Distance Education Enrollment Report 2017

I. Elaine Allen, Ph.D.

Professor of Biostatistics & Epidemiology, UCSF
Co-Director, Babson Survey Research Group

Jeff Seaman, Ph.D.

Co-Director, Babson Survey Research Group

May 2017

Copyright ©2017 by Babson Survey Research Group, e-Literate, and WCET.

Permission is hereby granted for all non-commercial use of these works provided that notification is given to [email protected] and proper
attribution is included.
CONTENTS
Sponsors ......................................................................................................................................................... 1
Acknowledgements ...................................................................................................................................... 2
Foreword ........................................................................................................................................................ 3
Executive Summary ...................................................................................................................................... 4
Definitions ...................................................................................................................................................... 6
Patterns in Overall Enrollments

Overall Higher Education Enrollments are Down ....................................................................... 8

Overall Enrollment Changes Have Been Uneven ....................................................................... 9

Most Distance Enrollments are at Larger Institutions ............................................................. 10

Distance Enrollments

Distance Education Enrollment Growth is Increasing ............................................................. 11

Public Institutions Host Two-thirds of All Distance Learners ............................................... 13

Changes in Distance Enrollments Have Been Uneven ............................................................ 14

Distance Enrollments Are Concentrated in Relatively Few Institutions ............................. 18

Distance Enrollments Are Primarily Undergraduate ............................................................... 20

Students Taking Exclusively Distance Courses ......................................................................... 21

The On-campus Student ................................................................................................................. 23

Understanding the Key Players – The Top 50 Institutions in 2012 ...................................... 25

Understanding the Key Players – The Top 50 Institutions in 2015 ...................................... 27

Understanding the Key Players – Change in the Top 50 Institutions 2012-15 .................. 29

Methodology ................................................................................................................................................ 31
Tables ............................................................................................................................................................ 32
SPONSORS
Pearson
Pearson is the world’s learning company, with expertise in educational courseware and
assessment, and a range of teaching and learning services powered by technology. Our
mission is to help people make progress through access to better learning. We believe that
learning opens up opportunities, creating fulfilling careers and better lives. For more, visit
www.pearson.com

Online Learning Consortium

The Online Learning Consortium (OLC) is the leading professional organization devoted to
advancing the quality of online learning worldwide. The member-sustained organization offers
an extensive set of resources for professional development and institutional advancement of
online learning. Visit onlinelearningconsortium.org for more information.

Tyton Partners
Tyton Partners provides investment banking and strategy consulting services to companies,
foundations, post-secondary institutions, and investors as they navigate the complexities of
the global knowledge sector. For more information about Tyton Partners
visit www.tytonpartners.com or follow us @tytonpartners

Digital Learning Compass:

e-Literate
e-Literate is a weblog about educational technology and related topics that is co-published by
Michael Feldstein and Phil Hill, who are also partners at MindWires, an educational technology
analyst and consulting firm. It covers a broad range of topics related to trends in education—
particularly teaching and learning in higher education—that are impacted by technology.

WCET (WICHE Cooperative for Educational Technologies)

WCET is the leader in the practice, policy, & advocacy of technology-enhanced learning in
higher education. WCET is a, member-driven, non-profit which brings together colleges and
universities, higher education organizations and companies to collectively improve the
quality and reach of e-learning programs. Visit wcet.wiche.edu.

Babson Survey Research Group

The Babson Survey Research Group (BSRG) is a survey design, implementation, and analysis
organization. BSRG has worked on a number of large surveys including the annual survey of
global entrepreneurship (GEM) involving more than 70 countries and 160,000 respondents
worldwide and the thirteen annual surveys of online education covering all colleges and
universities in the US.

1
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Digital Learning Compass: Distance Education Enrollment Report 2017 is the first in a
series of publications from the new research partnership of the Babson Survey
Research Group, e-Literate, and WCET. This study takes a detailed look at the
trends and patterns of distance education enrollments among U.S. degree-granting
higher education institutions. Additional publications in the Digital Learning
Compass series will provide detailed examinations of multiple facets of U.S.
distance education.

The Digital Learning Compass partnership builds on the combined efforts of the
three partner organizations. The Babson Survey Research Group began its studies
in 2004 with support from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. The Foundation
continued that commitment for eight years, supporting an independent study,
offering full privacy for all respondents, and providing free distribution of all report
publications. Most recently, we have partnered with both WCET and e-Literate, as
each of these organizations contributed to the report series.

The current approach expands on our prior partnership. The three organizations
now use a pooled approach to all data and analysis – we all use the same definitions
and criteria, and we all see each other’s work. Each Digital Learning Compass
publication has a single lead organization, with the others available to comment,
offer suggestions, and add their voice.

Digital Learning Compass wants to thank our current partners, the Online Learning
Consortium, Pearson, and Tyton Partners for contributing to our research and
their strong support for our efforts in making this transition.

This report was edited and reviewed by Nate Ralph and we thank him for his
suggestions, corrections, and careful attention to detail.

Finally, we need to thank those in the higher education community who have
continued to provide us with ideas and requests. These reports are the better
because of your input, and we hope you find them useful.

Co-Directors, Babson Survey Research Group, May 2017

2
FOREWORD
This report marks the first in the new series of reports from Digital Learning
Compass on the state of distance education among U.S. institutions from Digital
Learning Compass. Digital Learning Compass is a research partnership composed
of the Babson Survey Research Group, e-Literate, and WCET.

The authors of this particular report previously produced a series of annual

reports, largely supported by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, and known originally
as the Sloan Online Learning Reports. We have now embraced a cooperative
approach, partnering with e-Literate and WCET to create a suite of related
publications. This report may appear similar to our previous efforts, but the
behind-the-scenes work has been quite different. The advantages of this
partnership will become evident as additional Digital Learning Compass works are
released during the coming year.

Over the course of fourteen annual reports, we have seen the pattern of the
number of students taking at least one distance course show a steep rise over time.
More recently, there has been a decline in the percent of students studying at a
distance at for-profit institutions, while the overall numbers of distance student
have continued to grow.

Our previous reports tracked a number of indicators of the role of distance

education for higher education institutions. Some of these changed considerably,
such as the proportion of institutions that considered distance education as critical
for their long-term strategy, while others barely moved (e.g., there was no change
in the lack of faculty acceptance of the value and legitimacy of online education).
Look for further examinations of these and other factors in upcoming Digital
Learning Compass publications.

This report relies on the National Center for Education Statistics’ Integrated
Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) tracking of distance education. This
resource will now provide regular, comprehensive information on the extent and
role of online and distance education among U.S. institutions.

3
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Distance education continued its pattern of growth for yet another year. Fall 2015
saw more than 6 million students taking at least one distance course, having
increased by 3.9% over the previous year. This growth rate was higher than seen in
either of the two previous years.

