subject: The State Of Online Learning In America [print this page] The State Of Online Learning In America The State Of Online Learning In America
The latest research study by the Babson Survey Research Group and the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation marks the eighth - and final - collaborative study between Babson College and the Sloan Foundation. The study, titledClass Differences: Online Education in the United States, 2010, unveils current trends in online education in the United States, including whether online learning is strategic, how many students are learning online, the role of the economy on online enrollments, perceptions of online learning and the future of online learning.Babson Survey Research Group Co-Director Jeff Seaman said that while this is the final collaborative study between the two organizations, the research would not end here. "This is certainly not the last report on online education, but it is the last study we will conduct with the support of the Sloan Foundation."
Online Education and the Economy.Seaman said that one of the most surprising findings of the study was that the economy played an even larger role this year in the increased number of online enrollments. "We saw an increase last year, but there was an even greater increase this year," he said. "That was the surprising part for us...we hadn't predicted that."
"The population is definitely still feeling the effects of a slow economy," Seaman said. "Many individuals feel that education will improve their employment prospects. Also, those people who are unemployed have more time to dedicate to coursework."
...the economy played an even larger role this year in the increased number of online enrollments
Results from the study found that almost one-half of the surveyed institutions experienced an increased demand for face-to-face courses and programs because of the economic downturn, while three-quarters of these institutions reported an increased demand for their online offerings. This positive correlation between the economic downturn and online enrollment growth is most prominent in public institutions, where 61.8 percent have found the economic impact to be even greater this year than last year. Comparatively, 32.7 percent of private nonprofit institutions and 33.7 percent of private for-profit institutions agreed that the economy played an even larger role this year than last year in their online enrollment figures.
What researchers aren't sure of, however, is how much of an impact the economic downturn is having on overall enrollment growth. "We always knew that online growth would plateau and reach a saturation point," Seaman said. "The question is, has the economic impact made an artificially high plateau, or is it speeding up a process that is going to happen anyway? We really can't tell yet."
The Future of Online Education.While the current economic conditions have certainly played a large role in the online education in the United States, it is not the only factor driving enrollment growth. "Growth of online education is driven by multiple factors," Seaman said. "Another big driving factor is the anytime, anywhere access that online education provides."
In the future, Seaman said, growth will come mainly from institutions with existing online offerings...
It still isn't certain whether online enrollment growth is beginning to slow, though Seaman said they are seeing the first glimmer of programs that might not be "go, go, go." Study findings found that the program seeing the least amount of growth is engineering. According to Seaman, however, online engineering is also one of the rarest online programs. "The ability to do hard sciences online is much more difficult, so there aren't as many scientific degree programs available online," he said. "The program is certainly still pervasive, there are just fewer students enrolled in online engineering programs compared to other disciplines."
This isn't to say that there has been any decrease in the total number of online enrollments. In fact, there was a 21 percent increase between 2008 and 2009 in the number of students who were taking at least one online course. This statistic translates to an increase of almost one million students - the largest single year increase in online enrollments that has been recorded in the past eight years of study findings. In fact, this year's study found that 29 percent of all higher education students were enrolled in at least one online course. In the fall 2002 semester, that figure was slightly less than 10 percent.
In the future, Seaman said, growth will come mainly from institutions with existing online offerings - not from those schools who haven't yet established an online program. "There are still hundreds of schools that don't have any online offerings but want it," Seaman said. "However, they are mostly tiny schools that won't make much of an impact even if they do grow [an online program]. Those with a meaningful number of enrollments already have established online programs.
Perceptions of Online Education
"...even those officials and instructors who feel as if online courses are not as good as face-to-face courses still recommend those classes and programs for their students."
Despite the rapid growth and enduring nature of online education in the United States, the study found that almost one-third of academic officers viewed online education as inferior to traditional face-to-face courses and programs. "It is the four-year bachelor degree schools that are most negative about online learning," Seaman said. "They tend to not offer online courses - or if they do, it's outside of their main curriculum area. These schools tend to have a more holistic view of education - which is that it's not just about what happens in the classroom, but on campus, as well."
This figure hasn't changed much in the eight years of research, though there have been slow improvements each year. In 2003, for example, the number of academic leaders who viewed online education as inferior or somewhat inferior to face-to-face learning was slightly over 40 percent. That figure is approximately 10 percent lower today. "The piece that is interesting, is that even those officials and instructors who feel as if online courses are not as good as face-to-face courses still recommend those classes and programs for their students," Seaman said.
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