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| 2021 Tables and Figures | All Years of Tables and Figures | Most Recent Full Issue of the Digest |
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| Table 311.22. | Number and percentage of undergraduate students enrolled in distance education or online classes and degree programs, by selected characteristics: Selected years, 2003-04 through 2015-16 |
| [Standard errors appear in parentheses] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Selected characteristic | Percent of undergraduate students taking distance education or online classes | 2015-16 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2003-04 | 2007-08 | 2011-12 | Number of undergraduate students (in thousands) | Percent of undergraduate students taking online classes | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Total, any distance education classes | Entire degree program through distance education1 | Total, any distance education classes | Entire degree program through distance education1 | Total, any online classes | Entire degree program is online1 | Total, all students | Number taking any online classes | Total, any online classes | Entire degree program is online1 | |||||||||||||||||
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | ||||||||||||||||
| Total | 15.6 | (0.29) | 4.9 | (0.17) | 20.6 | (0.23) | 3.8 | (0.16) | 32.0 | (0.33) | 6.5 | (0.18) | 19,308 | 8,319 | 43.1 | (0.31) | 10.8 | (0.21) | ||||||||
| Sex | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Male | 13.6 | (0.31) | 4.3 | (0.19) | 18.8 | (0.31) | 3.4 | (0.16) | 28.5 | (0.45) | 4.9 | (0.24) | 8,406 | 3,340 | 39.7 | (0.42) | 9.2 | (0.27) | ||||||||
| Female | 17.0 | (0.40) | 5.4 | (0.23) | 21.9 | (0.28) | 4.2 | (0.22) | 34.5 | (0.39) | 7.7 | (0.21) | 10,903 | 4,979 | 45.7 | (0.42) | 12.1 | (0.28) | ||||||||
| Race/ethnicity | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| White | 16.2 | (0.33) | 5.0 | (0.19) | 21.9 | (0.29) | 3.9 | (0.19) | 33.5 | (0.41) | 6.8 | (0.21) | 10,276 | 4,671 | 45.5 | (0.39) | 11.1 | (0.27) | ||||||||
| Black | 14.9 | (0.59) | 4.9 | (0.37) | 19.9 | (0.66) | 5.1 | (0.48) | 32.7 | (0.70) | 9.1 | (0.56) | 3,006 | 1,278 | 42.5 | (0.72) | 14.9 | (0.47) | ||||||||
| Hispanic | 13.4 | (0.54) | 4.1 | (0.27) | 16.5 | (0.53) | 2.7 | (0.23) | 27.9 | (0.57) | 4.3 | (0.24) | 3,723 | 1,431 | 38.4 | (0.68) | 7.7 | (0.32) | ||||||||
| Asian | 14.0 | (0.92) | 5.2 | (0.58) | 18.1 | (0.86) | 2.9 | (0.40) | 26.0 | (1.06) | 2.9 | (0.35) | 1,399 | 544 | 38.9 | (1.10) | 7.8 | (0.63) | ||||||||
| Pacific Islander | 19.1 | (2.37) | 6.9 | (1.69) | 17.0 | (1.89) | 1.2 | ! | (0.53) | 29.9 | (3.18) | 3.1 | ! | (1.29) | 83 | 35 | 42.2 | (4.02) | 12.0 | (2.44) | ||||||
| American Indian/Alaska Native | 15.5 | (1.85) | 6.2 | (1.41) | 21.9 | (2.41) | 1.8 | ! | (0.55) | 32.6 | (2.56) | 7.0 | (1.43) | 160 | 76 | 47.5 | (3.08) | 12.2 | (1.71) | |||||||
| Two or more races | 16.5 | (1.33) | 5.1 | (1.16) | 20.4 | (1.08) | 3.6 | (0.86) | 30.6 | (1.48) | 5.5 | (0.69) | 661 | 283 | 42.8 | (1.39) | 10.4 | (0.89) | ||||||||
