What are the current trends in online education? This 6th annual initiative from BestColleges includes survey feedback from administrators, students, and employers. Find out the latest in online learner demographics and program management practices that inform decisions related to design, marketing, and student support in your new online programs.
What are the current trends in online education? The BestColleges 6th annual Online Education Trends Report presents original survey research designed to help higher education administrators make the best possible decisions about current and future online degree programs.
Our 2020 report includes feedback from 396 online program administrators and 1,500 online students (current, prospective, and alumni) who provided detailed information about their experiences in online education. This data was collected from October through December 2019.
This year, our initiative includes supplemental survey data to provide a deeper dive into particular aspects of online education. In March 2020, we surveyed students and families of students to assess the impact of campus closures and the shift to remote learning in response to COVID-19. In May 2020, another survey gathered information about the perception of online education as compared to on-campus education in the context of employment.
This session will also include relevant findings and implications from our new Trends in Online Student Demographics report and our new Trends in College Career Planning and Employment report. Our trends reports series explores perspectives of a variety of stakeholders gathered in pre- and post-COVID-19 environments. An understanding of how the coronavirus pandemic may impact online education is important to developing an informed vision for the future.
This initiative’s goal is long-term tracking and identification of trends related to:
- Online learner demographics,
- The online learning experience,
- Online program marketing and recruitment,
- New program design and development,
- Perceptions of online education, and
- Student satisfaction with online learning.
Key findings include:
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47% of administrators report trends in student demographics related to age - 25% see students trending older, 20% see them trending younger.
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A little more than half (57%) of students enrolled in an online program report that they visit their school’s physical campus.
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The two primary sources of information for students thinking about online programs are contacting schools directly (19%) and researching rankings websites (19%).
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Common roadblocks to graduation often impact each other. Finances, unexpected life events, and staying on track are online students’ biggest challenges to reaching graduation.
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“Employer partnership/incentive” appears in the top three reasons for enrolling online for prospective students in all stages of career development (i.e., career climbers, switchers, and explorers).
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While almost half of students (49%) say that the quality of online education is “better than on-campus” options, employer perceptions may be changing.
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Student satisfaction is high - overall, 94% say it has, or will have, a positive ROI and 95% would recommend online education to others.
In addition to a summary of survey and report findings, this presentation will includes specific recommendations about how the results might impact decisions to offer new online programs, help prospective students find good-fit options, and provide current students with the support that leads to successful program completion.
Session Goals include:
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Develop an understanding of the challenges faced by today’s online students, from their perspective.
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Explore the characteristics of online students, their motivation for enrollment and satisfaction with their programs.
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Examine feedback from students, administrators, and employers on their perception of online education today.
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Increase awareness of specific strategies for making decisions about new online program offerings.
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Provide an opportunity to share experiences and gain insight from the questions and lessons learned shared by other attendees in the session.
Interactivity and Audience Participation
Attendees will be asked to share their lessons learned in developing new online programs and working with different populations of online students. Attendees will also have the opportunity to share how their experiences are similar to or different from those described by our survey participants. A handout will be provided to allow attendees to capture key points and take-aways that may be relevant in their online education settings.