In higher education, 29.7% of all students are taking at least one distance course.
The total distance enrollments are composed of 14.3% of students (2,902,756)
taking exclusively distance courses and 15.4% (3,119,349) who are taking a
combination of distance and non-distance courses. The vast majority (4,999,112,
or 83.0%) of distance students are studying at the undergraduate level.

Public institutions continue to educate the largest proportion of distance students

(4,080,565, or 67.8%), while private non-profit institutions passed the private for-
profit sector for the first time.

Year-to-year changes in distance enrollments have been very uneven, with continued
steady growth for the public sector, greater levels of growth (albeit on a much
smaller base) for the private non-profit sector, and continuation of the decline in
total enrollments for the private for-profit sector for the third year in a row.

The large-scale trends show the growing importance of the private non-profits as a
key player in providing distance education. The top-level trends, however, do
mask the wide variety of changes happening across all of higher education. Even
though each of the three sectors grew at a different rate, the proportion of
institutions within each sector reporting increases was very similar; two-thirds of
the members of each sector reported more distance enrollments in 2015 than
2014. The large-scale declines in enrollments in the for-profit sector were driven
by substantial decreases among a few of the largest institutions, not by an overall
decline among most for-profit institutions.

Distance education enrollments remain highly concentrated in a relatively small

number of institutions. Almost half of the distance education students are
concentrated in just five percent of the institutions, while the top 47 institutions,
only 1.0% of the total, enroll 23.0% (1,385,307) of all distance students.

4
The total number of students studying on campus (those not taking any distance
course or taking a combination of distance and non-distance courses) dropped by
almost one million (931,317) between 2012 and 2015. The largest declines came at
for-profit institutions, which saw a 31.4% drop, followed by 2-year public
institutions, which saw a 10.4% decrease.

The picture of change in distance enrollments is composed of a relatively few

institutions having large gains or large losses, with most institutions showing
modest changes in either direction. Among those institutions showing large gains,
Southern New Hampshire University (a private non-profit) led the list with an
increase of just under 400% between 2012 and 2015, growing by 45,085 students
(from 11,286 to 56,371). Four other institutions grew their distance enrollments
by more than 10,000 students during this period (Western Governors University,
Brigham Young University-Idaho, University of Central Florida, and Grand Canyon
University). The largest drops were recorded by the University of Phoenix and
Ashford University, two for-profit institutions.

5
DEFINITIONS
This report uses data collected under the U.S. Department of Education’s National
Center for Educational Statistics (NCES) Integrated Postsecondary Education Data
System (IPEDS) Fall Enrollment survey. Beginning with Fall 2012, the data includes
distance education enrollments.

The definitions used for this data collection are:

Item Definition

Distance education Education that uses one or more technologies to deliver

instruction to students who are separated from the
instructor and to support regular and substantive interaction
between the students and the instructor synchronously or
asynchronously.

Technologies used for instruction may include the following:

Internet; one-way and two-way transmissions through open
broadcasts, closed circuit, cable, microwave, broadband lines,
fiber optics, satellite or wireless communication devices;
audio conferencing; and video cassette. DVDs, and CD-
ROMS, if the cassette, DVDs, and CD-ROMS are used in a
course in conjunction with the technologies listed above.

Distance education course A course in which the instructional content is delivered

exclusively via distance education. Requirements for coming
to campus for orientation, testing, or academic support
services do not exclude a course from being classified as
distance education.

Distance education A program for which all the required coursework for
program program completion is able to be completed via distance
education courses.

6
IPEDS collects distance education enrollments in two categories:

• “Exclusively” distance education: All of the student's enrollments for the

term were through distance education courses.

• “Some but not all” distance education: The student enrolled in a mix of
course modalities, including some distance education courses.

This report creates a third category – composed of the sum of “exclusively” and
“some but not all” distance education courses:

• "At least one" distance education course: A new data field created as the
sum of the above two categories. This category matches the historical data
reported prior to the fall of 2012, when the BSRG survey was the de facto
data available.

7
PATTERNS IN OVERALL ENROLLMENTS
Overall Higher Education Enrollments are Down
An understanding of the higher education context is important when examining the
patterns and trends for distance education enrollments. After years of growth in
the numbers of students enrolling in higher education, the industry is now facing a
very different situation: the total number of students enrolled has dropped in each
of the past three years.

There were 20,928,443 total students in fall 2012 at all levels enrolled across all
degree-granting institutions that were active and open to the public. Three years
later in the fall of 2015, this number had decreased by 662,076, or 3.2%, to
20,266,367. Overall enrollments decreased by 248,091 students from 2012 to
2013, by 171,822 from 2013 to 2014, and by a further 242,163 from 2014 to 2015.
This pattern represents a new set of conditions for higher education institutions;
the previous period of 2002 through 2012 averaged a 2.7% compound annual
growth rate for overall enrollments. For the first time in over a decade, higher
education institutions find themselves competing for a smaller pool of students.

TOTAL ENROLLMENT - DEGREE-GRANTING INSTITUTIONS - 2012-2015

22,000,000
20,000,000 1,856,538 1,702,194 1,606,661 1,390,802
18,000,000
4,105,872 4,152,060 4,166,587 4,223,923
16,000,000
14,000,000
12,000,000 Private for-profit

10,000,000 Private non-profit

8,000,000 14,966,033 Public
14,826,098 14,735,282 14,651,642
6,000,000
4,000,000
2,000,000
-
2012 2013 2014 2015

8
Overall Enrollment Changes Have Been Uneven
Not all areas of higher education are feeling the same pinch. Graduate enrollments
actually grew, showing a small 1.0% gain over the three-year period.
Undergraduate enrollments at four-year institutions remained steady. The decline
stems from undergraduate enrollments at two-year institutions, where there was a
nearly 10% drop – down 688,887, or 9.5% between 2012 and 2015.

Percentage Change in Total Enrollment - 2012-15

Percentage
Change 2012 - Change 2012 2012 2015
Level of institution 2015 - 2015 Enrollment Enrollment
Undergraduate: 4 year school 0.0% 4,920 10,763,773 10,758,853
Undergraduate: 2 year school -9.5% 688,887 7,214,275 6,525,388
Graduate 1.1% (31,731) 2,950,395 2,982,126

Based on data from fall 2015, the vast majority of all U.S. higher education students
attend public institutions. Public institutions represented 72.3% of all fall 2015
enrollments. Private non-profits represented 20.8%, while for-profit institutions
enrolled only 6.9% of all students. It’s important to keep the relative size of these
higher education sectors in mind when reviewing the following data on distance
education. Public institutions represent nearly three-quarters of enrollments, so
even a small percentage change in that sector can have a large impact on the totals.

TYPE OF INSTITUTION TOTAL ENROLLMENT - 2015

6.9%

20.8%

Public

Private non-profit

Private for-profit

72.3%

9
Most Distance Enrollments are at Larger Institutions
Larger institutions make up a small portion of all active degree-granting institutions,
but command the lion’s share of student enrollments. Schools with 15,000 or more
total enrollments comprise only 7.1% of all institutions (341 of 4,836), yet they enroll
over nine million students (9,326,861, or 46.0% of all student enrollments).

