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Trends in Online Education

According to the Sloan Consortium, a non-profit consortium of higher education institutions and organizations committed to quality online education.

Concerning the quality of online education:

A majority of academic leaders believe that online learning quality is already equal to or superior to face-to-face instruction.
Three quarters of academic leaders at public colleges and universities believe that online learning quality is equal to or superior to face-to-face instruction.
The larger the school, the more positive the view of the relative quality of online learning compared to face-to-face instruction.
Three quarters of all academic leaders believe that online learning quality will be equal to or superior to face-to-face instruction in three years."

Growth of Online Education

Over 1.6 million students took at least one online course during Fall 2002.
Over one-third of these students (578,000) took all of their courses online.
Among all U.S. higher education students in Fall 2002, 11 percent took at least one online course.
Among those students at institutions where online courses were offered, 13 percent took at least one online course.
The number of students taking at least one online course is projected to increase by 19.8 percent over the one-year period from Fall 2002 to Fall 2003, to include a total of 1.9 million students."

By early 2008, one out of 10 college students will be enrolled in an online degree program, Boston-based market research firm Eduventures estimated last year.

There's no doubt about it, online education is here and stay, and it will help meet the needs of a more well educated economy.

The overall percent of schools identifying online education as a critical long-term strategy grew from 49% in 2003 to 56% in 2005.
The largest increases were seen in Associates degree institutions where 72% now agree that it is part of their institution's long-term strategy, up from 58% in 2003.
The smallest schools, private nonprofit institutions and Baccalaureate colleges remain the least likely to agree that online education is part of their long-term strategy."

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