Continuing Education’s Abiding Challenge and the Need to Break the Electronic Circuit

Abstract

It has been clear for at least ten years that a revolution in distance education has decidedly taken place. We are now entering a period of slower growth and refinement. Sloan Commission data for 2006 shows the beginning of this trend, recording a slight decline over the prior year. And even though the rate of growth vastly exceeds that of higher education overall, with the almost universal participation of US public higher education institutions already committed to online learning, the prospects for dramatic expansion are limited. Of course there will be incremental growth as divisions of university continuing education discover new niche areas for degrees, but in no way will these opportunities compare with those present in the start-up phase of only several years ago.