Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google

Not Yet Sold: What Employers and Community College Students Think About Online Education

  • 07/08/14

Online education holds the promise to increase access and decrease cost of higher education. Yet many community college students and employers remain skeptical about the value of online learning, according to recent research in a report from Public Agenda (www.publicagenda.org), a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that helps diverse leaders and citizens navigate divisive, complex issues and work together to find solutions. “Not Yet Sold” raises important questions for the future of online education, even as it quickly becomes part of the higher education mainstream.

While employers and students recognize a niche for online classes, degrees and certificates, for now at least, they do not trust it as much as they do traditional education. Findings from this research, which was supported by The Kresge Foundation, include:

  • The majority of employers (56 percent) prefer a job applicant with a traditional degree from an average school over an applicant with an online degree from a top university (just 17 percent say they’d prefer the latter).
  • At the same time, 80 percent of employers say that online-only degrees and certificates provide opportunities for older students to get valuable college credentials. Half say online degrees help younger, first-time college students get a high-quality education.
  • 61 percent of community college students say online classes require more discipline from students than traditional classes, yet four in ten (42 percent) believe students learn less online.
  • Many community college students currently taking online classes wish they took fewer of them.

Just as online education itself is rapidly changing, we expect student and employer attitudes to shift as well. Still, we need to consider the skepticism of those on the ground, especially if we hope to avoid any unintended consequences.

As key decision makers face this changing landscape, this research provides important insights from some of those on the ground, in order to ensure that online education can better meet the needs of students and society. This research brief is part of a larger project surveying the attitudes of various student and employer groups toward issues in higher education, including online education, for-profit colleges and the needs of nontraditional students.

Download a PDF of the report: http://www.publicagenda.org/pages/not-yet-sold

Featured

  • Indiana Wesleyan University Schedules Grand Opening for New Welcome Center

    Indiana Wesleyan University recently announced that it will soon open a new Welcome Center on its campus in Marion, Ind., according to a news release. The facility will serve as the home base for prospective students and their families to learn more about the university and student life there. A ribbon-cutting ceremony is scheduled for February 19.

  • Houston K–12 District Opens New Elementary School

    The Lamar Consolidated Independent School District (Lamar CISD) recently announced the completion of a new elementary school in a western suburb of Houston, Texas, according to a news release. Haygood Elementary School measures in at 110,000 square feet, has the capacity for 854 students, and is the first of three new schools scheduled to be built in the Cross Creek West community.

  • Massachusetts K–12 District Selects Architect for New Junior High

    Swansea Public Schools in Swansea, Mass., recently announced that it has selected Finegold Alexander Architects to design a new junior high school for the district, according to a news release. The firm will create the Feasibility Study and Schematic Design for Joseph Case Junior High School after a lengthy selection process by the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA).

  • Rhode Island Boarding School Completes Student Dorm Renovations

    St. George’s School in Middletown, R.I., recently announced the completion of a $26-million renovation project on Arden-Diman-Eccles Dormitory, according to a news release. The school partnered with Voith & Mactavish Architects (VMA) on the new space, which places a new focus on collaborative community spaces open to both boarding students and day students.