TOTAL ENROLLMENT BY SIZE OF INSTITUTION - 2015

10,000,000

9,000,000

8,000,000

7,000,000

6,000,000

5,000,000
9,326,861
4,000,000

3,000,000

4,586,969
2,000,000
3,608,498
1,000,000
1,236,336 1,507,703
0
Under 1,500 1,500 - 2,999 3,000 - 7,499 7,500 - 14,999 15,000 +

10
DISTANCE ENROLLMENTS
Distance Education Enrollment Growth is Increasing
Students who are taking at least one distance education course comprise 29.7% of
all higher education enrollments as of fall 2015. This share represents the total of
those who are taking all of their courses at a distance, and those who are taking a
combination of distance and non-distance courses. The proportion of the higher
education student body taking advantage of distance education courses has
increased each of the last three years. It stood at 25.9% in 2012, at 27.1% in 2013,
and at 28.3% in 2014.

To put these figures in context, the proportion of students taking at least one
online course for fall 2002 was under ten percent, at 9.6%1. This fraction has
grown as institutions introduced online programs and existing distance programs
grew their enrollments.

PERCENTAGE OF STUDENTS TAKING DISTANCE COURSES - 2012-2015

35.0%

30.0%

25.0%

15.4%
14.2%
20.0% 14.1%
13.3%
Some Distance

15.0% Exclusive Distance

10.0%

13.1% 13.9% 14.3%

12.6%
5.0%

0.0%
2012 2013 2014 2015

1
Allen, I.E. and Seaman, J, Grade Change: Tracking Online Education in the United States, Babson Survey Research Group, 2014

11
 The number of students taking at least one distance education course increased
3.9% over the previous year, and grew by 11.0% in the three years since 2012. The
3.9% growth rate exceeds that observed between 2012 and 2013 (3.4%) and
between 2013 and 2014 (3.3%). The 6,022,105 total of distance education students
for 2015 includes 4,999,112 who are studying at the undergraduate level, and
1,022,993 who are studying at the graduate level.

STUDENTS TAKING DISTANCE COURSES BY LEVEL - 2012-2015

7,000,000

6,000,000
1,022,993
961,741
905,274
5,000,000 865,912

4,000,000
Graduate
3,000,000 Undergraduate
4,833,989 4,999,112
4,559,494 4,706,277
2,000,000

1,000,000

-
2012 2013 2014 2015

The most recent growth rates are impressive, as they come at a time of decreasing
overall enrollments. That said, they remain well below the percentage growth
rates observed a decade ago when many institutions were first moving to embrace
distance learning. Year to year percentage increases from 2002 to 2012 were
typically in double digits, helped by the large numbers of institutions introducing
new programs, the growing of the overall student population, and the pent-up
demand by students for these types of programs. The smaller base numbers also
played a role, as the most recent increase would have translated to a double-digit
rate of growth if this same number of additional students had been added to the
base of distance students in 2003 or 2004.

12
Public Institutions Host Two-thirds of All Distance Learners
Among all students who were taking at least one distance course in fall 2015,
1,020,622 (17.8%) were at a private non-profit institution, 870,918 (14.5%) were at
a for-profit institution, and the vast majority, 4,080,565 (67.8%), were at a public
institution. Most distance enrollments at public institutions were at four-year
institutions, with 2,254,708 students (55.3%), while 1,825,857 (44.7%) enrolled at
two-year institutions. Thus, while the public perception has often equated distance
education with the for-profit sector of higher education, public institutions actually
command the market.

TYPE OF INSTITUTION - STUDENTS ENROLLED IN DISTANCE

EDUCATION COURSES - 2015

14.5%

17.8%

Public
Private non-profit

67.8% Private for-profit

13
Changes in Distance Enrollments Have Been Uneven
For each one-year period (2012 to 2013, 2013 to 2014, and 2014 to 2015), the
number of distance students at public institutions has shown the greatest numeric
increase. For-profit institutions, by contrast, have seen their total distance
education enrollments decrease in each of these time periods. The net effect has
been an increase every year in the overall number of students taking at least one
distance course.

YEAR-TO-YEAR CHANGE IN DISTANCE ENROLLMENTS - DEGREE-

GRANTING INSTITUTIONS - 2012-2015
240,000
220,000
200,000 207,348
180,000
160,000
161,242
140,000
120,000
100,000 113,154 109,469
98,480 97,976
80,000
60,000
40,000
20,000
0
2012-13 2013-14 -27,281 2014-15
-20,000
-40,000
-60,000 -73,577
-80,000 -90,442

-100,000
-120,000

Public Private non-profit Private for-profit

While the year-to-year increases in the number of distance students for the public
sector have always been the largest among the three sectors, the size of this
advantage has varied from year to year. Public institutions enjoyed their largest
enrollment gain advantage during the most recent period, with enrollment growth
close to 100,000 more than the increase among private non-profits. The growth
among the private non-profit sector has been very steady, with increases hovering
around 100,000 additional students each year. The for-profit sector had a
decrease in distance enrollments for each period, but these are very uneven, with
the largest drop coming in the most recent time period.

14
 Private non-profit institutions have shown the largest percentage change in distance
student enrollments, with double-digit percentage increases for each time period.
The rate of growth among the public sector was lower than for the private non-
profits, but those non-profits began with a lower base. The public growth rate is
still higher than the overall level of growth for all distance education students. The
clear outlier here is the for-profit sector with decreases noted each year, the most
recent being -9.4%.

YEAR-TO-YEAR PERCENTAGE CHANGE IN DISTANCE ENROLLMENTS -

DEGREE-GRANTING INSTITUTIONS - 2012-2015
15.0%
12.9%
11.4% 11.4%

10.0%

5.4%
4.5%
5.0% 3.0%

0.0%
Public Private non-profit Private for-profit

-2.8%
-5.0%

-6.9%
-10.0%
-9.4%

-15.0%
2012-13 2013-14 2014-15

The 2012 to 2015 growth represents 596,699 additional distance students in 2015
over the number in 2012. Comparing 2015 distance enrollments to data from
2012 highlights the great disparities by sector:

• The non-profit sector experienced tremendous growth (40.0%, or 305,925

students).
• The for-profit sector experienced a significant decrease (-18.0%,
or -191,300 students).
• Public institutions continued their history of steady growth (13.4%, or
482,074 students).

The for-profit sector fell to last place among sectors enrolling the most distance
education students. This is a remarkable outcome, considering the for-profit sector led
the private, non-profit sector by more than one-quarter million (297,521) enrollments
in 2012. In 2015, that difference is now 199,704 students in the other direction.

