:
Augenblick, Palaich, and Associates.
• Purpose: “To examine issues related to cost and funding of virtual schools,
including the cost of operating and the funding mechanisms to support such
schools” (p. 4).
• Method: “The authors used the Professional Judgment (PJ) approach as the
primary data collection method for the research. The authors brought together
two PJ panels, one of representatives of state-led supplemental programs and the
other of representatives of full-time programs” (p. 4).
• Findings: “There are two types of costs: start-up costs and ongoing costs. There
are five broad categories of ongoing costs for online programs: management,
instruction, course development, technology set-up, and technology personnel.
Operating costs range between $3,650 and $8,300 per full-time equivalent (FTE)
student. The operating costs of online programs are approximately equal to the
operating costs of a traditional brick-and-mortar school” (p. 4).
Cavanaugh, C. (2009). Online course funding: The influence of resources on practices.
In J. Watson and B. Gemin (Eds.), Keeping pace with K–12 online learning: A refiew of
state-level policy and practice (pp. 39–40). Vienna, VA iNACOL.
• Purpose: This overview “outlines the factors that influence budgets, costs and
prices, and then discusses potential impacts on the student experience” (p. 39).
• Methods: Presents a framework for categorizing the major costs of an online
program.
• Findings: “Funding for online courses is an economic, political and educational
issue that includes the budgeting process enabling course providers to operate,
the actual costs of producing and offering courses, and the price at which courses
are provided to students” (p. 39).
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