Download Report: The Promises and Limits of Online Higher Education

This report finds that, to varying degrees, online education can benefit some student populations. However, important caveats and trade-offs remain. Existing experimental and quasi-experimental stud- ies on semester-length college courses typically find negative effects on student course persistence and performance. Research suggests that students in online courses are between 3 percent and 15 per- cent more likely to withdraw, compared to similar students in face-to-face classes at community col- leges. This report examines distance learning’s effect on access, cost, and quality and concludes with a discussion about how strategies and policies can improve the effectiveness of online learning in higher education.

American Enterprise Institute