Online Learning’s Skills-Based Future

Online programs focused on skills-based learning are on the rise, with schools investing in their online offerings and students pursuing microcredentials and certificates to boost career prospects.

According to our 2024 Online Education Trends Report, nearly 9 in 10 surveyed students (88%) say that skills-based training and education are important to their career development. Almost half (47%) say it is extremely important.

Students also appear eager to grow their skills: The majority of prospective online students (58%) say they have considered pursuing microcredentials or certificates. Only 16% say they have not pursued or considered them.

There is room for growth, however, with only 38% of all students saying they are familiar with microcredentials. Even while most students may not have a strong understanding of what microcredentials are, 65% still find these types of programs to be important in today’s job market.

Over half (51%) of school administrators say that microcredentials help students land jobs after graduation. Only 6% disagree and 35% are neutral.

While colleges have cut budgets overall, this does not appear to be the case for their online programs.

Just 2% of school administrators say their schools plan to decrease their online program budgets for the following school year. This is in contrast to the 58% who say there will be no change and another 40% who say their budgets will increase.

This has also been the case for the past six years with 42% of schools on average planning to increase their online program budget.

Administrators also seem to find microcredential programs to be comparable to traditional degree programs in quality. Just 19% say they are concerned about the quality of microcredential programs compared to traditional degree programs, while 44% disagree about being concerned.

Administrators appear to acknowledge that microcredentials will likely play a central role in the future of higher education. At the same time, they do not necessarily believe they can replace the need for traditional degrees: Almost half of school administrators (44%) disagree that the demand for microcredentials is outpacing the demand for traditional degree categories. Just one-fourth (25%) agree, and 29% remain neutral.

The vast majority of administrators surveyed (71%) say that their institutions currently offer microcredential programs, with 61% responding that their schools are increasing investment in these programs. Nearly 7 in 10 (67%) say their schools are actively designing them.

Convenience and flexibility are the top reasons students say they choose online over on-campus learning. Although lower than in previous years, 39% of respondents say that existing commitments like work and family don’t allow for in-person courses.

Overall, students appear very satisfied with their online learning experience. Nearly all respondents (97%) say they would recommend online education to others in 2024.

This figure has steadily increased over the past five years, with 89% of students recommending online programs in 2019. As expected, there was a sharp increase in 2020 likely due to the COVID-19 pandemic when in-person learning was no longer an option.

A high percentage of students (81%) also believe online education is better than or equal to on-campus learning, further showing that the perceived gap between the two is shrinking. In fact, 93% of students say that their online degree has or will have a positive return on investment.

Top-ranked schools are no exception to the online learning trend.

New York University (NYU) is investing in its online options, offering online master’s degrees in media production and journalism.^{Note Reference [1]}

Online education is a way to take what is marvelous about NYU and expand it, enrolling new people in new places that we couldn’t welcome into the NYU family any other way, university president Andrew Hamilton says on the online offerings homepage.^{Note Reference [1]}

Harvard University offers certificates of specialization, such as healthcare leadership, through its online learning platform, Harvard Online.^{Note Reference [2]}

For more key insights about today’s online learners, see BestColleges’ full 2024 Online Education Trends Report.

BestColleges’ 10th annual Online Education Trends Report is part of a long-term initiative to track trends in online learning. The report represents our eighth year of original data collection through two online surveys. Participants included 1,001 online students and 184 college and university administrators.