Nevada Online Education Facts and Figures

The increased popularity of online education has prompted a number of studies, research projects and polls on its quality and relativity to traditional teaching programs, most of which reported favorable findings. Some facts and figures culled from these projects:

• Online courses such as those offered through a Nevada online education have been growing at an average rate of 10 percent per year--far exceeding the 1.5 percent growth rate experienced by brick-and-mortar institutions.
• A poll conducted at various schools across the United States reveals 62 percent of the country's chief academic officers believe that an online education is at least equal to, and sometimes superior to, traditional classroom learning.
• Nevada students enrolled in an online education program are more likely to be adults. Approximately 92 million adults in the United States, making up 46 percent of the population, take part in some form of online education to earn advanced degrees, keep their skills current or learn new job skills.
• Almost four million students were involved in at least one online course in 2007, the most recent year for which official statistics are available. That's 18 percent more than the previous year. According to some estimates, the current number of online students has now passed the five million mark.
• More than 90 percent of public institutions--including several Nevada schools--now offer online education programs, while almost half of postsecondary schools offer online degree programs.
• Nearly all institutions offering online courses expect to experience annual growth in coming years.
• A poll of academic leaders in Nevada and other states reveals 69 percent of them believe student demand for online education programs is still growing.
• Compiling the findings of 355 in-depth studies and reports on online education, the book, "The No Significant Difference Phenomenon," determined traditional schools and Internet-based schools produce "no difference" in academic achievement.
• A poll conducted by the National Education Association found that 65 percent of student voters cited college affordability as an important election issue, while 34 percent said it was the most important issue.
• Over the last five years, the number of students enrolled in Nevada online education programs and others across the country has more than doubled.
• Just over one-third of traditional higher education institutions account for three-quarters of all online enrolments.
• Although students are free to take part in whatever online school they want, more than 80 percent of them are enrolled in Internet-based courses offered by institutions that are physically located within 50 miles of their homes.
• Just over half of the students enrolled in Nevada online education courses are seeking Associate of Arts degrees, followed, in descending order, by Master's degrees, Doctorates, specialized degrees and Bachelor of Arts degrees.