15
 The declines among for-profit institutions have been overwhelmingly at the
undergraduate level; whereas private non-profits have shown substantial growth for
both undergraduate and graduate levels. The number of graduate students taking at
least one distance education course dropped by only a few thousand between 2012
and 2015 at four-year for-profit institutions, while their number at the
undergraduate level showed a decline of 177,735 students. Conversely, distance
enrollments at private non-profit institutions grew by a third in their graduate level
distance enrollments, and even more for their undergraduate distance students.

Undergraduate Distance Enrollments – 2012-2015

Distance - Distance -
Change 2012 to Percent Change undergraduate undergraduate
Sector of institution 2015 2012 to 2015 2012 2015
Public, 4-year or above 425,714 29.8% 1,428,051 1,853,765
Private non-profit, 4-year or above 197,739 41.7% 474,356 672,095
Private for-profit, 4-year or above (177,735) -22.7% 782,697 604,962
Public, 2-year (11,462) -0.6% 1,837,319 1,825,857
Private non-profit, 2-year 13,181 460.2% 2,864 16,045
Private for-profit, 2-year (7,819) -22.9% 34,207 26,388
Total 439,618 9.6% 4,559,494 4,999,112
Graduate Distance Enrollments – 2012-2015

Change 2012 to Percent Change Distance - graduate Distance - graduate

Sector of institution 2015 2012 to 2015 2012 2015
Public, 4-year or above 67,822 20.4% 333,121 400,943
Private non-profit, 4-year or above 95,005 33.0% 287,477 382,482
Private for-profit, 4-year or above (5,746) -2.3% 245,314 239,568
Total 157,081 18.1% 865,912 1,022,993

All of these large-scale changes mask the variety of experiences happening at the
individual institutional level. The rapid growth for the total number of distance
enrollments in the non-profit sector, for example, does not mean that all such
institutions saw growth. Likewise, the decrease in the total number of distance
students among the for-profit sector does not translate to all for-profit institutions
losing distance enrollments.

16
 Roughly two-thirds of institutions in all three sectors reported that their distance
enrollments increased between 2012 and 2015, with the remaining one-third
reporting a decrease. The private non-profit sector did have the greatest
proportion of institutions reporting growth, but at 68.0% this is not hugely different
from the rate for the other two sectors. The private for-profit sector, where the
overall number of distance students dropped every year between 2012 and 2015,
had nearly the same proportion of institutions (63.9%) reporting that their
enrollments grew. The proportion of for-profit institutions growing was actually
ever so slightly higher than that of public institutions. It is clear that the drop in
overall number of for-profit distance enrollments has been driven by large losses at
a small number of the very biggest institutions – not by an overall decrease across
the entire sector.

CHANGE IN DISTANCE ENROLLMENTS BY CONTROL OF INSTITUTION - 2012-2015

CHANGE IN DISTANCE ENROLLMENTS BY CONTROL OF INSTITUTION -

2012-2015
Private for-profit 63.9% 0.5% 35.6%
Private for-
63.9% 0.5% 35.6%
profit

Private non-profit 68.0% 0.7% 31.3%

Private non-
68.0% 0.7% 31.3%
profit

Public 63.7% 0.4% 35.9%

Public 63.7% 0.4% 35.9%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
0% 10% 20%
Grew 30%
Steady 40%
Decrease50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Grew Steady Decrease

17
Distance Enrollments Are Concentrated in Relatively Few Institutions
This report examines data from all 4,836 degree-granting institutions that were
active and open to the public in the fall of 2015. Of these, 3,354 (69.3%)
institutions reported having at least one distance education student. The 6,022,105
distance education students are not equally distributed among all institutions.

Students enrolled in distance education are highly concentrated in a relatively small

number of institutions. Almost half of distance education students are
concentrated in just 5% of institutions: the 235 institutions that represent only
5.0% of the higher education universe command 47.7% (2,873,710) of the student
distance enrollments. The top 47 institutions represent only 1.0% of all
institutions, yet they enroll 23.0% (1,385,307) of all distance enrollments. A mere
9 institutions account for over 10% of all distance education enrollments,
representing only 0.19% of higher education institutions.

CONCENTRATION OF DISTANCE ENROLLMENTS

AMONG THE TOP 5 PERCENT OF INSTITUTIONS
Distance
Enrollments

Institutions

Top 1%
Top 2 to 5%
All others

18
 Concentration of Distance Enrollments - 2015
Percentage of
Number of Percentage of Distance Distance
Institutions Institutions Enrollments Enrollments
9 0.19% 615,045 10.2%
47 1.0% 1,385,307 23.0%
235 5.0% 2,873,710 47.7%
471 10.0% 3,845,675 63.9%
3,354 69.3% 6,022,105 100.0%
4,836 100.0% 6,022,105 100.0%

An important implication of this high degree of distance enrollment concentration

is that decisions of a relatively small number of academic leaders will have a very
large impact on the overall distance education universe. For example, the opinions
of key leaders among the top 471 institutions (the top 10%) on how they market
and evolve their distance programs will impact nearly two-thirds of all distance
students. From the student perspective, the concentration of large numbers of
students in a small number of schools means that most distance students are
enrolled in institutions with large numbers of fellow distance classmates.

19
Distance Enrollments Are Primarily Undergraduate
There are nearly five times as many undergraduate enrollments (4,999,112) as
graduate enrollments (1,022,993) among students taking at least one distance
education course. The proportion of undergraduates (83.0%) among students
taking at last one distance course is only slightly less than the proportion among
the overall higher education population (85.3%). The proportion of undergraduate
distance students is highest at public institutions (90.2%), a figure that exactly
matches the proportion of their overall student body that is made up of
undergraduates. Other types of institutions have a somewhat smaller proportion of
undergraduates among their distance students than their overall student body, with
for-profit institutions having 72.5% undergraduate among distance students, and
80.0% for the full student body. Similarly, private non-profit institutions have 64.3%
undergraduates among their distance students as compared to 69.8% overall.

DISTANCE AND TOTAL ENROLLMENTS PERCENTAGE UNDERGRADUATE -

2015
100.0%

90.0%
90.2% 90.2%
80.0%
80.0%
70.0%
72.5%
69.8%
60.0% 64.3%

50.0%

40.0%

30.0%

20.0%

10.0%

0.0%
Public Private non-profit Private for-profit
Distance Total

20
Students Taking Exclusively Distance Courses
Slightly less than one-half of students taking at least one distance course are taking
only distance courses (48.2%, or 2,902,756 out of 6,022,105). Approximately one-half
of these exclusively distance students are enrolled at public institutions, with the
remaining portion evenly spilt between non-profit and for-profit institutions. While
public institutions host the majority of exclusively distance students, they make up a
much smaller portion of their “at least one” distance enrollments than found at other
institution types. Only 35.7% of all distance students at public institutions are taking
exclusively distance courses. This compares to 64.7% at private non-profit
institutions and 86.5% at private for-profit institutions. Clearly both of the private
sectors have decided on an increased focus on the “fully” distance student.

