“The availability of high-quality online college courses will
soon rival face-to-face offerings, according to a 2005 survey
of online learning by the Sloan Consortium, a group of schools
embracing online education led by Babson College and the
Franklin Olin College of Engineering. The survey, based on
responses from 1,025 colleges and universities, showed that
nearly two-thirds of schools offering face-to-face undergraduate
or graduate level courses also offer courses at the same level
online.
Other findings of the survey include: a majority (56 percent)
of chief academic officers said online education is critical
to their long-term strategy. And slightly more schools use
core faculty to teach their online courses than their face-to-face
courses.
‘Colleges and universities are starting to understand that online
courses help increase enrollment and improve diversity without the
need for additional classrooms,’ and addresses ‘professors’ [sic] needs
for workplace flexibility, among other issues challenging academia,’
said Sloan Consortium president Frank Mayadas. Meanwhile, the College
Board announced it would now include the Sloan questions in its annual
survey of colleges, effectively tripling the survey’s sample size.”
The 2005 survey is available for download at
http://www.sloan-c.org/resources/survey.asp.