The State of E-Learning in Higher Education: An Eye Toward Growth and Increased Access

Key Findings

• Nearly all institutions have a major interest in e-learning, at least at the level of some departments. Online courses are ubiquitous, with over 80% of institutions offering at least several courses online and more than half offering a significant number of courses online.
• Two-year (AA) institutions have historically been leaders in using distance courses to attract nontraditional students, and these institutions continue to pave the way in online course offerings to attract “post-traditional learners.” Among all Carnegie classes, AA institutions are most likely to have a center dedicated to e-learning and are most likely to offer a significant number of online courses.
• For successful, large-scale implementation of e-learning, a centralized model provides more efficiency and seamless integration of e-learning services and is characteristic of more mature institutions. However, for some institutions, a distributed model allows for more innovation and individualization for specific programs.
• There is a desire to more than double the number of e-learning staff in central IT. The most-desired positions include course designers, professional development staff, and app designers. IT is involved in the management of e-learning services in almost two-thirds of institutions.
• Institutions in general are most mature in their synergy of e-learning systems and are least mature in using analytics to assess e-learning outcomes.

E-Learning Snapshots (Campus Profiles)

• University of Minnesota
• California State University, Fresno
• Bucks County Community College
• University of Iowa
• Marist College

Related Resources

• Beyond MOOCs: Is IT Creating a New, Connected Age? EDUCAUSE Sprint 2013, July 30–August 1, Online
• All ECAR Publications on E-Learning
• EDUCAUSE Resources on E-Learning