College Professors Fearful of Online Education Growth
Online education continues its meteoric rise on college campuses, and many faculty members are frightened by its growth and prevalence, notes a recent study by Inside Higher Ed and the Babson Survey Research Group, which has spent more than a decade studying online education.
The report, which surveyed 4,564 faculty members, reveals that 58 percent of respondents “described themselves as filled more with fear than with excitement” over the growth of online courses within higher education.
The fears of college faculty are sustained by the consistent rise in popularity of online education during the past decade. The number of college students enrolled in at least one online course increased for the ninth straight year, with more than 6.1 million students taking an online course during fall 2010—a 10.1 percent increase over fall 2009, according to a separate Babson report.