July 10, 2018

Online Education Market Report

Online education has experienced steady growth over the last two decades. Driven by rapidly evolving technologies, the desire to expand access to higher education, and the need to address falling enrollment numbers in traditional, on-campus courses, more and more Institutes of Higher Education (IHEs) are turning to online education to supplement existing formats for courses, certificates, and degrees. As such, the role of online education will only continue to grow as non-traditional higher education formats become more established.

For IHEs, the strategic objective is no longer simply boosting enrollment statistics though online programs. IHEs considering development of new programs, or evolving existing programs, must do so in the broader context of its organizational identity:

  • Organizational Brand
  • Alignment with principles of existing educational formats
  • Pathways to both traditional and non-traditional certificates and degrees

BCE Consulting analyzed trends and opportunities pertaining to online education, assessed the implications for IHEs, and identified key strategic questions for those institutions considering expanding upon traditional course offerings.

This report focuses on the U.S. market for post-secondary online education programs, with emphasis on higher education. The report is broken into the following sections:

  1. E-learning Market Definition and Segmentation
    1. Online Higher Education/Corporate E-Learning
    2. Synchronous/asynchronous
    3. Micro/macro
    4. Typical programs and formats
  2. Online Higher Education Segmentation
    1. By IHE type
  3. Post-Secondary Online Education Market Size
    1. Forecast 2018 – 2022
    2. By Segment
      1. Corporate E-learning
      2. Online Higher Education
        1. Public
        2. Private non-profit
        3. Private for-profit
      3. Trends:
        1. Market
        2. Technology
        3. Business Model
        4. Partnership
      4. Leading Online Education Platform Providers
        1. Programs
        2. Formats
        3. Partnerships
        4. End Users
      5. Opportunities and Challenges for IHEs
      6. Key Metrics for Program Evaluation
      7. Case Studies:
        1. Massachusetts Institute of Technology
        2. Drexel
        3. University of New England
        4. Middlebury
      8. Implications for IHEs
      9. Strategy Considerations

Please contact BCE with questions at info@bceconsulting.com.

Related team members

Richard Crumb
Managing Partner & Co-Founder Menlo Park
Jaime Batista
Principal Yarmouth
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