ERIC Number: ED677286
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 2025-Nov-13
Pages: 34
Abstractor: ERIC
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: 0000-00-00
Exploring Online Enrollment Trends in the Era of State Authorization Reciprocity
Ini-Abasi Umosen
ITHAKA S+R
Online education has grown rapidly over the past decade. By 2020, one in four undergraduates were enrolled in exclusively online programs, double the number enrolled in 2012. The policy landscape concerning online education changed markedly with the establishment of the State Authorization Reciprocity Agreement (SARA) in 2014. This regulatory change made it easier for institutions to offer online programs to students who reside out of state while completing the program. Using nationally representative survey data from the National Postsecondary Student Aid Study (NPSAS), this report documents who is enrolling in different program modalities, and how those enrollment patterns shifted both before and after SARA. The author focuses on online programs that enroll students residing out-of-state, some of which began enrolling across state lines prior to SARA and others after its implementation.
Descriptors: Electronic Learning, Online Courses, Enrollment Trends, Interstate Programs, State Policy, Distance Education, State Regulation, Undergraduate Students, Out of State Students, In State Students, Comparative Analysis, Gender Differences, Racial Differences, Federal Aid, Grants, Rural Urban Differences, Majors (Students)
ITHAKA S+R. Available from: ITHAKA. One Liberty Plaza, 165 Broadway 5th Floor, New York, NY 10006. Tel: 212-500-2355; e-mail: ithakasr@ithaka.org; Web site: https://sr.ithaka.org
Publication Type: Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: Ithaka S+R
Identifiers - Laws, Policies, & Programs: Pell Grant Program
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A

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