Years after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and institutions’ sudden pivot to remote instruction, online learning remains entrenched in the higher education landscape.
What was once considered a temporary lifeline is now a fundamental part of higher education. A survey of chief online learning officers (COLOs) found that about three-quarters of COLOs say that campus-based students are asking for more online options, with 60 percent observing that online classes often fill up first as more students opt for the flexibility and benefits of remote options. Almost half reported that online program enrollment is growing faster than on-campus enrollment.
Despite rising demand, online programs are often treated as a peripheral option rather than a core component of an institution’s academic offerings. University leaders now face pressure to weave online education more deeply into their strategic plans rather than relegating it to the sidelines. Simply providing access to online education is not enough.
By recognizing online education as the vital learning modality that many of their students already perceive it to be, institutions can broaden their impact, increase accessibility and stay competitive in a rapidly changing academic landscape.
To develop marketable, sustainable programs with clear labor market returns, institutions must treat online learning as a core element of their broader strategic plan. Effectively integrating online learning demands strong and thoughtful leadership, clear planning and a firm commitment to overcoming internal resistance. It will require crafting a strategy centered on realistic goals and it will necessitate committing real and significant university resources—financial and otherwise—focused on student and faculty support.
Too often, though, traditional institutions view online learning as a lower-cost alternative they can do on the cheap. Not so. Expanding access to face-to-face courses by creating online versions of those courses is neither quick nor easy. Creating high-quality online courses involves leveraging subject matter expertise, developing policies and infrastructure and investing in resources, support and—of course—technology for students and faculty.
While thoroughly integrating online learning in this fashion is a lot of work, the advantages far outweigh the challenges. More institutions are beginning to understand this important point.
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Consider the case of Oglala Lakota College (OLC). As one of 35 accredited tribal colleges and universities in the country, OLC serves the Oglala Lakota Nation across South Dakota. The college was an early pioneer of remote education, using video conference technology as early as 1996. Since the pandemic, it has doubled down on these longstanding efforts by moving online learning to the core of its institutional strategy.
Faculty development has been a key component of that work, with more than half of the college’s full-time staff voluntarily completing workshops aimed at enhancing online course design. The result has been a measurable improvement in student engagement and satisfaction, evidenced by recent course evaluations. These evaluations have shown impressive gains in several key areas, including the motivational quality of learning activities, the ease of course navigation and the level of interaction among students.
This approach isn’t limited to smaller institutions like OLC, however. It’s also viable at large university systems. The University of North Carolina system has incorporated online education as part of a statewide higher education strategy. More than 3,000 faculty across all 17 institutions in the UNC system have utilized a common set of instructional design resources to improve accessibility, assessment, enhanced engagement and student support in online programs.
As colleges and universities continue to navigate the post-pandemic world, they will need to recognize that the growing importance of online learning is not merely an accident of history or a one-time “Black Swan” event. Its value extends beyond expanding access or acting as an emergency response tool; it’s crucial for enhancing educational outcomes.
Online education and in-person learning defy simple comparison. Each modality comes with its own benefits and challenges, and institutions are increasingly blending the two to meet the needs and learning goals of students in a fast-changing workforce and society. Done right, the expansion of online education can help to put affordable, attainable and meaningful education options within reach for students least well-served by our system in the past.
This value proposition only holds true with a steadfast commitment to quality and outcomes. By integrating online learning as a fundamental element of their institutional strategy, colleges and universities can boost their ability to help learners succeed in a dynamic and evolving educational landscape.
