Posts published on November 30, 2011

Online Enrollment Increases, But Faculty Views Stable

 
   According to a new US survey, more than 6.1 million students were enrolled in at least one online course during the fall 2010 semester, an increase of 10%, far exceeding the 2% growth in the overall PSE student population. Meanwhile, views on the quality of online education compared to face-to-face courses have shifted by just 10 percentage points over the last 8 years. In 2003, 57% of surveyed academic leaders estimated that learning outcomes in online courses were equal or superior to those of traditional courses; this year, the figure reached 67%. This year, 32% of respondents agreed that their faculty “fully accept” the “value and legitimacy of online education,” up slightly from 30.4% in 2003. Among for-profit institutions, respondents’ estimate of OER rose considerably, from 47.5% saying OER would prove valuable to their schools in 2009, to 72.4

Source: Babson Research Group