Going the Distance: Online Education in the United States, 2011

It's that time of year again when The Sloan Online Survey results are released. This annual report focuses on online learning in higher education. Since the initial report in 2002, the series was named in recognition of the support from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. This year, in addition to the Sloan Consortium; Kaplan University, Inside Higher Ed, and Pearson have offered to support the continuation of these reports.

The current report, Going the Distance: Online Education in the United States, 2011 found that:

*65% of higher educational institutions now report that online learning is critical part of their long-term strategy

*Over 6.1 million students were taking at least one online course

*The number of higher ed students taking online courses increased by 10% from the year before

*67% of academic leaders believe that learning outcomes in online education are the same or superior to those in face-to-face

*The percentage of faculty members who accept online education as a viable form of learning is less than one-third

*Most training for online teaching in higher ed takes place internally

Infographic for the Report