Online Enrollment Growing Faster than Blended

By Dian Schaffhauser

Fully online courses are more likely to drive enrollment growth, according to a recent survey of institutions from Quality Matters and Eduventures Research, the research division of ACT/NRCCUA. Most respondents said that courses that were 100 percent online at their schools had grown between 2017 and 2018; about a third reported flat enrollment; and 10 percent saw a decline. The majority response for blended courses, on the other hand, was flat enrollment over that period, while a third cited growth and 14 percent recorded a decline.

The third annual “Changing Landscape of Online Education ” (CHLOE 3) report surveyed 280 chief online officers (COOs) (up from 182 last year) at U.S. colleges and universities about policies, practices and plans around online education. Researchers defined the role of “chief online officer” as having lead or shared responsibility for online faculty training, online instructional design and course development, coordination with academic units, online policy development and quality assurance and overall strategic planning.

The schools that reported completely online courses had an average of 19,000 students, while those that reported that all of their courses were blended or hybrid reported an average of… (continue reading)