Yesterday I referenced a study of online education. The study, Going The Distance: Online Education in the United States, 2011, had these findings:
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Over 6.1 million students were taking at least one online course during the fall 2010 term, an increase of 560,000 students over the previous year.
The 10% growth rate for online enrollments far exceeds the 2% growth in the overall higher education student population.
Thirty-one percent of higher education students now take at least one course online.
Reported year-to-year enrollment changes for fully online programs by discipline show most are growing.
Academic leaders believe that the level of student satisfaction is equivalent for online and face-to-face courses.
65% of higher education institutions now say that online learning is a critical part of their long-term strategy.
There continues to be a consistent minority of academic leaders concerned that the quality of online instruction is not equal to courses delivered face-to-face.
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It is clear the next twenty to thirty years are going to see a huge upheaval in higher education.