Key points:
- Online learning continues as a preferred learning modality among students
- From crisis to catalyst: Online education four years later
- Continued push for online learning demonstrates a “major shift”
- For more news on online learning, visit eCN’s Teaching & Learning hub
Chief online learning officers see a “continued increase” in students’ preferences for online learning programs, leading higher-ed institutions to look for new strategies to address this demand, according to CHLOE 9: Strategy Shift: Institutions Respond to Sustained Online Demand.
The report, from Quality Matters, EDUCAUSE, and Eduventures Research, tapped chief online learning officers insights on the factors leading to this increased preference for online learning.
CHLOE 9 echoes trends in 2023’s CHLOE 8 report, noting that the preference for online learning continues to increase. Nearly half of chief online learning officers indicated that enrollment in online degree programs is growing faster than enrollment in on-campus programs.
“As the latest installment of a multi-year research effort, the CHLOE 9 Report is a critical contribution to our understanding of online learning’s adoption and impact across higher education,” said Thomas Cavanagh, Ph.D., Vice Provost for Digital Learning, University of Central Florida. “We can see how online learning acceptance continues to expand in a post-Covid context. This report provides necessary data that will allow institutions and chief online learning officers to navigate a rapidly changing landscape.”
Approximately three-quarters of chief online learning officers reported increased demand for online options from on-campus students, with 60 percent saying online courses tend to fill up first. Seventy-seven percent indicated that even learners who utilize on-campus housing are asking for online options.
The increase in student demand is likely the primary driver behind institutions’ decisions to prioritize online learning offerings–56 percent of chief online learning officers said their institutions are undergoing a shift in this direction, up from just 39 percent reporting that their strategies matched the demand for online learning in CHLOE 8.
Reasons behind this jump vary, but one stands out in the CHLOE 9 data: learner recruitment. Ninety-two percent of chief online learning officers said online learning allows them to pursue students in their region, 87 percent said it allows them to pursue students outside of their region, and 77 percent said their campus-based students are asking for online options. In a challenging post-pandemic enrollment environment, the opportunity to reach more learners may be pivotal for financial sustainability at many institutions.
Despite this large jump, according to Richard Garrett, Eduventures Chief Research Officer at Encoura and CHLOE 9 Co-Director, “CHLOE 9 found that a large minority of COLOs either do not have an online learning strategy or the online strategy is not aligned with the institutional one.”
CHLOE 9 Co-Director and QM Vice President for Innovation and Research Dr. Bethany Simunich added, “Online demand and enrollment continue to out-pace on-campus learning, but many schools are still grappling with how this impacts institutional strategy. Historical tensions, such as those around faculty autonomy and mission-creep for campus-based institutions, may be impacting targeted goals for online initiatives, as well as related resource management.”
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