Distance education courses, especially web-based courses, require significantly more time on the part of the faculty member to ensure quality instruction and to maintain high levels of interaction between faculty and students as well as among students. The best way to reduce the high dropout rates in online courses is to increase the amount of personal and individualized instruction, which also is advocated in AFT Guideline #5. A lower class size for distance education courses versus their on-campus equivalents has proven most effective.

Negotiators might argue for a reduced ratio, such as an online section being 2/3 of its on-campus equivalent, or for a hard class cap, such as 18 or 20 — or any combination that works for the various DE methods of delivery at that institution. In no case,we feel, should a web-based class size be larger than its on-campus equivalent with a single instructor. If necessary, bargaining units might achieve language using a sundown or pilot-project clause, which would then allow faculty members time to gather evidence that lower class caps are more effective for sound academic and retention reasons.