Online continuing higher education is in demand by students and institutions alike.
Today, 490 institutions offer online programming. Twenty-five percent of all enrolled continuing education (CE) students are currently taking online courses; by 2013, this number will grow to 35-45% of all CE enrollments, according to Sean Gallagher, research director at Eduventures. Sean presented today at the ACHE 2008 conference.
The promise for students is schedule flexibility and for institutions the opportunity for growth.
One of the perils is cannabalization of enrollment. During his discussion, one session attendee noted that 78% of his institution's online enrollment represented on-campus students taking online courses. Others raised the issue of retention for online students, particularly for lower-division students. Sean noted that while 85% of adult learners would consider a 100% online course, it may not be the right delivery modality for 30-40% of students.
As the author of over 100 higher education research reports, Sean has a wealth of knowledge including organizational and course development benchmarking.
If you are looking for additional online continuing higher education insight, contact Sean at sgallagher@eduventures.com.
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