DegreeGo Blog

The U.S. Department of Education released a study last Friday that found distance learning–or hybrid learning (also known as blended learning), where online study is combined with campus-based study–is considered a more efficient approach than traditional, behind-the-desk classrooms.

The study claims that blended learning is the best method for approaching college education, and that a purely online program is considered superior to the classic classroom setting. Quoted from the report from Ed.gov:

A systematic search of the research literature from 1996 through July 2008 identified over 1,000 empirical studies of online learning. Of these, 46 met the high bar for quality that was required for the studies to be included in the analysis. The meta analysis showed that “blended” instruction – combining elements of online and face-to-face instruction – had a larger advantage relative to purely face to face instruction or instruction conducted wholly online. The analysis also showed that the instruction conducted wholly on line was more effective in improving student achievement than the purely face to face instruction.

The U.S. Department of Education urges colleges and universities to take their short term stimulus money (before federal funding runs out) and upgrade their technology so that they may offer hybrid and online learning to their student body.

Distance learning and campus-based learning has undergone the compare-and-contrast treatment for years in order to validate that distance learning is an equal alternative to campus-based learning. With these findings, a graduate from an online school now may claim when their employer asks about their distance learning program that the U.S. Department of Education actually acknowledges accredited online learning as superior to traditional campus learning.

The study was conducted by the Center for Technology and Learning, SRI International under contract to the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Policy and Program Studies Service, which commissioned the study.

To read the full report, the Evaluation Reports page for the study.