What's behind the
Explosive Growth in Distance Learning?
By: Rose M
There
is a ground swell of support globally to support the growth of distance
learning. Market research firms, government agencies, public and private
companies, and even venture capital firms – those companies that invest in
new and emerging businesses – all agree that distance learning’s future is
very bright, and a good investment opportunity as well.
All this translates into a
bright future for anyone looking at distance learning to accomplish their
career, educational, and learning objectives. Chances are if there isn’t a
program in place today for your specific needs, there will be one – soon.
This article explains how the perfect storm is brewing for distance
learning, in a very positive way. Several market factors are presented
here, along with research from research and government agencies that show
that distance learning is here to stay and may someday surpass traditional
classroom attendance approaches to learning.
What’s driving Distance
Learning growth?
Consider the following
statistics from International Data Corporation on the market for distance
learning – these figures and others are making many traditional colleges
and universities re-vamp their courses and degree programs to make them
available online.
* There are 133 million U.S.
adults or 66% of the adult population, which have Internet access today.
That’s over half the entire U.S. population and serves as a strong
incentive for colleges and universities to re-vamp their programs to
support this untapped educational market.
* According to International
Data Corporation, over 90% of college students access the Internet, with
50% accessing the Web daily, and this is on a global scale. Colleges and
universities have also found that to stay relevant to their traditional
students, they have had to create online and distance learning programs
quickly to stay up with their learning needs.
* 87% of four-year colleges
will offer distance-learning courses in 2004, up from 62% in 1998.
According to International Data Corporation, 25% more colleges and
universities added distance learning programs between 1998 and 2004.
* By 2004, 2.2 million
degree-seeking students are enrolled in distributed courses – CAGR of 33%.
The growth of distance learning on a global scale has the attention of
companies as well – they plan on spending $272B in the next five years on
in-house training and education programs, according to International Data
Corporation.
* 51% of all online courses
worldwide have online discussion forms in 2001, growing to 65% in 2005.
This is a sign of how quickly the Internet’s performance is improving
around the world. The bandwidth required to support online discussions is
great news for distance learning. Now even the most geographically remote
student can get the education they want.
Summary
The implications are clear.
Distance learning is growing rapidly and has been fortunate that many
countries teach English in addition to their own native languages. What’s
next on the horizon of distance learning is offering courses and degrees
in multiple languages. International Data Corporation predicts that by
2006, 65% of all Internet users will be international.
Rose is the editor of
www.distance-learning-college-guide.com where you find answers,
information and advice on distance learning colleges, accredited online
degrees and online courses. See more related information at distance
learning defined and distance learning benefits Article Source:
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