Altogether, the 1,243 institutions offer nearly 17,400 online programs. Twenty-nine percent are master’s degree programs. Bachelor’s and certificate programs are evenly matched at 23 percent each. Nearly 30 percent are business and management programs. Science and math programs accounted for 6 percent of the programs.
“This appears to be a natural reflection of the United States migration away from science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) over the last 35 years,” the authors wrote. “It is possible that with the current focus on STEM at the secondary level we will see a higher percent of programs offered in this area by the 2030s.”
The study found that the state with greatest number of online programs is California, with 1,277 programs. Not surprising given the state’s size, the authors wrote. More surprising, they said, was the high number in states like Virginia and Minnesota.
Minnesota, a state with population just 13 percent the size of California’s, has 1,100 programs, the report said.
“Minnesota’s high ranking benefts from having two powerhouses in online education, Walden University and Capella University, based in the state,” the authors wrote.
Nevada and Delaware have the smallest number of programs, with just 23 and 15, respectively.
A recent IPEDS analysis by the WICHE Cooperative of Educational Technologies further broke down online programs in each state. That analysis would indicate that states that Approved Colleges says have the highest number of programs are not always the states with the highest level of participation in distance learning.
Those states, according to WCET, are Arizona, West Virginia, and Iowa — all with student participation rates at forty percent or higher.
Follow Jake New on Twitter @eCN_Jake.
- What does higher-ed look like in 2023? - January 5, 2015
- Are ed-tech startups a bubble that’s ready to burst? - January 1, 2015
- Are MOOCs really dead? - August 28, 2014
Comments are closed.