Enrollment in online education is growing rapidly. Almost half the institutions participating in a recent study by WICHE’s WCET and the Campus Computing Project expect to see increases of 15 percent or more in the next three years. And institutions seem to be readying their online-ed programs to handle that growth: 45 percent say they have restructured in the last two years, and 52 percent expect to do so in the next two years. But many institutions are still working out the kinks: only about a third report having 24/7 technical support, and many couldn’t say whether their programs were turning a profit.

These and other data can be found in the inaugural “Managing Online Education” survey – view a recent presentation on survey results or read the executive summary (the full report will be posted soon). The need for such a survey has been growing along with the burgeoning market for online education. “We were filled with anecdotes of success and cautionary tales about failures but possessed only scant data to support these stories,” says Russell Poulin, WCET’s associate director. “While there are plenty of surveys on online-learning issues, there was little that had been done on supplying data to inform basic management questions.”

The survey includes information on tuition, fees, faculty support, accessibility support for students with disabilities, and many other issues facing online programs. If you have questions about the survey, contact Russell Poulin.
 

February 2010  | Share this on Twitter | Post this on Facebook