28 Jan 12 Chart of the Week: Percentage of Students Taking Distance Education Courses

Chart of the Week: Percentage of Students taking Distance Education Courses

According to data published in the National Science Foundation’s Science and Engineering Indicators: 2012 report, 20.4% of all undergraduate students in post-secondary institutions took at least one distance education course during the 2007-08 academic year and 3.7% of all undergraduates were in programs offered entirely by distance education. however, as this chart illustrates, the percentage of students who take at least one distance education course varies substantially by both control and level of institution. While 18.1% of students at four-year public institutions make use of distance education, only 14% of undergraduates at four-year not-for-profit institutions do so. But almost 3 out of 10 students (29.7%) at four-year for-profit institutions took at least one distance education course in 2007-08.

Interestingly enough, while the proportion of students taking distance education courses for both two-year public and and private not-for-profit institutions (24.2% and 20.2%, respectively) was higher than their four-year counterparts, the proportion of students at two-year for-profit institutions (18%) was lower than the proportion at four-year for-profit institutions.