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Enrollment in online college courses in the United States outpaced overall growth in higher education last year, and officials predict a sustained increase in online enrollment as the economy slumps and good jobs become scarcer, according to report published this month.
Staying the Course: Online Education in the United States, 2008, published by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, says 22 percent of American college students took at least one web-based class in the fall 2007 semester, or 3.94 million students. That marked an increase of 12.9 percent from the fall 2006 semester. During the same period, overall higher-education enrollment increased by only 1.2 percent, according to the report, which surveyed officials from more than 2,500 colleges and universities.The annual report also examined what concentrations and majors are affected the most by online education. Engineering is the only discipline where the proportion of online students dips dramatically, according to the report. Associate's degree institutions have a "wide lead" in online penetration in the fields of psychology, liberal arts, and social sciences.
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Source: eSchool News