PERCENTAGE OF DISTANCE STUDENTS TAKING EXCLUSIVELY DISTANCE

COURSES - 2015
100.0%

90.0%

80.0% 86.5%

70.0%

60.0% 64.7%
50.0%

40.0%

30.0% 35.7%

20.0%

10.0%

0.0%
Public Private non-profit Private for-profit

While both the private for-profit and the private non-profit sectors have larger
proportions of their students taking exclusively distance courses, the public sector
has a very large base of distance students, resulting in a population of about as
many exclusively distance students as the other two sectors combined. With over
4 million distance students, even a low percentage yields a sizable total.

21
 NUMBER OF STUDENTS TAKING EXCLUSIVELY DISTANCE COURSES - 2015

1,600,000

1,400,000 1,456,696

1,200,000

1,000,000

800,000
753,346
600,000 692,714

400,000

200,000

0
Public Private non-profit Private for-profit

As has been the case with the other year-to-year comparisons of distance
enrollments, the pattern of change over time of exclusively distance student
enrollments is very different in the for-profit sector than in the other two sectors.
For-profit institutions lost students taking exclusively distance courses for each time
period examined, while public and private non-profit institutions had gains for each of
these periods. Both the public and private non-profit institutions gained over 200,000
such students between 2012 and 2015, while the private for-profits lost 174,553.

NUMBER OF STUDENTS TAKING EXCLUSIVELY DISTANCE COURSES - 2012-2015

1,600,000

1,400,000

1,200,000

1,000,000

800,000

600,000

400,000

200,000

-
Public Private not-for-profit Private for-profit

2012 2013 2014 2015

22
The On-campus Student
The growth in the number of students who are taking only distance courses,
coupled with the overall decline in the overall number of students enrolled, has
resulted in far fewer students on campus in 2015 than in 2012. The total number
of students who are physically on campus (those not taking any distance course or
taking a combination of distance and non-distance courses) dropped by almost one
million students (931,317) over this time period.

NUMBER OF STUDENTS STUDYING ON CAMPUS - 2012-2015

16,000,000

14,000,000

12,000,000

10,000,000

8,000,000

6,000,000

4,000,000

2,000,000

-
Public Private not-for-profit Private for-profit
2012 2013 2014 2015

Change in Number of On Campus Students – 2012 to 2015

Change 2012 to Percent Change
Control of institution 2015 2012 to 2015
Public (539,271) -3.93%
Private non-profit (100,863) -2.78%
Private for-profit (291,183) -31.36%
Total (931,317) -5.09%

Private for-profit institutions began the period with less than a million total
students on campus (928,639 of their total of 1,856,538 students in fall 2012), and
had the largest percentage change, with a decrease of 31.4%. Public institutions
lost far more on-campus students (down 539,271 between 2012 and 2015), but
this is from a much larger base and represents only a 3.9% decrease.

23
The rate of decrease among for-profit institutions was similar for both the four-
year and two-year schools, with both reporting the same 31.4% decrease. The
picture is very different at public institutions, however, where four-year public
institutions remained relatively stable (a small percentage increase) but two-year
public institutions lost 10.4% of their on-campus enrollments.

On Campus Students – 2012 to 2015

Percent
Change 2012 Change 2012
Sector of institution to 2015 to 2015
Public, 4-year or above 101,445 1.3%
Private non-profit, 4-year or above (113,063) -3.1%
Private for-profit, 4-year or above (181,680) -31.4%
Public, 2-year (640,716) -10.4%
Private non-profit, 2-year 12,200 32.2%
Private for-profit, 2-year (109,503) -31.4%
Total (931,317) -5.1%

24
Understanding the Key Players – The Top 50 Institutions in 2012
To get a better understanding of the dynamics of the distance education market we
can examine the top players (by number of distance enrollments) in both 2012 and
2015. As noted above, distance enrollments are highly concentrated in a small
number of institutions, so while an examination of the top 50 institutions in any
given year reflects only one percent of all high education institutions, they do
represent over one-quarter of all distance enrollments.

In 2012 the top 50 institutions by distance enrollments reported a total of

1,453,709 students taking at least one distance course – this represented 26.8% of
all distance enrollments at that time.

These top 50 in 2012 are composed of 27 public institutions (with a total of

513,842 distance enrollments, 10 private non-profit institutions (258,164) and 13
private for-profit institutions (681,703). The University of Phoenix is by far the
largest, with 256,346 distance enrollments. Southern New Hampshire University
sits in 50th position, with 11,286 distance enrollments.

The private for-profit institutions on the list are all very focused on distance
education: their distance enrollments represent 98.4% of their overall enrollments.
The private non-profit institutions are only slightly less focused on distance
education (83.8% of their enrollments are at a distance). Public institutions on the
list are very different, however. Among these 27 institutions, the distance
enrollments represent less than one half (46.2%) of their overall enrollments.

25
Top 50 Institutions by Number of Students Taking at Least One Distance Course - 2012

2012 Total 2012

Enroll- Distance Percent
Rank Institution ST ment Students Distance Control
1 University of Phoenix AZ 256,402 256,346 100.0% Private for-profit
2 Ashford University CA 77,734 76,722 98.7% Private for-profit
3 Liberty University VA 74,372 69,935 94.0% Private non-profit
4 American Public University System WV 58,115 58,115 100.0% Private for-profit
5 Walden University MN 50,209 50,209 100.0% Private for-profit
6 Kaplan University-Davenport Campus IA 48,865 46,374 94.9% Private for-profit
7 Grand Canyon University AZ 48,650 44,006 90.5% Private for-profit
8 Ivy Tech Community College IN 100,272 42,821 42.7% Public
9 University of Maryland-University College MD 42,268 42,165 99.8% Public
10 Western Governors University UT 41,369 41,369 100.0% Private non-profit
11 Excelsior College NY 39,728 39,728 100.0% Private non-profit
12 Arizona State University-Tempe AZ 73,378 36,095 49.2% Public
13 Capella University MN 35,754 35,754 100.0% Private for-profit
14 Everest University-South Orlando FL 33,852 33,239 98.2% Private non-profit
15 Pima Community College AZ 32,988 27,677 83.9% Public
16 Florida International University FL 46,171 25,028 54.2% Public
17 Full Sail University FL 23,497 23,486 100.0% Private for-profit
18 University of Florida FL 49,913 23,180 46.4% Public
19 Colorado Technical University-Online CO 22,608 22,608 100.0% Private for-profit
20 University of Central Florida FL 59,601 21,782 36.5% Public
21 DeVry University-Illinois IL 24,246 21,616 89.2% Private for-profit
22 Thomas Edison State University NJ 20,606 20,456 99.3% Public
23 Columbia Southern University AL 19,933 19,933 100.0% Private for-profit
24 Northern Virginia Community College VA 51,864 19,152 36.9% Public
25 Lone Star College System TX 64,872 18,602 28.7% Public
26 Houston Community College TX 58,476 17,524 30.0% Public
27 Rio Salado College AZ 24,342 16,902 69.4% Public
28 St Petersburg College FL 32,612 16,669 51.1% Public
29 CUNY Borough of Manhattan Community College NY 24,537 16,546 67.4% Public
30 University of South Florida-Main Campus FL 41,116 16,241 39.5% Public
31 Troy University AL 22,554 15,444 68.5% Public
32 Nova Southeastern University FL 26,808 14,983 55.9% Private non-profit
33 American InterContinental University-Online IL 14,170 14,170 100.0% Private for-profit
34 Valencia College FL 42,915 13,985 32.6% Public
35 College of Southern Nevada NV 35,678 13,270 37.2% Public
36 Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus PA 45,783 13,238 28.9% Public
37 Tidewater Community College VA 30,134 13,164 43.7% Public
38 National University CA 17,898 12,775 71.4% Private non-profit
39 Northern Arizona University AZ 25,991 12,544 48.3% Public
40 Cuyahoga Community College District OH 29,701 12,418 41.8% Public
41 South University Savannah Online GA 12,364 12,364 100.0% Private for-profit
42 Tarrant County College District TX 50,439 12,290 24.4% Public
43 Wake Technical Community College NC 20,440 11,853 58.0% Public
44 Portland Community College OR 33,767 11,822 35.0% Public
45 Brigham Young University-Idaho ID 23,261 11,763 50.6% Private non-profit
46 Columbia College MO 17,830 11,718 65.7% Private non-profit
47 Columbus State Community College OH 25,863 11,558 44.7% Public
48 Middle Tennessee State University TN 25,394 11,416 45.0% Public
49 Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University-Worldwide FL 15,562 11,368 73.0% Private non-profit
50 Southern New Hampshire University NH 17,454 11,286 64.7% Private non-profit

