1.
The top 5
features that
will reach
online students
in the future
of high school and
college students report
taking at least one
online or blended course*
* Blended courses include both online and
traditional classroom instruction
The most online
activity is happening
in higher education
Approximately
60%of students who have
taken an online or
blended course have
a positive view
of its quality
and importance
Students who have
taken at least one
online or blended
course
High schoolers
39%
College students
76%
Graduate students
73%
Online education has
reached the mainstream
The5
Least Most
satisfiedsatisfied
Parents are skeptical of
online-only degrees
The top 5 barriers to
online-only degrees
Parents with an online-experienced student who would recommend…
These students take the
majority or all of their
classes online. This
population will be familiar
as the original group that
online education grew
to serve
True
believers
These students uniquely
emphasize the experiential,
social, and emotional bene-
fits of education. To them, it
does not matter greatly
which form their education
takes, so long as they earn
a degree for personal and
social advancement
Experience
seekers
Money
mavens
These students are
primarily motivated
by the financial
outcomes of an online
education. They view
an online education
much more as a
transaction than as
an experience
These students will
become True Believers
if the experience of
online learning meets
their high standards
and offers benefits
beyond that of
traditional classrooms
Open
minds
67%
of postsecondary institutions report
online offerings
60 %
of college students are currently
taking at least one online course
30 %
of college students are currently
learning primarily through
online courses
16 %
students today
faces of online
These students have
tried online courses, but
they have decided not
to take more in the
future because they see
problems with the
quality, outcomes, and
reputation of online
programs
Online
rejecters
13
Mostly traditional with
some online courses39%
Traditional
courses only24%
50/50
hybrid degree20%
Any model
8%
Online-only degree
2%
Mostly online with some
traditional courses7%
Parents are
more likely to withhold financial
support for a child pursuing an
online-only degree than for
one pursuing a traditional or
a hybrid degree
1. Knowledgeable and accessible
academic advisors
2. Anticipatory, responsive, and
adaptive faculty
3. Self-pacing based on competency
and mastery
4. An interactive virtual classroom
experience
5. Curriculum aligned with a
professional license
1. Reputation among students
2. Lack of acceptance among faculty
3. Lack of regulation and
accreditation requirements
4. Perceived quality of teachers
and faculty
5. Online class experience
percentage
points
Sources:
• These findings come from The Boston Consulting Group U.S.
Education Sentiment Survey of more than 2,500 high school,
college, and graduate students and 675 parents with at least
one child in high school or college who had taken at least
one course online. See The Five Faces of Online Education: What
Students and Parents Want, BCG Focus, June 2014
• The estimate of the percentage of postsecondary institutions
reporting online offerings comes from “Grade Change:
Tracking Online Education in the United States, 2013,”
Babson Survey Research Group, Pearson, and the Sloan
Consortium, January 2014
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