StudentAdvisor Blog

Report: Online Education in the United States

Last week, Pearson released a survey titled Changing Course:Ten Years of Tracking Online Education in the United States, describing the rise of online learning over the past decade. Surveying 2,800 Chief Academic Officers (CAOs) and academic leaders, authors Elaine Allen and Jeff Seaman quantify the trends of MOOCs and digital learning. 

Some of Pearson's most interesting findings are:

• Online learning is growing substantially. In 2003, 11.7 percent of students were taking an online course. In 2011, 32 percent of students participate in digital learning.
• Online learning is comparable to classroom learning. 77 percent Of academic leaders surveyed reported online learning outcomes to be the same, somewhat superior or superior to face-to-face in 2012.
• Colleges are taking online learning seriously. The number of CAOs that consider online education to be critical to the long-term strategy of their institution has risen nearly 30 percent over the past ten years.

Is your college offering online learning options? Let us know what you think of digital learning in the comments below. 

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