26
Understanding the key players – The Top 50 Institutions in 2015
A listing of the top 50 institutions by distance education enrollments in 2015
includes many of the same names as were present in 2013, with considerable
changes. Virtually all who remained on the list find themselves in a different
position than the one they were in 3 years earlier. Of the 50 schools with the
largest distance enrollments in 2012, 17 were replaced by faster growing
institutions in 2015.

Several of the largest enrollment institutions remained at the top of the list. The
University of Phoenix is number 1 on both lists (albeit with considerably lower
enrollments in 2015), and Liberty University has remained near the top, rising from
number 3 in 2012 to number 2 in 2015. Many of the other top institutions in 2015
came from much further down the list. Southern New Hampshire University
moved from number 50 in 2012 to number 4 in 2015, while Western Governors
University moved up from number 10 to number 2.

Other large movers were Brigham Young University-Idaho, up 31 places from 45 to

14, Thomas Edison State University dropping 18 places from 22 to 40, and Northern
Virginia Community College dropping 14 places from 38 to 24. Only 4 institutions in
the top 50 in 2012 were in the same place on the 2015 list. Most institutions that
are present on both lists changed by 3 of more places between 2012 and 2015.

The level of concentration of distance education enrollments was slightly reduced

between 2012 and 2015. In 2012 the top 50 represented 26.8% of all distance
enrollments. In 2015, the total of 1,422,136 distance students accounted for by the
top 50 represented only 23.6%. This still represents a high degree of
concentration, though not as extreme as three years earlier.

The number of public institutions on the top 50 list increased from 27 in 2012 to
30 in 2015, and the proportion of their students studying at a distance remained
the lowest of the three sectors (46.2% in both 2012 and 2015). The number of
private for-profit institutions on the list decreased by one from 13 to 12, and the
proportion of distance students remained very high, dropping from 98.4% in 2012
to 96.1% in 2015. The number of private non-profit institutions on the list
dropped by two, from 10 to 8, while the proportion distance education students
among these 8 institutions was 92.4%, up from the 83.8% figure in 2012.

27
Top 50 Institutions by Number of Students Taking at Least One Distance Course - 2015
2015
2015 Total Distance Percent
Rank Institution ST Enrollment Students Distance Control
1 University of Phoenix-Arizona AZ 165,743 162,003 97.7% Private for-profit
2 Liberty University VA 80,494 72,519 90.1% Private non-profit
3 Western Governors University UT 70,504 70,504 100.0% Private non-profit
4 Southern New Hampshire University NH 61,285 56,371 92.0% Private non-profit
5 Grand Canyon University AZ 69,444 54,543 78.5% Private for-profit
6 Walden University MN 52,799 52,799 100.0% Private for-profit
7 American Public University System WV 52,361 52,361 100.0% Private for-profit
8 University of Maryland-University College MD 50,248 48,677 96.9% Public
9 Kaplan University-Davenport Campus IA 45,355 45,268 99.8% Private for-profit
10 Excelsior College NY 43,123 43,123 100.0% Private non-profit
11 Ashford University CA 42,452 42,046 99.0% Private for-profit
12 Capella University MN 34,365 34,365 100.0% Private for-profit
13 Ivy Tech Community College IN 81,668 34,103 41.8% Public
14 Brigham Young University-Idaho ID 43,803 33,551 76.6% Private non-profit
15 University of Central Florida FL 62,953 33,034 52.5% Public
16 University of Florida FL 50,645 28,838 56.9% Public
17 Florida International University FL 49,782 26,341 52.9% Public
18 Arizona State University-Tempe AZ 51,984 22,809 43.9% Public
19 Colorado Technical University-Online CO 22,757 22,757 100.0% Private for-profit
20 Chamberlain College of Nursing-Illinois IL 23,250 22,114 95.1% Private for-profit
21 Lone Star College System TX 70,724 21,811 30.8% Public
22 University of South Florida-Main Campus FL 42,067 20,993 49.9% Public
23 Columbia Southern University AL 20,823 20,823 100.0% Private for-profit
24 DeVry University-Illinois IL 22,273 20,458 91.9% Private for-profit
25 Full Sail University FL 20,025 19,939 99.6% Private for-profit
26 Houston Community College TX 56,522 19,111 33.8% Public
27 Arizona State University-Skysong AZ 20,273 19,094 94.2% Public
28 The University of Texas at Arlington TX 41,988 17,541 41.8% Public
29 Valencia College FL 44,050 17,216 39.1% Public
30 American College of Financial Services PA 16,764 16,764 100.0% Private non-profit
31 St Petersburg College FL 31,767 16,501 51.9% Public
32 California State University-Northridge CA 41,548 16,130 38.8% Public
33 College of Southern Nevada NV 33,313 14,906 44.7% Public
34 Texas Tech University TX 35,859 14,826 41.3% Public
35 Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus PA 47,307 14,355 30.3% Public
36 University of Cincinnati-Main Campus OH 36,042 13,992 38.8% Public
37 Kent State University at Kent OH 30,067 13,754 45.7% Public
38 Northern Virginia Community College VA 52,078 13,421 25.8% Public
39 Utah State University UT 28,622 13,360 46.7% Public
40 Thomas Edison State University NJ 13,093 13,093 100.0% Public
41 University of Houston TX 42,704 12,961 30.4% Public
42 Florida State University FL 40,830 12,858 31.5% Public
43 Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University FL 13,740 12,857 93.6% Private non-profit
44 University of Iowa IA 30,844 12,784 41.4% Public
45 Wilmington University DE 15,002 12,745 85.0% Private non-profit
46 University of North Texas TX 37,299 12,517 33.6% Public
47 University of Alabama at Birmingham AL 18,333 12,371 67.5% Public
48 North Carolina State University at Raleigh NC 34,015 12,321 36.2% Public
49 Cuyahoga Community College District OH 25,449 12,266 48.2% Public
50 Pennsylvania State University-World Campus PA 12,242 12,242 100.0% Public

