How Extensive Are Distance Education Course Offerings?

In academic year 1994–95, an estimated 25,730 distance education courses with different catalog numbers were offered by higher education institutions. Of these, 45 percent were offered by public 4-year institutions, 39 percent by public 2-year institutions, and 16 percent by private 4-year institutions. (Data for private 2-year institutions are not reported separately on this measure because there were too few such institutions offering distance education courses in the sample.) About half the institutions that offered distance education courses in fall 1995 offered 10 or fewer courses in academic year 1994–95, with 24 percent offering 1 to 4 courses and 21 percent offering 5 to 10 courses (Figure 1)