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Negron said online classes are "appropriate for students who are distance-bound," but he sees it as a "diminution" of their education if they spend too much learning time online.

"It's all about balance," he said. "But I think by having 40 percent of on-campus students learning by staring at a computer, that's not what is happening at the great universities in this country."

Mariano, who unseated former Rep. Amanda Murphy, D-New Port Richey, in the November election in a Pasco County House district, said "there is definitely a value to having in-person class discussion," but the online options provide flexibility.

"As long you don't force them into it, I think that students should have the option," she said.

Florida is a national leader in using online university classes, with 158,000 students enrolled in online classes in the fall of 2015, trailing only Texas, with 197,000 students, according to the new report.

Undergraduates who took between 41 percent and 60 percent of their classes online were more likely to earn their baccalaureate degrees faster than students who took no online classes, the report showed. The online students graduated in an average of 3.95 years compared to 4.47 years for non-online students.

Students who solely took online classes tended to be older, with 30 years as the average, compared to the 23-year-old average for students taking a combination of online and standard classes or no online classes at all.

"Older students are more likely to be place-bound, working fulltime and/or supporting families, making distance learning an ideal way for them to complete their degrees," the report said.

One downside for the solely online students is a lower retention rate, reported as 72 percent for the students who started in the fall of 2014 and continued in 2015. The retention rate for the students taking some online classes or none was well above 80 percent, according to the report.

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3/23/2017

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