| Age | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 15 to 23 | 11.7 | (0.26) | 3.1 | (0.13) | 15.2 | (0.22) | 1.4 | (0.09) | 26.5 | (0.36) | 3.2 | (0.13) | 11,368 | 4,157 | 36.6 | (0.38) | 3.5 | (0.13) | ||||||||
| 24 to 29 | 18.4 | (0.46) | 6.7 | (0.41) | 25.7 | (0.56) | 5.6 | (0.45) | 36.5 | (0.67) | 8.0 | (0.41) | 3,536 | 1,793 | 50.7 | (0.69) | 17.5 | (0.52) | ||||||||
| 30 or older | 22.4 | (0.65) | 8.3 | (0.42) | 30.0 | (0.55) | 9.0 | (0.40) | 40.9 | (0.64) | 13.0 | (0.50) | 4,404 | 2,369 | 53.8 | (0.58) | 24.9 | (0.58) | ||||||||
| Attendance status | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Full-time, full-year2 | 12.7 | (0.32) | 3.8 | (0.20) | 16.7 | (0.33) | 3.2 | (0.29) | 28.8 | (0.41) | 6.5 | (0.20) | 7,239 | 2,789 | 38.5 | (0.44) | 6.0 | (0.28) | ||||||||
| Part-time only, for only part of year | 18.7 | (0.46) | 6.9 | (0.32) | 24.8 | (0.39) | 5.2 | (0.22) | 35.3 | (0.62) | 7.4 | (0.38) | 5,059 | 2,398 | 47.4 | (0.62) | 14.7 | (0.44) | ||||||||
| Mixed attendance status3 | 17.4 | (0.53) | 4.7 | (0.23) | 22.5 | (0.42) | 2.9 | (0.20) | 35.0 | (0.62) | 5.0 | (0.28) | 7,010 | 3,131 | 44.7 | (0.47) | 13.2 | (0.38) | ||||||||
| Undergraduate field of study | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Business/management | 18.7 | (0.58) | 7.0 | (0.43) | 24.2 | (0.55) | 6.4 | (0.45) | 39.3 | (0.75) | 11.4 | (0.45) | 2,973 | 1,525 | 51.3 | (0.72) | 17.0 | (0.67) | ||||||||
| Computer/information science | 19.5 | (0.96) | 7.2 | (0.71) | 26.9 | (1.53) | 8.4 | (1.17) | 40.8 | (1.37) | 9.8 | (0.81) | 852 | 415 | 48.6 | (1.60) | 16.1 | (1.10) | ||||||||
| Education | 17.1 | (0.89) | 4.6 | (0.45) | 22.8 | (0.81) | 3.2 | (0.33) | 33.8 | (1.17) | 6.4 | (0.59) | 841 | 384 | 45.7 | (1.35) | 9.7 | (0.81) | ||||||||
| Engineering | 12.1 | (0.83) | 3.3 | (0.40) | 16.1 | (0.77) | 2.3 | (0.36) | 23.2 | (0.93) | 2.3 | (0.48) | 1,140 | 380 | 33.3 | (0.91) | 5.1 | (0.51) | ||||||||
| Health | 17.4 | (0.48) | 5.6 | (0.30) | 21.9 | (0.60) | 4.2 | (0.33) | 33.3 | (0.67) | 6.7 | (0.43) | 3,438 | 1,547 | 45.0 | (0.72) | 13.3 | (0.53) | ||||||||
| Humanities | 14.0 | (0.53) | 3.9 | (0.26) | 19.7 | (0.53) | 2.6 | (0.22) | 30.8 | (0.65) | 4.1 | (0.33) | 3,083 | 1,274 | 41.3 | (0.66) | 7.8 | (0.40) | ||||||||
| Life sciences | 11.0 | (0.81) | 2.7 | (0.39) | 15.8 | (0.68) | 1.8 | (0.21) | 26.7 | (0.92) | 3.3 | (0.37) | 1,413 | 540 | 38.2 | (0.91) | 5.0 | (0.53) | ||||||||
| Mathematics | 12.8 | (2.48) | 3.8 | ! | (1.42) | 15.1 | (2.51) | ‡ | (†) | 20.4 | (3.02) | 2.2 | ! | (1.05) | 118 | 50 | 42.2 | (3.98) | 9.7 | (2.80) | ||||||
| Physical sciences | 9.8 | (2.02) | 0.9 | ! | (0.41) | 12.8 | (1.56) | 0.3 | ! | (0.16) | 22.1 | (1.93) | 1.2 | ! | (0.46) | 214 | 70 | 32.8 | (2.45) | 2.0 | ! | (0.67) | ||||
| Social/behavioral sciences | 12.5 | (0.63) | 3.4 | (0.33) | 17.1 | (0.68) | 2.3 | (0.31) | 31.8 | (0.93) | 7.0 | (0.48) | 1,323 | 556 | 42.0 | (1.05) | 9.1 | (0.54) | ||||||||
