Project Eagle Research Capsule (PERC) #24
January 2007

Statistics from Recent Reports by the Sloan Foundation
and the Pew Internet & American Life Project

Making the Grade: Online Education in the United States, 2006

I. Elaine Allen and Jeff Seaman
Babson Survey Research Group
The Sloan Consortium
November 2006

This is the fourth annual report on the state of online learning in U.S. higher education. This year's study, like those for the previous three years, is aimed at answering some of the fundamental questions about the nature and extent of online education.

Previous reports in this series were summarized in earlier Project Eagle Research Capsules:

Growing by Degrees: Online Education in the United States, 2005 (PERC 21)

Entering the Mainstream: The Quality and Extent of Online Education in the United States, 2003 and 2004 (PERC 17)

Sizing the Opportunity: The Quality and Extent of Online Education in the United States, 2002 and 2003 (PERC 15)

• There has been no leveling of the growth rate of online enrollments. Record online growth was reported on both a numeric and a percentage basis.
• Nearly 3.2 million students took at least one online course during the fall 2005 term, compared to 2.3 million in 2004.
• The additional 800,000+ online students are more than twice the number added in any previous year.
• The population of online students is similar to the general higher education student body, but the mix of schools in which they study is not.
• Like students overall, online students are largely undergraduates.
• Online students, especially undergraduates, are more like to study at Associates level institutions than are their face-to-face counterparts.
• As in previous years, the same types of institutions lead in online offerings.
• More than 96% of institutions with more than 15,000 students offer online courses. This is more than double the rate of the smallest schools.
• The proportion of institutions with fully online programs rises steadily as the school size increases. 2/3 of the largest schools have fully online programs, compared to 1/6 of the smallest institutions.
• Doctoral / research institutions show the highest overall rate (80+%) of having some form of online offering.
• By an increasing margin, most Chief Academic Officers believe that the quality of online instruction is equal to or superior to that of face-to-face learning.
• 62% of academic leaders viewed learning outcomes in online education as the same or superior to those in face-to-face. In 2003, the number was 57%.
• The proportion who believes that online learning outcomes are superior has grown from 12.1% in 2003 to 16.9%.
• As in previous years, academic leaders identified two major areas of concern. Most cited the need for more discipline on the part of online students. In addition, faculty issues, in terms of both acceptance of online learning and the need for greater time and effort to teach online, were felt to be important barriers.

The Internet As a Resource for News and Information About Science

John B. Horrigan
Pew Internet & American Life Project
11/20/06

According to this report, "the convenience of getting scientific information on the Web opens doors to better attitudes and understanding of science."

• 20% of all Americans (40 million) rely on the Internet as their primary source for news and information about science. TV is the only more popular source, with 41% citing it as their main source. Newspapers and magazines were cited as the main source by 14%.
• For those with home broadband, the Internet and television were equally popular sources (33%) for science news. For those under 30, 44% cited the Internet and 32% television.
• On the subject of stem cell research, 67% would look to the Web first, 11% to a library.
• On climate change, 59% would look to the Web first, 12% to a library.
• On origins of life on Earth, 42% would look to the Web first, 19% to a library, and 11% the Bible.
• The Internet is a research tool for 87% of online users.
• The majority have used the Web to look up the meanings of a scientific term, answer a question about a scientific concept, learn more about a scientific discovery first heard of offline, complete a science assignment for school, and check the accuracy of a scientific fact or statistic.
• 80+% of online scientific seekers check for accuracy using both online and offline sources.
• 71% use the Internet for science information because of the convenience. Fewer than 15% choose it because they perceive the information to be more accurate or not available elsewhere.
• 65% encountered science news and information while online for some other purpose.
• Those who view scientific pursuits positively are more likely to get their information online. More than 2/3 report higher levels of understanding of science.
• About 90% of those beginning science research used search engines.
• Half of all users have been to a website that specializes in scientific content (e.g., NASA, National Geographic, US Geological Survey, and Smithsonian).

Online Health Search 2006

Susannah Fox
Pew Internet & American Life Project
10/29/06

According to this report, "most Internet users start at a search engine when looking for health information online. Very few check the source and date of the information they find."

• 80% of users (113 million) have searched for information on at least one of 17 health topics.
• Even as the Internet population and broadband connections at home have grown, the percentage of Web users who search for health information has been stable for the past four years. Investigating a specific disease or medical problem is the most popular health topic searched online, with 64% of users doing such a search.
• 10 million American adults look online for health information on a typical day.
• The typical health information session starts at a search engine, includes multiple sites, and is done for someone other than the person doing the search.
• The majority of searchers for health information felt the information they found affected a decision about how to treat a condition, changed their approach to health maintenance, or led them to ask doctors new questions or get a second opinion.
• The majority had positive feelings about what they found online, but for a small percentage, the health search results were overwhelming, frustrating, confusing or even frightening.
• Three-fourths of health information seekers do not consistently check the source and date of the information they find online.

www.spcollege.edu/eagle/research/perc/perc24.htm
For a list of previous Project Eagle Research Capsules, go to www.spcollege.edu/eagle/research/perc/index.htm
For more information, contact the project manager: lechnerj@spcollege.edu

The contents of PERC were developed under a grant from the U. S. Department of Education (DOE). However, those contents do not necessarily represent the policy of the DOE, and you should not assume endorsement by the Federal Government.