Shreveporttimes.com December 9, 2010 Interest in Online Courses Growing More students across the country are opting to take more online classes, according to a report from an organization that wants to make online courses in higher education commonplace. Local students reflect that trend with more students taking online courses this semester than before. Bossier Bosier Parish Community College has led the area in online offerings, which started in 1996. Now, in fall 2010, more than 4,375 students, up from 3,750 this time last year, are taking an online course or a hybrid course (a class mixing traditional with online). Southern University-Shreveport, which is relatively new to offering online learning by comparison, has seen growth as well. That means not only is online learning here to stay, but it's the next thing in higher education, said Kathleen Gay, BPCC's dean of the educational technology division. "In the future, we'll see more mobility," Gay said. "We're going to see students take courses on their iPhone or iPad. I think Google will come up with a learning management system, and (there'll be) more 2.0 learning using avatars. In five years, it's going to explode." In the recent survey, The Sloan Consortium, an organization dedicated to integrating online education into the mainstream of higher education, found that 5.6 million students were enrolled in at least one online course in fall 2009. The eighth annual survey included 2,500 college and universities and is sponsored by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. The survey also found: -- The 21 percent growth rate for online enrollments exceeds the two percent growth in the overall higher education student enrollment. -- Nearly one-half of the schools say the economy has increased demand for face-to-face courses and programs compared to three-quarters of schools citing the same reason for the increased demand for online courses and programs. Gay said that's one reason BPCC's online numbers have increased. Online courses also appeal to a wide variety of students, from the traditional to the non-traditional. SANDRA M. PHOENIX Program Director HBCU Library Alliance sphoenix@hbculibraries.org<mailto:sphoenix@hbculibraries.org> www.hbculibraries.org<http://www.hbculibraries.org/> 404.592.4820 1438 West Peachtree Street NW Suite 200 Atlanta, GA 30309 Toll Free: 1.800.999.8558 (Lyrasis) Fax: 404.892.7879 www.lyrasis.org<http://www.lyrasis.org/> Honor the ancestors, honor the children.