Inquiries
about online college courses jumped in February, even though for more than a
year fewer people have been expressing interest in higher-education programs
overall.
A new report from Gray Associates, a higher-ed consulting company, revealed there has
been a growing number of queries about online education since November. The
drop in general inquiries about higher ed can be explained by the improvement
in the economy (which opened up more jobs) and the decline in the number of
high school graduates, but reasons for the uptick in interest about online
classes are harder to determine.
According to Education Dive, one possibility is “a desire on the part of students for
education opportunities that can be accessed nontraditionally,” most likely due
to other responsibilities, such as a job or kids at home.
Prospective
students don’t seem to be fazed by controversy over whether online programs can
deliver the same or better results as face-to-face classes. The timing and
availability of online courses may be a bigger factor for them. Colleges and
universities continue to experiment with different types of digital programs to
see what works.
“Perhaps
the diversity of courses is meeting the demand of students, which will only
encourage educational institutions to further expand the options of courses
available online,” noted Education Dive.
