Kentucky-based school experiences increase in online enrollment

Kentucky-based school experiences increase in online enrollment

Across the country, universities and community colleges are integrating online learning into their coursework. Many of these schools are experiencing success with their existing online programs and are expanding as a result.

For example, Western Kentucky University (WKU) has seen a 162 percent increase in enrollment in classes that offer non-campus-based credit hours in the last five years, Bowling Green Daily News reports. In comparison, from 2002 to 2009 there was a total increase of 7.4 percent in credit-hour production at all WKU campuses combined, according to the WKU office of academic affairs.

"We are certainly living in a changing environment, particularly regarding technology, and more and more students are taking advantage of that," Dale Brown, WKU interim associate vice president for enrollment management, told the news source. "I see individuals taking advantage of opportunities that were not available 10 years ago."

More than 4.6 million students nationwide were enrolled in online courses during the 2008 academic year, according to a recent report by the Babson Survey Research Group and the Sloan Consortium.

By Mark Danson