Online Learning Survey Reports

Class Differences: Online Education in the United States, 2010

The 2010 Sloan Survey of Online Learning, Class Differences: Online Education in the United States, 2010 (pdf), reveals that enrollment rose by almost one million students from a year earlier. The survey of more than 2,500 colleges and universities nationwide finds approximately 5.6 million students were enrolled in at least one online course in fall 2009, the most recent term for which figures are available.

"This represents the largest ever year-to-year increase in the number of students studying online," said study co-author I. Elaine Allen, Co-Director of the Babson Survey Research Group and professor of statistics and entrepreneurship at Babson College. "Nearly thirty percent of all college and university students now take at least one course online." She adds: "There may be some clouds on the horizon. While the sluggish economy continues to drive enrollment growth, large public institutions are feeling budget pressure and competition from the for-profit sector institutions. In addition, the for-profit schools worry new federal rules on financial aid and student recruiting."

Other report findings include:

• Almost two-thirds of for-profit institutions now say that online learning is a critical part of their long-term strategy.
• The 21% growth rate for online enrollments far exceeds the 2% growth in the overall higher education student population.
• Nearly one-half of institutions report that the economic downturn has increased demand for face-to-face courses and programs.
• Three-quarters of institutions report that the economic downturn has increased demand for online courses and programs.

Faculty Surveys

Teaching, Learning, and Sharing: How Today's Higher Education Faculty Use Social Media

College faculty are twice as likely as other workers to be using social media as part of their job, and more than 80 percent of faculty are using some form of social media in their teaching, according to Teaching, Learning, and Sharing: How Today's Higher Education Faculty Use Social Media (pdf). The survey of nearly 2,000 faculty found that more than 90 percent of college faculty use social media in the workplace, compared to 47 percent of employees in other industries. In the classroom, 80 percent of respondents report using social media for some aspect of their course. Of those, nearly two-thirds use social media within their class session, and 30 percent post content for students to view outside of class.

The Paradox of Faculty Voices: Views and Experiences with Online Learning

More than one-third of public university faculty have taught an online course while more than one-half have recommended an online course to students, according to Online Learning as a Strategic Asset, Volume II: The Paradox of Faculty Voices: Views and Experiences with Online Learning (pdf), an unprecedented study of administrative and faculty views toward online learning by the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities-Sloan National Commission on Online Learning.

K-12 Surveys

Class Connections: High School Reform and the Role of Online Learning

Using data collected from a national sample of over 400 high school principals, the study Class Connections: High School Reform and the Role of Online Learning (pdf) found that these administrators see online learning as meeting the diverse needs of their students whether through advanced placement, elective college courses, or credit recovery. The major reason cited for online and blended offerings is to provide courses that otherwise would not be available.

Concerns that online learning is not as effective as face-to-face instruction remain, yet high school administrators see benefits to online learning programs that overshadow concerns about pedagogical value-the vast majority of their schools are moving forward with their programs and looking to expand them in the future.