The head of the prominent Zogby polling organization says, in a new book, that online colleges will soon gain acceptance as full-fledged institutions of learning, not places where students get a "lesser" education than those who attend class in person.
There are some natural stories here as people sign up for fall classes. What are your local universities offering online, and why do people choose online learning over traveling to the school?
The Chronicle of Higher Education blog reports on Zogby's predictions:
... Mr. [John] Zogby writes that polling by his organization shows that attitudes about online education are changing fast. His polling also points to other challenges that colleges will face as they race to serve a worldwise generation of 18-to-29-year-olds that Mr. Zogby calls "First Globals."
In one 2007 poll of more 5,000 adults, Zogby International found that 30 percent of respondents were taking or had taken an online course, and an additional 50 percent said they would consider taking one. Those numbers might skew a little high, he said, because the poll was conducted online and the definition of an online course was broad, including certificate programs or training modules offered by employers.
Only 27 percent of respondents agreed that "online universities and colleges provide the same quality of education" as traditional institutions. Among those 18 to 24 years old, only 23 percent agreed.
An even greater proportion of those polled said it was their perception that employers and academic professionals thought more highly of traditional institutions than online ones.
I look forward to it, James. Although there are some...