28
Understanding the Key Players – Change in the Top 50 Institutions 2012-15
There are a variety of dynamics at play across the distance education universe with
different factors impacting the enrollment changes at different institutions. The
forces at work at the few very large private for-profit institutions are different
from those that are driving most other for-profit institutions. In 2015, after three
years, these top 50 institutions from 2012 reported only 1,338,514 distance
students, a decrease of 115,195 (or 7.9%) from their 2012 distance enrollments.
The pattern of change was extremely varied. Southern New Hampshire University
(a private non-profit) led the list with an increase of just under 400% (growing by
45,085 from 11,286 to 56,371). Four other institutions grew their distance
enrollments by more than 10,000 students during this period: Western Governors
University, Brigham Young University-Idaho, University of Central Florida, and
Grand Canyon University. The University of Maryland-University College and the
University of Florida each added over 5,000 distance students. The University of
South Florida-Main Campus and Valencia College did not reach the 5,000-student
mark but did grow their enrollments by nearly 25%.

On the other end of the scale were the University of Phoenix (down 93,343 from
256,346 to 162,003 for a 36.8% decline) and Ashford University (down 34,676 from
76,722 to 42,046 for a 45.2% decline). These two institutions, with a combined
loss of 129,019 distance students, account for more than the entire drop (115,195)
among these 50 institutions.

It is important to note, however, that these numbers are derived from IPEDS fall
enrollment data, which are not always an accurate reflection of the full nature of
enrollment changes. Thomas Edison State University is one such example. As an
institution without regular “fall” or “spring” terms, the normal IPEDS definitions
are not a good fit. The reported 2012 to 2015 decrease of 7,363 students reflects a
definitional change from an annual number in 2012 to a “fall only” number in 2015.
If the 2015 data had used the same approach as 2012 the decline would have been
a much smaller 1,773 students. Other changes in IPEDS reporting approaches (e.g.,
a multi-campus institution changing which campus they consider “home” for
distance students) can also result in reported counts that do not reflect actual
changes in enrollments.

29
Distance Enrollment Change 2012 to 2015 - Top 50 Distance Enrollments 2012
Change
Institution ST 2012 2015 2012-15 Control
Southern New Hampshire University NH 11,286 56,371 45,085 Private non-profit
Western Governors University UT 41,369 70,504 29,135 Private non-profit
Brigham Young University-Idaho ID 11,763 33,551 21,788 Private non-profit
University of Central Florida FL 21,782 33,034 11,252 Public
Grand Canyon University AZ 44,006 54,543 10,537 Private for-profit
University of Maryland-University College MD 42,165 48,677 6,512 Public
University of Florida FL 23,180 28,838 5,658 Public
University of South Florida-Main Campus FL 16,241 20,993 4,752 Public
Excelsior College NY 39,728 43,123 3,395 Private non-profit
Valencia College FL 13,985 17,216 3,231 Public
Lone Star College System TX 18,602 21,811 3,209 Public
Walden University MN 50,209 52,799 2,590 Private for-profit
Liberty University VA 69,935 72,519 2,584 Private non-profit
College of Southern Nevada NV 13,270 14,906 1,636 Public
Houston Community College TX 17,524 19,111 1,587 Public
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University- FL 11,368 12,857 1,489 Private non-profit
Florida
WorldwideInternational University FL 25,028 26,341 1,313 Public
Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus PA 13,238 14,355 1,117 Public
Columbia Southern University AL 19,933 20,823 890 Private for-profit
Columbus State Community College OH 11,558 11,907 349 Public
Colorado Technical University-Online CO 22,608 22,757 149 Private for-profit
Cuyahoga Community College District OH 12,418 12,266 (152) Public
St Petersburg College FL 16,669 16,501 (168) Public
National University CA 12,775 12,116 (659) Private non-profit
Northern Arizona University AZ 12,544 11,769 (775) Public
Portland Community College OR 11,822 10,849 (973) Public
Kaplan University-Davenport Campus IA 46,374 45,268 (1,106) Private for-profit
DeVry University-Illinois IL 21,616 20,458 (1,158) Private for-profit
Capella University MN 35,754 34,365 (1,389) Private for-profit
South University Savannah Online GA 12,364 10,781 (1,583) Private for-profit
Columbia College MO 11,718 9,870 (1,848) Private non-profit
Tarrant County College District TX 12,290 10,377 (1,913) Public
American InterContinental University-Online IL 14,170 11,560 (2,610) Private for-profit
Nova Southeastern University FL 14,983 12,147 (2,836) Private non-profit
Tidewater Community College VA 13,164 9,989 (3,175) Public
Wake Technical Community College NC 11,853 8,642 (3,211) Public
Full Sail University FL 23,486 19,939 (3,547) Private for-profit
Rio Salado College AZ 16,902 12,092 (4,810) Public
Middle Tennessee State University TN 11,416 6,088 (5,328) Public
Northern Virginia Community College VA 19,152 13,421 (5,731) Public
American Public University System W 58,115 52,361 (5,754) Private for-profit
Troy University AL
V 15,444 8,824 (6,620) Public
Thomas Edison State University NJ 20,456 13,093 (7,363) Public
Ivy Tech Community College IN 42,821 34,103 (8,718) Public
Arizona State University-Tempe AZ 36,095 22,809 (13,286) Public
CUNY Borough of Manhattan Community NY 16,546 1,465 (15,081) Public
Pima Community College
College AZ 27,677 7,425 (20,252) Public
Everest University-South Orlando FL 33,239 8,851 (24,388) Private non-profit
Ashford University CA 76,722 42,046 (34,676) Private for-profit
University of Phoenix AZ 256,346 162,003 (94,343) Private for-profit

30
METHODOLOGY
The sample for this analysis is comprised of all active, degree-granting institutions
of higher education in the United States that are open to the public.

The enrollment data for this report uses information from the U.S. Department of
Education’s National Center for Educational Statistics (NCES) Integrated
Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) database2. IPEDS is a national census
of postsecondary institutions in the U.S., which represents the most comprehensive
data available. Through the IPEDS Data Center, individuals can download data files
for one or more institutions with information from any of the IPEDS components or
download complete data files, produce reports, or create group statistics.

