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It now seems like every month, a new survey of online college students appears that contains unexpected surprises. One of the more interesting recent polls comes from Education Dynamics (EDDY), the Kansas City-based higher education enrollment consulting firm that counts 500 colleges and universities across America as clients.

Most people know that online education is widespread in China and picking up steam in the U.S. But those unfamiliar with the industry may not know that India is capturing the gaze of edtech investors worldwide. While interest in the region had been building, it ramped up dramatically during the novel coronavirus pandemic period.

Anyone interested in online education will eventually hear about Dr. Paul LeBlanc, the visionary president of Southern New Hampshire University. In December 2023, SNHU announced that Dr. LeBlanc would step down after two decades in which he transformed a struggling college with less than 2,500 learners into America’s largest university, now enrolling 224,000 students.

Artificial intelligence technologies have already shown promise in supporting educational markets. As online and tech-driven education solutions come under the spotlight in the fallout of the pandemic, governments and private companies globally are increasing investment in AI to spur the growth of the tech in support of future educational needs.

According to EdSurge’s Editor, Jeffrey Young, tech companies appear to have targeted education as a “killer application” for artificial intelligence platforms, an area that could significantly drive sales and company growth. Young cites several demonstrations during the late spring of 2024 by OpenAI, Google, and other firms that focused on educational applications of their latest chatbots and AI platforms. OpenAI also launched ChatGPT Edu, a new partnership program for colleges similar to the firm’s arrangement with Arizona State University.

Distance learning is not new, with correspondence courses being around since the 1800s. However, they became more prevalent and went online with the technical revolution in the 1990s. Covid-19 simply accelerated a process already in motion.

Professor Scott Galloway, a visionary in business and education, predicted that prestigious universities will invariably partner with Big Tech and expand their online offerings and student enrollment. We spoke with other experts in Big Tech and professors knowledgeable on the subject to give their take on the controversial topic.

It’s the ultimate nightmare scenario: The one letter that all college and university presidents dread is a letter jeopardizing their institution’s accreditation. Because only accredited colleges are eligible to fund their operations through America’s federal student loan programs, losing accreditation generally means a college’s financial ruin—and potentially the end of the managerial careers of that institution’s leadership.

Learn to cultivate situational awareness to anticipate job interview questions, and help prepare your responses. Also, find a distillation of what to ask and not to ask during an interview.

Protecting student data is more critical than ever due to the rapid shift to online learning in 2020. And even without the pandemic, the shift to online learning and digital educational technologies is rapidly increasing.

Fifteen years ago, Harvard MBA Sal Khan revolutionized K-12 education with instructional videos posted to his YouTube channel that hundreds of school districts across America use daily. Now he’s back with a controversial new offering: an online school operated in collaboration with Arizona State University called Khan World School. Also known as a virtual school

Offering legal studies online could bring enrollment to target levels by attracting more potential students. It sounds like a win-win situation; both students and universities could benefit from online legal studies programs, but there have been some concerns about the implications of offering law school online.

Online education has empowered folks to pursue their degrees as they travel, similar to how work from home allows employees to log in from anywhere. With online courses, students can study at their own pace and on their own schedule. This flexibility has made pursuing an education while traveling easier than ever before.

The power of VR lies in providing users the chance to do something hands-on that might not be possible in the real or the remote world. That means students studying climate change can virtually dive a coral reef to see the effects of ocean acidification up close, or it can give scientists the ability to analyze molecules in 3D at the nanolevel.

The video game industry has boomed following the pandemic and encompasses a lucrative global job market. Even Netflix is moving into the video games space as the industry emerges as the next battleground for Big Tech’s streaming wars. And this means jobs will be opening up for the taking.

In light of the recent crises in Ukraine, Afghanistan, and South Sudan, we spoke with an expert working with refugees and displaced populations to better understand programs, technologies, and policies influencing these people’s access to learning opportunities.

Because online learning does not require students to physically travel to and sit in a traditional classroom, there can be a misconception that it is also inherently more accessible to students with disabilities. While this may be the case in some instances, if accessibility is not explicitly addressed by the course designer and/or instructor, it can quickly run afoul of ADA regulations and make learning more difficult for students with disabilities like vision impairment. Combat this by exploring best practices for accessibility, and learn about making online courses ADA-compliant.

While it’s less common now than it once was, many faculty still have little experience creating online courses, which requires a different process than developing in-person courses. As such, it is important for inexperienced faculty to learn what they can about online course design and instruction before they embark on their first course.

The “move to online” continues, as the number of students taking at least one class online continues to grow, particularly at public and private not-for-profit colleges and universities. Meet 7 experts who are studying the trends in online education growth and adoption.

Although online learning is still developing, having been around for only a fraction of the time as more established teaching methods, it is possible to look at existing data to get a better sense of what it is that makes one student succeed in an online setting while another fails, and how institutions can design online courses to ensure both a high pass rate and a high retention rate.

Learning management systems allow instructors to create and distribute courses while also letting students interact with course materials and with one another. The Learning management system (LMS) that a school uses can have a significant impact on how students perform and each year schools are investing in tools to make sure that they are using the right technologies to help their students succeed.

Any student considering taking courses online who has never done so before may understandably have some trepidation. Is an online course really going to give you the experience and knowledge that you need to pursue the degree — and eventually career — that you want?

A year ago, the outbreak of the global novel coronavirus pandemic forced educators and learning providers at traditional brick-and-mortar institutions to pivot to online education platforms and models.

Especially in the midst of a pandemic, parents (with kids ages 5-18) are struggling to find distance-based resources to keep children entertained and educated. And while there is definitely an ocean of options available online, it can be overwhelming to search for resources.

To increase awareness around the importance of this field, April is designated as Mathematics and Statistics Awareness Month. This month is an opportunity to learn more about math, get to know the people who have made and are making history in this field, and celebrate the advances that math and statistics have made.