Research New research into the demographics of online college students found 50 percent of them would probably not choose to attend classes on a physical campus. Half of higher education students taking advantage of online instruction said in a survey they either would not or were not sure they would attend live courses even if they were available to them. That's according to the fifth annual survey by Learning House and Aslanian Market Research on the demographics of students who are pursuing online college degrees. This year's study, entitled "Online College Students 2016: Comprehensive Data on Demands and Preferences," found that while online courses were the only option for half of students, 90 percent of students who had taken live on-campus courses said they either prefer online courses or found them just as satisfying. "Current estimates place the number of students working toward their degrees online at 3.5 million," said Learning House Chief Academic Officer David Clinefelter. "Institutions of higher learning cannot afford to ignore this population." Most online students still are most familiar with the traditional college degree template and less aware of alternative paths to accomplish their educational goals. Only about a third of online students were aware of the principles of competency-based education, and fewer than one in five understood anything about alternative pathways such as massive open online courses, micro-degrees or boot camps. "Our findings demonstrate the importance of building more awareness of alternative pathways and competency-based education," said Aslanian Market Research President Carol Aslanian. The online college student survey was conducted in spring 2016 with 1,500 individuals, 18 or older, who had either recently graduated, were currently enrolled or planned to enroll in the next year in a fully online higher education degree, certificate or licensure program. Other findings include: The full report is available at the Learning House site (registration required). About the Author Michael Hart is a Los Angeles-based freelance writer and the former executive editor of THE Journal.
half of all higher education students completing their courses online would prefer not to attend live courses, according to a survey by Learning House and Aslanian Market Research. The survey also found that 90% of students who did take physical, on-campus courses preferred online studying, or found it just as satisfying as attending live classes. Learning House Chief Academic Officer, David Clinefelter warned higher learning institutions to pay attention to this growing trend.