The number of students enrolling in online college programs has increased in the past few years, even as total college enrollment has declined. To help education leaders understand why more students are turning to online EducationDynamics, higher education marketing experts, surveyed over 1,000 currently enrolled and soon-to-enroll students. The resulting report – Online College Students 2022 uncovers the needs and preferences of online college students in 2022 and examines changes over the past several years.
The researchers confirmed many long-developing trends and uncovered new emerging trends that are likely to accelerate coming out of the recent pandemic. Students are still motivated by career outcomes and their biggest challenge continues to be figuring out how to pay for college. Compared to students from five or more years ago, the online college students of today are younger, more likely to be working full time, and devote more time to their education. Further, these students almost universally recognize the benefits and value of online learning and most intend to enroll in online programs in the future.
Now in its 11th year, the 2022 Online College Students Report provides a comprehensive analysis of the online learner of today and uncovers why many students are increasingly turning to online programs when pursuing degrees.
Bruce Douglas, EducationDynamics CEO, stated, “The landscape of higher education shifted dramatically in the past several years. While overall enrollment in college has continued to decline, we have seen growth in online program enrollments. However, even as the overall outlook for online education has significantly improved, many schools are finding it increasingly difficult to take advantage of this growth opportunity. We wanted to help them understand who is enrolling in online education – and why. With online education now taking its place in the forefront of the minds of students and educators alike, it will be more important than ever for the leaders of higher education to fully understand the online students of today and the future.”
Source: PR Newswire
