EDUInsight.com


"Covering Innovation and Best Practice in Online Student Communication"

Journal of College Student Retention and Recruiting for both On-Campus and Online Universities



online education photograph

RANKING ONLINE DEGREE PROGRAMS?
A commercial directory provider is offering rankings of online degree programs. Data on 8 criteria from a variety of sources were used for the ranking, including: acceptance rate, financial aid, graduation rate, and retention rate. While this is far from a comprehensive assessment, it presents some interesting ideas: Read about their methodology


DISTANCE EDUCATION RESOURCES

The Presidents' Forum calls for regionally accredited, adult-serving institutions that have some or all programs offered online to join together in a voluntary commitment to a set of Principles of Good Practice.


The New York Times Knowledge Network. A new learning and networking platform combining the resources of The Times with educators from leading institutions.


USDLA - United States Distance Learning Association serves the needs of the distance learning community by providing advocacy, information, networking and opportunity.


The Distance Education and Training Council promotes sound educational standards and ethical business practices within the correspondence (distance education, online education) field.






Who is Interested in Online Education?

Who is interested and who is enrolling in online degrees? Data varies, but does present some interesting discussion.

From Sloan Consortium's report Making the Grade: Online Education in the United States, 2006: "There is some evidence that online education appeals to a different type of student from those who do face-to-face instruction. Online students tend to be older, and often hold additional employment and family responsibilities, as compared to the more traditional student."

From Noel-Levitz's 2006 National Online Learners Priorities Report: "The majority of online learners in this study are female, Caucasian, primarily enrolled online with a full-time class load. A majority are at the undergraduate level and employed full-time while working on their degree. A little over half of the students are married and the majority own their own home."

From Diagnostics Plus’ The Future Online Learner Report, Four types of future online learners were identified:

  • Career Climbers are the most motivated segment. Young, junior-level professionals driven by career aspirations and future earning potential.
  • Perfection Seekers are accomplished, older professionals who are most interested in meeting their own expectations and doing the best job they possibly can.
  • Mid-Life Changers are looking for something new and different. They tend to be older with limited educational backgrounds, lower household incomes, and have limited experience with technology.
  • Content Dreamers will one day be a likely online learner. They are young, well educated, and well compensated.

eLearners.com, now a part of EducationDynamics, analyzed results from their online degree program survey and found that their prospects tend to be women between 18-34 years of age who tend to have children at home, an annual income between $40,000 and $75,000, have lived less than three years in their current home and have a higher propensity to live in Atlanta or Washington, D.C. Few eLearners.com prospects tend to be 55 years or older, retired, home owners, new car buyers or married.

The findings above represent four unique surveys with four very different demographic perspectives. Some variation can be explained by the survey audience, for example Noel-Levitz did not separate those who are matriculated in an online degree from those who were taking an online course, while the eLearners.com analysis focused exclusively on those who are interested in seeking an online degree. The Diagnostics Plus report sampled "adults who are not currently enrolled but are interested in continuing their education."

Common themes from all four reports point to females participating at higher rates in online programs compared to on-campus programs. Younger adults tend to have more interest in online learning, they also tend to have limited career experience and career progress is the biggest factor in their degree interest.

Several of the reports identify single mothers as a significant segment of online learners. Statistics gathered by Mary Gatta, Ph.D., from the Center for Women and Work at Rutgers University and from the U.S Census Bureau reveal the following:

Common themes from all four reports point to females participating at higher rates in online programs compared to on-campus programs.