2021 Online Education Trends Report
Survey
Mar. 2021
Sample Size:
2,166
Demographics:
undergraduate students
administrators
Topics:
Covid-19
Learning
Top Findings:
- Paying for college while minimizing student debt remains the top challenge to reaching graduation, as reported by online program graduates every year for the past four years.
- Almost half (49%) of remote learners anticipated enrolling in online courses after their campuses return to normal operations.
- More than one-quarter (28%) of remote students believed the impact of COVID-19- related changes on their college experience will have lasting effects on their mental health.
- Almost half (48%) of online and remote students were motivated by career and employment goals to enroll in their programs.
- Students’ biggest challenge to making a decision about online education was finding a program that met their needs and interests.
- Students were most likely to rely on college websites and online student reviews when researching and comparing online programs.
- If online program graduates could do it over again, they would conduct more research about costs and financial aid and compare more programs.
- One-third (33%) of school administrators planned to continue with both remote and online course options after returning to normal campus operations.
- Twelve percent of administrators realized they don’t need to be on campus to perform their jobs.
- Almost half (47%) of administrators said there is a need for more investment in instructional design-related processes and resources.
- A majority (58%) of administrators shared that institutional finances are the most challenging aspect of preparing for 2021.
- The vast majority (96%) of administrators said that faculty development is a top priority in the coming year.
- Eighty-three percent of administrators agreed that there will be an increased need for online courses over the next few years, related to issues such as social distancing.
- Ninety-five percent of students overall, and 83% of remote learners, said they would recommend online or remote learning to others.
- An overwhelming majority (93%) of students said they have had or expect a positive return on their online education investment.
- Overall, a majority (74%) of students thought that online learning was better than or equal to on-campus learning; 64% of remote learners felt this way, too.