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Clemson University offers its new online master of science in computer science degree in collaboration with Coursera, one of the most innovative firms in online education that we’ll talk more about below. Classes start in August 2024 and the university estimates most working adult students will complete the degree in 20 to 36 months.

MOOCs—massive open online courses—have lowered the barrier to entry for students wishing to learn a new trade. Advances in technology have made distance learning more accessible and more engaging and traditional academic institutions like colleges and universities have fully embraced online education.

Because of all the controversy surrounding the for-profit University of Phoenix’s planned acquisition by the University of Idaho, it’s reasonable to ask questions about the relative value of for-profit higher education in America. Do the alumni of such schools value their educational experiences as much as the alumni of nonprofit colleges and universities?

The cannabis industry does over $52 billion in annual sales and job availability went up by 76 percent across the sector last year. But with so few academic programs on the subject, where are the leaders in medical cannabis going to come from?

Competency-based education (CBE) acknowledges the fact that not all students in the same course will learn at the same pace or in the same way. Instead of relying on a rigidly structured timetable, CBE allows students to advance to different parts of a course and even to another level based on their mastery — or competence — in a certain area.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, over half-a-million students in the US have been affected by countless university closures. Online education has come a long way in the last decade—and it’s about to be catapulted into the global mainstream.

Parents working to provide their children with the best education and opportunities available is already challenging when juggling the responsibilities of work and day-to-day life. But imagine having the added pressure of not understanding the language used or lacking internet access to navigate existing education systems.

Rapidly transitioning from traditional classroom-based teaching and learning to online learning mid-semester can be a difficult and stressful process. Discover some best practices and resources to help you get started, and to smooth the transition to online.

Demand for online education continues to surge. And according to a new study, online learning may even be poised to eclipse traditional college and university classrooms. The Changing Landscape of Online Education (CHLOE) report released in August 2023 shows how student demand for online learning drives colleges to adapt. In its eighth annual edition since 2015, this survey polled more than 300 chief online officers (COOs) at four- and two-year institutions across the United States who manage virtual instruction at their schools.

Suddenly, the news is full of interesting online education research. The following rundown summarizes three particularly significant reports released during mid-2022.

COVID-19 continues to emerge in pockets across the country as the 2019-2020 school year comes to a close, and students of all ages find themselves thrust into online learning. As such, in-person coursework for college students has been deemphasized for the indefinite future. Enter outlier.org, a startup delivering courses to help students meet general education requirements online.

As vaccines roll out globally, higher education institutions are making plans to get students back into study abroad programs. Some students daydream about rattling off phrases flawlessly in another language or doing research at a field station deep in the middle of the rainforest. But even before getting on the plane, there are a lot of things students need to know to make the most of an educational experience in another country.

Pandemic learning loss among K-12 students turned into a hot political issue before the 2022 election, driven by shocking evidence of suffering by students. Three studies, in particular, contributed to that evidence.

The technology sector is known for its high-income potential, with numerous individuals earning six-figure salaries. It’s becoming increasingly evident that practical technical skills and demonstrated experience are often more valuable than formal education degrees when pursuing or advancing a career in this field.

In May 2024, OpenAI announced ChatGPT Edu, a new ChatGPT version designed for colleges and universities that would like to provide artificial intelligence capabilities for their students, faculty, staff, and researchers. Following the company’s early 2024 deal with Arizona State University, the new platform amounts to another one of the company’s first forays into the higher education marketplace.

A recent feature published by the Los Angeles Times demonstrates how the demand for online courses is transforming significant portions of the higher education landscape across the United States: “The demand for virtual classes represents a dramatic shift in how instruction is delivered in one of the nation’s largest systems of public higher education,” writes

Imagine that the entire process of enrolling in a university’s degree program only required 30 minutes, from start to finish—from a student’s typing their name into an online form to downloading their first lesson’s coursework.

Many traditional universities have created online versions of their STEM programs, enabling interested students to learn at their own speed, with some flexibility of schedule. View a list of STEM careers with positive employment outlooks and examples of online programs training professionals to meet the forecast demand.

A robust federal privacy legislation should be a floor, not a ceiling. The U.S. is one of the only democracies—and the only member of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD)—without a federal data protection agency.

The American public now expresses substantially more confidence in online college degrees than in 2017, according to a new poll released in November 2023. More than four in five adults—84 percent—reported they now believe employers are more accepting of online degrees than during the pre-2020 era. Compared with six years ago, almost three-quarters of the sample said online education provides a “more reputable” means of obtaining a degree.

In August 2021, the Taliban took the capital of Afghanistan, and with it many opportunities for girls’ and women’s education. Over three months later, Afghan girls are still stuck at home, waiting for the Taliban plan to re-enter schools, while boys have since been allowed to return to their classes.

Companies are rethinking their approaches to apprenticeships for tech fields. Find out how some of these innovative educational models are being built.

Learn about how coding boot camps operate, what they teach, and why the demand for software developers will continue to grow.

The rapid evolution of work due to technology, innovation, and globalization has had profound effects on the labor market, but educational systems have not been able to keep up. As a result, many young professionals feel ill-equipped to enter the workforce.

By 2026, the Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts that there will be two million vacant American tech positions. Given the rapid advancement of technology in the workplace, jobs will require an even more diverse mix of traditional skills and computer proficiency.