US Higher Education
According to The Condition of Education 2019 by National Center for Education Statistics (NCES):
- Undergraduate Enrollment
- In fall 2017, total undergraduate enrollment in degree-granting postsecondary institutions was 16.76 million students.
- Between 2000 and 2017, total undergraduate enrollment in degree-granting postsecondary institutions increased by 27 percent (from 13.2 million to 16.8 million students).
- By 2028, total undergraduate enrollment is projected to increase to 17.2 million students.
- Percentage enrolled in any distance education course grew from 30.8% to 32.9% ▲
- Percentage enrolled exclusively in distance education grew from 12.8% to 13.3% ▲
- Post-baccalaureate Enrollment
- In fall 2017, some 3.0 million students were enrolled in post-baccalaureate degree programs.
- Between 2000 and 2017, total post-baccalaureate enrollment increased by 39 percent (from 2.2 million to 3.0 million students).
- By 2028, post-baccalaureate enrollment is projected to increase to 3.1 million students.
- Percentage enrolled in any distance education course grew from 32% to 34% ▲
- Percentage enrolled exclusively in distance education grew from 15% to 16% ▲
NCES is located within the U.S. Department of Education and the Institute of Education Sciences. Distance education is a broad definition here but is an approximate to online education.
We can see that:
- Online education is one of the fastest growing forms of higher education.
- Around 1/3 of those enrollments have used online courses.
- Online degree programs have grown at least to 13-16% – as many programs will require on-campus immersions to some extent.
Another report by Wiley Education Services said by the 2020/21 school year, online programs are expected to account for 26% of all higher education market share.
It also lays out some headwinds & tailwinds.
To be continued