Digest of Education Statistics
2016 Tables and Figures All Years of Tables and Figures Most Recent Full Issue of the Digest


Table 311.33. Selected statistics for degree-granting postsecondary institutions that primarily offer online programs, by control of institution and selected characteristics: 2015
Selected characteristic All institu-tions Primarily online institutions1 Other institutions1
Total Percent of all insti-tutions Public Nonprofit For-profit Total Public Nonprofit For-profit
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11
Number of institutions, fall 20152 4,562 67 1.5 6 16 45 4,495 1,614 1,682 1,199
                     
Fall 2015 enrollment                    
Total enrollment 19,977,270 734,736 3.7 58,822 137,556 538,358 19,242,534 14,509,281 3,925,816 807,437
                     
Full-time 12,290,829 438,093 3.6 14,295 85,058 338,740 11,852,736 8,340,380 2,964,074 548,282
Males 5,560,535 144,052 2.6 5,781 30,382 107,889 5,416,483 3,892,395 1,303,354 220,734
Females 6,730,294 294,041 4.4 8,514 54,676 230,851 6,436,253 4,447,985 1,660,720 327,548
Part-time 7,686,441 296,643 3.9 44,527 52,498 199,618 7,389,798 6,168,901 961,742 259,155
Males 3,160,868 121,799 3.9 21,258 23,137 77,404 3,039,069 2,597,974 363,508 77,587
Females 4,525,573 174,844 3.9 23,269 29,361 122,214 4,350,729 3,570,927 598,234 181,568
                     
Undergraduate 17,036,778 528,525 3.1 46,316 113,490 368,719 16,508,253 13,099,404 2,705,684 703,165
Full-time 10,604,992 320,741 3.0 12,964 67,270 240,507 10,284,251 7,540,768 2,233,890 509,593
Part-time 6,431,786 207,784 3.2 33,352 46,220 128,212 6,224,002 5,558,636 471,794 193,572
Postbaccalaureate 2,940,492 206,211 7.0 12,506 24,066 169,639 2,734,281 1,409,877 1,220,132 104,272
Full-time 1,685,837 117,352 7.0 1,331 17,788 98,233 1,568,485 799,612 730,184 38,689
Part-time 1,254,655 88,859 7.1 11,175 6,278 71,406 1,165,796 610,265 489,948 65,583
                     
White 10,937,058 387,086 3.5 39,460 89,811 257,815 10,549,972 7,873,588 2,347,443 328,941
Black 2,675,352 205,623 7.7 5,937 25,226 174,460 2,469,729 1,764,509 477,114 228,106
Hispanic 3,292,156 73,302 2.2 8,001 11,747 53,554 3,218,854 2,681,369 383,585 153,900
Asian 1,228,310 18,396 1.5 2,337 4,361 11,698 1,209,914 931,174 242,277 36,463
Pacific Islander 55,529 4,613 8.3 244 711 3,658 50,916 35,584 9,881 5,451
American Indian/Alaska Native 146,171 5,711 3.9 489 1,059 4,163 140,460 113,289 19,596 7,575
Two or more races 659,584 34,305 5.2 1,675 4,181 28,449 625,279 482,679 115,174 27,426
Nonresident alien 983,110 5,700 0.6 679 460 4,561 977,410 627,089 330,746 19,575
                     
4-year institutions 13,486,342 730,594 5.4 58,822 137,556 534,216 12,755,748 8,293,615 3,875,767 586,366
Full-time 9,779,608 435,202 4.5 14,295 85,058 335,849 9,344,406 6,067,198 2,928,007 349,201
Part-time 3,706,734 295,392 8.0 44,527 52,498 198,367 3,411,342 2,226,417 947,760 237,165
2-year institutions 6,490,928 4,142 0.1 0 0 4,142 6,486,786 6,215,666 50,049 221,071
Full-time 2,511,221 2,891 0.1 0 0 2,891 2,508,330 2,273,182 36,067 199,081
Part-time 3,979,707 1,251 # 0 0 1,251 3,978,456 3,942,484 13,982 21,990
                     
Earned degrees conferred, 2014-15                    
                     
Associate's 1,013,971 35,704 3.5 835 4,529 30,340 978,267 821,039 54,093 103,135
Males 396,613 12,777 3.2 553 1,438 10,786 383,836 325,122 19,421 39,293
Females 617,358 22,927 3.7 282 3,091 19,554 594,431 495,917 34,672 63,842
                     
Bachelor's 1,894,934 76,110 4.0 6,985 12,529 56,596 1,818,824 1,202,453 541,005 75,366
Males 812,669 29,504 3.6 3,026 4,815 21,663 783,165 529,227 223,055 30,883
Females 1,082,265 46,606 4.3 3,959 7,714 34,933 1,035,659 673,226 317,950 44,483
                     
Master's 758,708 51,550 6.8 2,827 6,638 42,085 707,158 348,292 329,544 29,322
Males 306,590 17,263 5.6 1,203 2,497 13,563 289,327 146,165 132,923 10,239
Females 452,118 34,287 7.6 1,624 4,141 28,522 417,831 202,127 196,621 19,083
                     
Doctor's3 178,547 3,803 2.1 39 116 3,648 174,744 90,213 79,976 4,555
Males 84,921 1,316 1.5 12 39 1,265 83,605 44,040 37,860 1,705
Females 93,626 2,487 2.7 27 77 2,383 91,139 46,173 42,116 2,850
                     
First-time students' rates of
      graduation from and retention
      at first institution attended
                   
                     
Among full-time bachelor's degree-
      seekers starting at 4-year
      institutions in 2009, percent
      earning bachelor’s degree
                   
Within 4 years after start 39.8 5.9 16.0 5.5 40.1 34.8 53.1 15.7
Within 5 years after start 55.3 9.9 18.5 9.6 55.6 53.5 63.3 21.6
Within 6 years after start 59.4 12.1 21.5 11.7 59.8 58.6 65.7 25.0
                     
Among full-time degree/certificate-
      seekers starting at 2-year
      institutions in 2012, percent
      completing credential within
      150 percent of normal time
29.1 46.8 29.0 21.9 56.1 60.2
                     
Among degree-seekers starting in
      2014, percent returning in 2015
                   
Full-time entrants 74.5 40.4 70.0 74.9 35.9 74.7 73.2 81.0 65.3
Part-time entrants 43.6 40.7 44.5 40.3 43.6 43.8 41.4 39.8
†Not applicable.
#Rounds to zero.
‡Reporting standards not met (too few cases for a reliable estimate).
1 Primarily online institutions have more than 90 percent of their students attending classes exclusively online. Other institutions may have some online offerings, but they are not primarily online.
2 Includes only institutions reporting enrollment data in fall 2015.
3 Includes Ph.D., Ed.D., and comparable degrees at the doctoral level. Includes most degrees formerly classified as first-professional, such as M.D., D.D.S., and law degrees.
NOTE: Degree-granting institutions grant associate’s or higher degrees and participate in Title IV federal financial aid programs. Race categories exclude persons of Hispanic ethnicity.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS), Spring 2016, Fall Enrollment component; IPEDS, Fall 2015, Completions component; and IPEDS, Spring 2016, Graduation Rates component. (This table was prepared April 2017.)

2016 Tables and Figures All Years of Tables and Figures Most Recent Full Issue of the Digest