Online education expanding, awaits innovation

The online education sector grew 13 percent last year and had been growing at about 20 percent in previous years. Nearly one in four students take at least some college courses online, up from one in 10 in 2002. Two million students, most older than the traditional 18-22 year-old undergraduates, take all their courses online and two million more take one or more online course. President Barack Obama pledged $500 million for online courses and materials as part of a multi-pronged plan aimed at expanding access to college. Twenty-nine percent of U.S. adults have a college degree, fewer than in many other industrialized nations. Only about 40 percent of Americans who start college graduate. The price of higher education, which rises by an average of 8 percent a year, contributes to the high dropout rate. Proponents of online education cite a recent Department of Education study that concluded course work is better absorbed online than material presented in live classrooms.