The benchmarking study revealed several critical findings that highlight both the growth and challenges facing online education in higher education:
• Financial Resources and Staffing – On average, online units report a budget of $8.6 million, with a median budget of $3.5 million. These units typically employ 32 full-time staff on average, with a median of 15, while also relying on external contracted services, particularly for marketing (71%) and recruiting (61%).
• Program Portfolios and Focus on Graduate Offerings – The majority of online education units support graduate-level programs, including graduate degrees (84%) and graduate credit-bearing certificates (80%). However, there is also a notable presence of microcredentials (71%) and undergraduate offerings (68%) in many online unit portfolios, reflecting the diversified growth in online education.
