'Online Nation: Five Years of Growth in Online Learning'

The Sloan Consortium has released its fifth annual report on the state of online learning in U.S. higher education. The report is titled "Online Nation: Five Years of Growth in Online Learning."

The Sloan Consortium is a consortium of institutions and organizations dedicated "to help learning organizations continually improve quality, scale, and breadth of their online programs according to their own distinctive missions, so that education will become a part of everyday life, accessible and affordable for anyone, anywhere, at any time, in a wide variety of disciplines."

The study is based on responses from more than 2,500 colleges and universities and is aimed at answering some of the fundamental questions about the nature and extent of online education. The following is a summary of the report:

How many students are learning online?

Online enrollments have continued to grow at rates far in excess of the total higher education student population, yet at slower rates than for previous years.

• Almost 3.5 million students were taking at least one online course during the fall 2006 term; a nearly 10 percent increase over the number reported the previous year.
• The 9.7 percent growth rate for online enrollments far exceeds the 1.5 percent growth of the overall higher education student population.
• Nearly 20 percent of all U.S. higher education students were taking at least one online course in the fall of 2006.

Where has the growth in online learning occurred?

Virtually all types of institutions of higher education have shown substantial growth, but with some clear leaders.

• Two-year associate’s institutions have the highest growth rates and account for more than one-half of all online enrollments for the last five years.
• Baccalaureate institutions began the period with the fewest online enrollments and have had the lowest rates of growth.

Why do institutions provide online offerings?

Improving student access is the most often cited objective for online courses and programs. Cost reduction is not seen as important.

• All types of institutions cite improved student access as their top reason for offering online courses and programs.
• Institutions that are the most engaged in online education cite increasing the rate of degree completion as a very important objective; this is not as important for institutions that are not as engaged in online learning.
• Online is not seen as a way to lower costs; reduced or contained costs are among the least-cited objectives for online education.
• The appeal of online instruction to nontraditional students is indicated by the high number of institutions that cite growth in continuing and/or professional education as an objective for their online offerings.

What are the Prospects for Future Online Enrollment Growth?

Approximately one-third of higher education institutions account for three-quarters of all online enrolments. Future growth will come predominately from these and similar institutions as they add new programs and grow existing ones.

• Much of the past growth in online enrollments has been fueled by new institutions entering the online learning arena. This transition is now nearing its end; most institutions that plan to offer online education are already doing so.
• A large majority (69 percent) of academic leaders believe that student demand for online learning is still growing.
• Virtually all (83 percent) institutions with online offerings expect their online enrollments to increase over the coming year.
• Future growth in online enrollments will most likely come from those institutions that are currently the most engaged; they enroll the most online learning students and have the highest expectations for growth.

What are the Barriers to Widespread Adoption of Online Education?

Identification of the most important barriers differs widely between those with online offerings and those who do not offer any. Current results replicate our previous studies in identifying faculty acceptance and the need for more discipline on the part of students as the most common concerns.

• Academic leaders cite the need for more discipline on the part of online students as the most critical barrier, matching the results of last year’s survey.
• Faculty acceptance of online instruction remains a key issue. Those institutions most engaged in online do not believe it is a concern for their own campus, but do see it as a barrier to more widespread adoption of online education.
• Higher costs for online development and delivery are seen as barriers among those who are planning online offerings, but not among those who have online offerings.
• Academic leaders do not believe that there is a lack of acceptance of online degrees by potential employers.

For more information, visit the Sloan Consortium.