| Vocational/technical | 13.1 | (0.96) | 4.2 | (0.60) | 18.5 | (1.26) | 3.3 | (0.50) | 22.3 | (1.54) | 2.8 | (0.59) | 594 | 188 | 31.7 | (1.67) | 6.0 | (0.75) | ||||||||
| Undeclared/no major | 15.0 | (0.61) | 4.6 | (0.34) | 20.5 | (0.56) | 3.1 | (0.45) | 27.6 | (1.16) | 5.2 | (0.81) | 449 | 148 | 33.0 | (1.71) | 9.5 | (1.12) | ||||||||
| Other | 14.4 | (0.68) | 4.3 | (0.29) | 19.0 | (0.69) | 3.9 | (0.38) | 30.5 | (0.83) | 6.9 | (0.50) | 2,279 | 983 | 43.1 | (0.93) | 11.4 | (0.55) | ||||||||
| Had job during academic year4 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Yes | 16.8 | (0.34) | 5.5 | (0.22) | 22.2 | (0.25) | 4.2 | (0.16) | 36.2 | (0.42) | 7.6 | (0.24) | 11,812 | 5,563 | 47.1 | (0.39) | 12.9 | (0.28) | ||||||||
| No | 11.9 | (0.32) | 3.3 | (0.17) | 15.8 | (0.37) | 2.8 | (0.25) | 24.9 | (0.42) | 4.8 | (0.20) | 7,496 | 2,756 | 36.8 | (0.44) | 7.6 | (0.25) | ||||||||
| Dependency status | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Dependent | 11.1 | (0.24) | 2.9 | (0.13) | 14.4 | (0.24) | 1.0 | (0.08) | 25.5 | (0.36) | 2.7 | (0.12) | 9,772 | 3,428 | 35.1 | (0.37) | 1.9 | (0.10) | ||||||||
| Independent, no dependents, | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| not married5 | 15.6 | (0.50) | 5.1 | (0.37) | 23.6 | (0.56) | 4.8 | (0.30) | 33.6 | (0.64) | 6.7 | (0.33) | 3,978 | 1,840 | 46.2 | (0.69) | 14.9 | (0.45) | ||||||||
| Independent, no dependents, married | 19.6 | (0.78) | 6.9 | (0.52) | 28.6 | (0.96) | 7.2 | (0.84) | 37.4 | (1.22) | 10.1 | (0.72) | 953 | 528 | 55.4 | (1.30) | 20.8 | (1.09) | ||||||||
| Independent, with dependents, | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| not married5 | 20.5 | (0.70) | 6.9 | (0.49) | 25.3 | (0.61) | 7.4 | (0.52) | 38.2 | (0.67) | 10.7 | (0.45) | 2,618 | 1,375 | 52.5 | (0.80) | 22.9 | (0.74) | ||||||||
| Independent, with dependents, married | 25.1 | (0.79) | 9.7 | (0.53) | 32.9 | (0.71) | 9.4 | (0.51) | 44.9 | (0.92) | 14.7 | (0.75) | 1,987 | 1,148 | 57.8 | (0.89) | 27.1 | (0.84) | ||||||||
| Control and level of institution | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Public | 16.2 | (0.35) | 4.7 | (0.18) | 21.5 | (0.25) | 2.7 | (0.11) | 33.2 | (0.39) | 4.0 | (0.16) | 14,491 | 6,362 | 43.9 | (0.37) | 6.3 | (0.21) | ||||||||
| 4-year | 13.5 | (0.54) | 3.8 | (0.23) | 18.4 | (0.41) | 2.2 | (0.19) | 32.7 | (0.51) | 4.3 | (0.24) | 6,786 | 2,956 | 43.6 | (0.50) | 6.1 | (0.40) | ||||||||
| 2-year | 18.2 | (0.43) | 5.4 | (0.25) | 23.9 | (0.33) | 3.1 | (0.16) | 33.9 | (0.54) | 3.8 | (0.24) | 7,640 | 3,400 | 44.5 | (0.58) | 6.6 | (0.25) | ||||||||
| Less-than-2-year | 11.8 | (1.19) | 3.0 | (0.66) | 8.1 | (1.66) | 1.9 | ! | (0.73) | 11.3 | (2.24) | ‡ | (†) | 66 | 6 | 9.4 | (1.89) | ‡ | (†) | |||||||
| Private nonprofit | 12.3 | (0.79) | 4.1 | (0.46) | 14.3 | (0.43) | 2.9 | (0.23) | 21.0 | (0.85) | 4.5 | (0.57) | 2,955 | 1,060 | 35.9 | (0.68) | 17.8 | (0.54) | ||||||||
| 4-year | 12.3 | (0.83) | 4.1 | (0.48) | 14.2 | (0.44) | 2.8 | (0.23) | 21.3 | (0.87) | 4.6 | (0.59) | 2,857 | 1,033 | 36.2 | (0.65) | 17.7 | (0.47) | ||||||||
