| Thus, the 2003 Sloan Survey of Online Learning sought data specifically about online education in U.S. higher education.
Most Public Institutions Offer Courses Online
Defining an online course as at least 80% of content delivered online, the Sloan Survey found that the Public sector offers the majority of all online courses, with over 90% of all institutions offering at least one online course. In Private institutions, about half offer at least one online course. In Private institutions, 54.5% of nonprofits offer at least one online course as compared to 44.9% of for-profit institutions.
 The difference between Public and Private institutions
is even more dramatic in terms of fully online degree programs. More
than twice as many Public schools as Private offer online degrees. Nearly
half (48.9%) of all schools in the Public sector offer online degrees
as compared to slightly more than 20% in the Private sector.
Schools Believe Online Learning is a Critical Long-Term
Strategy
Fewer than 20% of all schools surveyed believe online education
is NOT part of their long-term strategy. Clearly, schools in
the Public sector believe most strongly that online education is a critical
strategy (85.7%), while Private, nonprofit (52.9%t) and for-profit
(54.6%) schools agree with this statement.
Quality Will be Equal to Face-to-Face Learning
Within 3 Years
 Each respondent was asked to compare online and face-to-face learning
outcomes currently and according to their expectations for outcomes
in three years. The choices presented were Superior, Somewhat Superior,
The Same, Somewhat Inferior, or Inferior. A majority of academic leaders
at institutions in the Public sector rank learning outcomes for online
courses as already very close to those in face-to-face courses, and
a majority of leaders at all institutions agree that online learning
outcomes will equal or surpass those of face-to-face courses within
three years.
Continued on page 7 |
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