News | Online Education

Centralized online course delivery becoming standard in higher education

by admin on 2/16/2012 • Category: Online Education

Online education is becoming increasingly prevalent every year. More students are earning their qualifications online than ever before, and many universities are streamlining their course offerings through centralized portals and learning management systems (LMSs). According to InfoZine, the University of Missouri (UM) is among the latest colleges to introduce a centralized online learning portal for students.

"With a system as large as ours and four campuses that each have their own unique identities and strong brands, creating a unified entry point that provides students the breadth of online options available at all campuses is an important step in meeting the needs of online learners," Zac March, UM's director of distance education and e-learning, told the news source. "We think students will benefit tremendously from the ease and convenience of this portal."

According to the university, the number of students taking at least one full-time class online increased by 13 percent last year to more than 12,000 individuals. Additionally, the number of classes offered by UM that incorporate an online component has increased by 200 percent during this period, and there has been a 72 percent rise in the number of people studying exclusively online at UM.

Online education is becoming increasingly popular all over the U.S. According to the 2011 Sloan Survey of Online Learning, the number of students enrolled in web-based distance education programs increased by 560,000 to more than 6.1 million people last year. Due to the low overhead and potential returns for colleges, many universities claim that online education programs are a vital part of their long-term growth strategies. Around 65 percent of academic leaders said they were planning to expand their online education offerings. Overall, more than one-third of the entire student population of the U.S. takes at least one class online.

Other research initiatives indicate that students are eager to embrace technology as part of their academic experience. According to the Educause Center for Applied Research's 2011 National Study of Undergraduate Students and Information Technology, 58 percent of participants said they learned more when classes blended classroom-based instruction with online learning. Approximately 43 percent of students said their institutions needed to implement more technology as part of their curricula, and more than one-fifth of respondents indicated that their university utilized technology seamlessly in their courses.

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