| 2-year | 11.2 | (2.20) | 3.1 | ! | (1.11) | 19.4 | (2.30) | 5.9 | (1.02) | 12.7 | (3.26) | 0.5 | ! | (0.22) | 95 | 26 | 27.5 | ! | (8.33) | 21.2 | ! | (8.99) | ||||
| Less-than-2-year | 17.2 | (2.63) | 8.1 | (1.35) | 15.6 | ! | (4.69) | 2.7 | (0.66) | 13.6 | ! | (5.68) | # | (†) | 4 | 1 | 28.6 | (1.46) | 17.0 | (2.97) | ||||||
| Private for-profit | 15.3 | (1.08) | 8.6 | (1.06) | 21.7 | (1.18) | 12.8 | (1.24) | 35.5 | (0.83) | 21.6 | (0.82) | 1,861 | 896 | 48.1 | (0.94) | 33.5 | (1.22) | ||||||||
| 4-year | 26.3 | (2.25) | 15.6 | (2.26) | 29.1 | (1.95) | 19.1 | (1.92) | 53.0 | (1.26) | 33.3 | (1.30) | 1,102 | 816 | 74.0 | (1.38) | 55.0 | (1.96) | ||||||||
| 2-year | 12.1 | (1.64) | 6.3 | (1.25) | 17.6 | (1.49) | 8.0 | (1.34) | 8.4 | (1.28) | 2.9 | ! | (1.01) | 420 | 59 | 14.1 | (1.05) | 3.0 | (0.46) | |||||||
| Less-than-2-year | 5.4 | (0.26) | 1.9 | (0.13) | 6.2 | (0.40) | 1.8 | (0.28) | 3.9 | (0.77) | ‡ | (†) | 340 | 21 | 6.2 | (0.70) | 1.1 | (0.22) | ||||||||
| †Not applicable. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| #Rounds to zero. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| !Interpret data with caution. The coefficient of variation (CV) for this estimate is between 30 and 50 percent. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ‡Reporting standards not met. Either there are too few cases for a reliable estimate or the coefficient of variation (CV) is 50 percent or greater. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1 Excludes students not in a degree or certificate program. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2 Includes only students enrolled full time for a full academic year (defined as 9 or more months). | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 3 Includes students enrolled part time for a full academic year as well as students enrolled full time, but for only part of an academic year. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 4 Excludes work study/assistantships. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 5 Includes separated. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| NOTE: In 2011-12 and 2015-16, students were asked whether they took classes that were taught entirely online and, if so, whether their entire degree program was online. In 2003-04 and 2007-08, students were asked about distance education, which was defined in 2007-08 as "primarily delivered using live, interactive audio or videoconferencing, pre-recorded instructional videos, webcasts, CD-ROM, or DVD, or computer-based systems delivered over the Internet." The 2003-04 definition was very similar, with only minor differences in wording. In both years, distance education did not include correspondence courses. Data exclude students attending institutions in Puerto Rico. Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding. Race categories exclude persons of Hispanic ethnicity. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, 2003-04, 2007-08, 2011-12, and 2015-16 National Postsecondary Student Aid Study (NPSAS:04, NPSAS:08, NPSAS:12, and NPSAS:16). (This table was prepared May 2018.) |
