The complete survey report, .Staying the Course: Online Education in the United States, 2008. is available here.
Staying the Course: Online Education in the United States, 2008 represents the sixth annual report on the state of online learning in U.S. higher education. This year's study, like those for the previous five years, is aimed at answering some of the fundamental questions about the nature and extent of online education. A collaborative effort between the Babson Survey Research Group, the College Board and the Sloan Consortium and supported by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation the study is based on responses from more than 2,500 colleges and universities, addressing the following key questions:
Background: For the past several years, online enrollments have been
growing substantially faster than overall higher education enrollments. The
expectation of academic leaders has been that these enrollments would continue
their substantial growth for at least another year. Do the measured enrollments
match these lofty expectations?
The evidence: Online enrollments have continued to grow at rates far in
excess of the total higher education student population, with the most recent
data demonstrating no signs of slowing.
Background: Bad economic times have often been good for education, either
because decreased availability of good jobs encourages more people to seek
education instead, or because those currently employed seek to improve their
chances for advancement by advancing their education.
The evidence: Institutions believe that the economic changes will have a
positive impact on overall enrollments and that specific aspects of an economic
downturn resonate closely with increasing demand for online courses with
specific types of schools.
Background: Chief academic officers have important decision making powers
for institutions of higher education, and they often make their decisions based
on their understanding of faculty opinions. Do these academic leaders have a
good understanding of faculty views?
The evidence: A series of questions about motivations for teaching online
was asked of a sample of faculty who teach online and of chief academic
officers. There was a wide level of agreemnt, with one important difference.
Background: For online education to continue its rapid growth, it must be
perceived as important by the chief academic officers who are planning
tomorrow's educational offerings. Only if these academic leaders believe that
online is critical will they build future programs around it.
The evidence: Results for the previous five years have shown an increase
followed by a leveling in the proportion of those institutions stating that
online education is critical to their long term strategy.
Background: Online enrollments have shown substantial growth for each of
the past five years. Has this extraordinary growth been uniform across all areas
of higher education or concentrated among specific institutions or specific
types of programs?
The evidence: Online enrollments have seen steady growth, as has the
number of institutions with online program offerings. What is not known,
however, is if particular disciplines are better suited to online and others
less well suited.
Source: Staying The Course . Online Education in the United States, 2008
College graduates earn an average of $1 million more during their careers than high school graduates!
Source: U.S. Census Bureau