WCET, the WICHE Cooperative for Educational Technologies (founded by the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education- WICHE), recently published a report that studied Distance Education Enrollment from the Fall 2014 semester. The purpose behind their study was to analyze the overall trend in enrollment in Distance Learning programs and to summarize their findings in a concise and readable manner.
They found the following:
- Not only has enrollment in Distance Education programs increased, but the overall matriculation into higher education programs has declined. This makes the increase in online learners that much more significant
- More than 1-in-4 students (28%) are taking at least one course online or through a distance education program
- The majority of distance education enrollments (85%) were in public institutions, with 48% of students who are exclusively distance learners enrolling in these institutions.
See the full report here.
Sources:
WCET Distance Education Enrollment Report 2016, by Russ Poulin & Terri Taylor Straut
Distance Education is Here to Stay, by Colin Wood
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