I was looking for updated information concerning Online Learning in colleges and universities and found this report, Making the Grade, Online Education in the United States, 2006, Babson Survey Research Group, Babson College. The research sampled over 4,000 higher education institutions, which included Doctoral/Research, Masters, Baccalaureate, Associates and Specialized institutions. Though everyone I know would have said, “Yes, there is a marked increase in online education in colleges and universities”, this report points out some very interesting areas of increased online education. It also provides information about how institutions view online education as a part of their long-term strategies.

The report found that 3.2 million students took at least one online course in the fall 2005 academic term. This number is an increase of 35% from the fall 2004 figure, a much higher percentage increase than had been estimated based on trends for the past three years. These numbers seem to indicate that online education is not only growing but growing rapidly. Close to 17% of the entire population of higher education students have participated or are participating in online education.

The report also indicates that 58% of Chief Academic Officers now consider online education as critical to the long-term strategy of their institution and 76% of these respondents believe that online education reaches students who are not served by face-to-face programs.

To see the entire report, which also includes breakdowns by program level and institutional type, along with the research methodology, go to:

http://www.sloan-c.org/publications/survey/index.asp