Another survey attempting to measure the perception of online degrees: http://cbs4boston.com/local/local_story_326192540.html Reggie
A welcome study .... This, "Assessing Consumer Attitudes Towards Online Education" is an interesting and useful survey, one of several to follow over the next several years, I would hope. Focusing attention on the online and distance education consumer - as learner, unencumbered and non-tradition-bound adult "student," informed choice-maker, clueless victim, un-wonderful school/diploma mill co-conspirator, (add your favorite descriptor here) - is critical to mapping the future of online/distance education for years to come. My comments on the general findings (credit to Eduventures, Inc. for my selected quotes from the report): 1. "A significant percentage of consumers interested in pursuing a college program have some experience with online education." Yes, 29 percent of prospective college students who have had some experience with online offerings) is a significant percentage, though I do not know what number we are comparing this 29% to. What stands out, though, is the reported 4 percent of respondents who reportedly have had online experience in a full college program. Of course, I am supposing that these 4 percenters are all 9or mostly) pursuing accredited or legitimate online college degree programs, probably far less than the percent involved with un-wonderful or fraudulent online "college" programs. 2. "Consumers are ambivalent about the quality of online education." 38% - are unsure of online ed quality 29% - say online ed is inferior 31% - say online ed on a par with campus-based programs 3% - believe online ed to be superior. This ambivalence should improve with time, more widespread and accepted quality oversights/controls/accreditation, and weeding out of the fakes and frauds. It may be a pie-in-the-sky dream. No telling when true parity will be achieved or when most citizens and corporate employers will wise up to the great potential - and resilient fakeries - of online ed. 3. "A majority of consumers would consider enrolling in an online education program, despite potential quality concerns, suggesting that there is a large market opportunity." The market surely is large, for high-quality and poor or non-existent quality online/distance programs - just ask the Randocks and "MailBox, etc" of this world. The finding that a majority of respondents may be putting quality concerns secondary in their minds is, to me, a bit bothersome, but maybe understandable. Accreditation is purely understood both in the US and abroad, and its merits and necessities are not overwhelmingly properly communicated to this large market segment. 4. "Blended models that combine online and campus-based instruction have the potential to expand the online education market and generate a high level of consumer interest." I agree with this assessment. A whopping 85% of survey respondents would consider enrolling on a blended program! This is - and will continue to be - a welcome development, in my opinion., especially considering that 56% of 18-25 year olds "are more likely to consider a blended model over fully online education." The US state universities/colleges have a lot of work to do and all indications are pointing to them gearing up to do it, the advertising and market dominance of the for-profits (UoP, Capella, etc) notwithstanding. 5. "Consumers choose online education over on-campus programs, in part, due to flexible scheduling and price." No surprises here, but flexibility and pricing is certain to get even more competitive as accredited blends become more widespread and employers wise up to not throwing good (tuition) monies after "bad"/unaccredited programs. 6. "The primary barriers seen by consumers who would not consider online education are a preference for face-to-face instruction and concerns about employer acceptance of online education." The survey numbers are telling - 41% (will not consider online ed due to face-to-face preference) and 36% (worry about employers' acceptance). Dr. Rich Douglas' work comes in handy here. Many employers are horribly uninformed about the details of accreditation and generally unaware of accredited versus unaccredited institutions, and why this matters. Still, some consumers fear employers' rejection. This may be a good thing in disguise. Maybe personal ethics re: doing the right (i.e. moral) thing, may at times top convenience and modernity, after all. 7. "In assessing an online program, consumers rate accreditation, technological elements of the online experience, and price as most important in their decision-making." This is a welcome finding. Accreditation seems to matter to more and more potential students. Educational technology, of course, continues to improve, and price-competition is becoming all the rage. Clearly, some potential students know something (about accreditation) that some employers do not, or will not. Hmmm.... The authors state that consumer attitudes will likely shift and evolve as online models compete more head-to-head with campus-based study. The first part of the above statement (authors' conclusion) is a given. The latter part may be more wishful thinking than not. Or so I think. Thanks.