In February 2017, NCES released the fourth year of IPEDS Fall Enrollment data that
includes distance education enrollments. In addition, IPEDS data is occasionally
revised, and the enrollment data for fall 2014 represent one such revised data set.
The enrollment figures in this report use the recently released revised data for fall
2014 and will therefore vary slightly from those previously published, including
those in prior reports from the Digital Learning Compass members. Institutional
descriptive data for the current year also come from the National Center for
Educational Statistics’ IPEDS database.

The focus of this report is the distance education data that has been collected by
IPEDS for the fall 2012, fall 2013, fall 2014 and fall 2015 terms. IPEDS reporting
includes a number of other variables that describe the size, sector, and focus of
each institution of higher education. This data allows us to compare institutions
using a consistent set of definitions provided by the IPEDS survey.

Previous reports from the Babson Survey Research Group that predate IPEDS
distance education enrollment data used a somewhat different definition. The
BSRG measure of “online offerings” was defined as broadly as possible; any offering
of any length to any audience at any time. IPEDS takes a much narrower view. For
example, IPEDS counts undergraduate offerings for “a student enrolled in a 4- or 5-
year bachelor's degree program, an associate's degree program, or a vocational or
technical program below the baccalaureate.”3 Non-credit courses (e.g., courses for
continuing education units that are not credit-bearing, informational courses for
alumni, and non-credit MOOCs) do not qualify for the IPEDS definition.

2
http://nces.ed.gov/ipeds/datacenter/DataFiles.aspx
3
http://nces.ed.gov/ipeds/glossary/?charindex=D

31
TABLES
Overall Higher Education Enrollment

TOTAL ENROLLMENT - DEGREE-GRANTING INSTITUTIONS - 2012-2015

2012 2013 2014 2015
Overall enrollment 20,928,443 20,680,352 20,508,530 20,266,367

Year to year change (248,091) (171,822) (242,163)

Year to year % change -1.2% -0.8% -1.2%

2012 to 2015 change (662,076)

2012 to 2015 % change -3.2%

DISTANCE ENROLLMENT - DEGREE-GRANTING INSTITUTIONS - 2012-2015

2012 2013 2014 2015
At least one distance course 5,425,406 5,611,551 5,795,730 6,022,105

Year to year change 186,145 184,179 226,375

Year to year % change 3.4% 3.3% 3.9%

2012 to 2015 change 596,699

2012 to 2015 % change 11.0%

TOTAL ENROLLMENT - DEGREE-GRANTING INSTITUTIONS - 2012-2015

Control of institution 2012 2013 2014 2015
Public 14,966,033 14,826,098 14,735,282 14,651,642
Private non-profit 4,105,872 4,152,060 4,166,587 4,223,923
Private for-profit 1,856,538 1,702,194 1,606,661 1,390,802
Total 20,928,443 20,680,352 20,508,530 20,266,367

32
PERCENTAGE CHANGE IN TOTAL ENROLLMENT - DEGREE-GRANTING INSTITUTIONS - 2012-
2015
Percentage Change Change 2012 2012 2015
Level of institution 2012 - 2015 - 2015 Enrollment Enrollment
Undergraduate: 4 year school 0.0% 4,920 10,763,773 10,758,853
Undergraduate: 2 year school -9.5% 688,887 7,214,275 6,525,388
Graduate 1.1% -31,731 2,950,395 2,982,126

TOTAL ENROLLMENT BY CONTROL OF INSTITUTION - 2015

Control of institution 2015
Public 14,651,642
Private non-profit 4,223,923
Private for-profit 1,390,802
Total 20,266,367

TOTAL ENROLLMENT BY SIZE OF INSTITUTION - 2015

Overall enrollment 2015 Total - All students 2015
Under 1,500 1,236,336
1,500 - 2,999 1,507,703
3,000 - 7,499 3,608,498
7,500 - 14,999 4,586,969
15,000 + 9,326,861
Total 20,266,367

33
Distance Enrollments

PERCENTAGE OF STUDENTS TAKING DISTANCE COURSES - 2012-2015

2012 2013 2014 2015
Exclusive Distance 12.6% 13.1% 13.9% 14.3%
Some Distance 13.3% 14.1% 14.2% 15.4%

STUDENTS TAKING DISTANCE COURSES BY LEVEL - 2012-2015

Control of institution 2012 2013 2014 2015
Undergraduate 4,559,494 4,706,277 4,833,989 4,999,112
Graduate 865,912 905,274 961,741 1,022,993
Total 5,425,406 5,611,551 5,795,730 6,022,105

TYPE OF INSTITUTION - STUDENTS ENROLLED IN DISTANCE EDUCATION COURSES - 2015

Control of institution Distance All 2015
Public 4080565
Private non-profit 1070622
Private for-profit 870918

YEAR-TO-YEAR CHANGE IN DISTANCE ENROLLMENTS - DEGREE-GRANTING

INSTITUTIONS - 2012-2015
2012-13 2013-14 2014-15
Public 161242 113154 207348
Private non-profit 98480 97976 109469
Private for-profit -73577 -27281 -90442

34
YEAR-TO-YEAR PERCENTAGE CHANGE IN DISTANCE ENROLLMENTS - DEGREE-GRANTING
INSTITUTIONS - 2012-2015
2012-13 2013-14 2014-15
Public 4.5% 3.0% 5.4%
Private non-profit 12.9% 11.4% 11.4%
Private for-profit -6.9% -2.8% -9.4%

DISTANCE AND TOTAL ENROLLMENTS PERCENTAGE UNDERGRADUATE - 2015

Control of institution Distance Total
Public 90.2% 90.2%
Private non-profit 64.3% 69.8%
Private for-profit 72.5% 80.0%
Total 83.0% 85.3%

PERCENTAGE OF DISTANCE STUDENTS TAKING EXCLUSIVELY DISTANCE COURSES - 2015

Control of institution Distance - total - exclusively distance 2015
Public 35.7%
Private non-profit 64.7%
Private for-profit 86.5%

NUMBER OF STUDENTS TAKING EXCLUSIVELY DISTANCE COURSES - 2015

Control of institution Distance - total - exclusively distance 2015
Public 1,456,696
Private non-profit 692,714
Private for-profit 753,346

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NUMBER OF STUDENTS TAKING EXCLUSIVELY DISTANCE COURSES - 2012-2015
Control of institution 2012 2013 2014 2015
Public 1,231,816 1,282,687 1,378,395 1,456,696
Private not-for-profit 473,800 556,434 632,660 692,714
Private for-profit 927,899 862,563 844,143 753,346
Total 2,633,515 2,701,684 2,855,198 2,902,756

NUMBER OF STUDENTS STUDYING ON CAMPUS - 2012-2015

Control of institution 2012 2013 2014 2015
Public 13,734,217 13,543,411 13,356,887 13,194,946
Private not-for-profit 3,632,072 3,595,626 3,533,927 3,531,209
Private for-profit 928,639 839,631 762,518 637,456
Total 18,294,928 17,978,668 17,653,332 17,363,611

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