What percentage of postsecondary institutions offer distance education?
- Notes:
- Distance education = courses taken for college credit at off-campus locations via internet, cable television, satellite classes, videotapes, correspondence courses, or other means.
- Title IV institutions = institutions having a written agreement with the Secretary of Education that allows the institution to participate in any of the Title IV federal student financial assistance programs.
About 63% (3,322) of all Title IV institutions offer distance education. On-line courses are far more prevalent at public institutions than at private institutions.
Key Observations
- 92% (1,617) of all public Title IV institutions offer distance education, compared to 53% (928) of private non-profit institutions and 44% (777) of private for-profit institutions.
- Among public Title IV institutions, 2-year schools (93%) are slightly more likely than 4-year schools (91%) to offer distance education.
- The opposite is true among private Title IV institutions: 4-year schools (62%) are much more likely than 2-year schools (22%) to offer distance education.
- Only 30 Title IV institutions are exclusively distance education institutions: 22 private for-profit schools, 7 private nonprofit schools, and 1 public school.