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First Correspondent Courses
First correspondent courses by mail are made available.
[Kentor, H. (2015). Distance education and the evolution of online learning in the United States. Curriculum and Teaching Dialogue, 17, pp. 21-34.] -
Educational Programming via Radio
University of Wisconsin - begins amateur radio station dedicated to educational broadcasting.
[Kentor, H. (2015). Distance education and the evolution of online learning in the United States. Curriculum and Teaching Dialogue, 17, pp. 21-34.] -
Educational Television
University of Iowa begins to experiment with television for educational purposes.
[Kentor, H. (2015). Distance education and the evolution of online learning in the United States. Curriculum and Teaching Dialogue, 17, pp. 21-34.] -
First Telecourse Broadcast
FCC authorizes broadcast of telecourses.
[Kentor, H. (2015). Distance education and the evolution of online learning in the United States. Curriculum and Teaching Dialogue, 17, pp. 21-34.] -
PBS Established
The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) begins operations.
[Kentor, H. (2015). Distance education and the evolution of online learning in the United States. Curriculum and Teaching Dialogue, 17, pp. 21-34.] -
WBSI Uses Computer Conferencing
Western Behavioral Sciences Institute in La Jolla, California opened its School of Management and Strategic Studies using computer conferencing.
[Rowan, Roy (1983). Executive Ed. at Computer U. Fortune, March 7, 1983; Feenberg, Andrew (1993). "Building a Global Network: The WBSI Experience," in L. Harasim, ed., Global Networks: Computerizing the International Community, MIT Press, pp. 185-197.] -
Educational Programming on the Internet
University of Phoenix begins offering education programs through the internet.
[Miller, G., Benke, M., Chaloux, B., Ragan, L.C., Schroeder, R., Smutz, W., & Swan, K. (2020). Leading the e-learning transformation of higher education. Sterling, Virginia: Stylus. ISBN 978-1-57922-796-8.] -
First Degree via Distance Education
George Washington University offered a Master’s degree. Classes were broadcast via satellite and students communicated through a Bulletin Board system.
[Miller, G., Benke, M., Chaloux, B., Ragan, L.C., Schroeder, R., Smutz, W., & Swan, K. (2020). Leading the e-learning transformation of higher education. Sterling, Virginia: Stylus. ISBN 978-1-57922-796-8.] -
First Web Browser
First Internet web browser, MOSAIC, created at the University of Illinois.
[Miller, G., Benke, M., Chaloux, B., Ragan, L.C., Schroeder, R., Smutz, W., & Swan, K. (2020). Leading the e-learning transformation of higher education. Sterling, Virginia: Stylus. ISBN 978-1-57922-796-8.] -
First Online Graduate Degree
George Washington University’s distance education program first to offer graduate degree program completely online.
[Miller, G., Benke, M., Chaloux, B., Ragan, L.C., Schroeder, R., Smutz, W., & Swan, K. (2020). Leading the e-learning transformation of higher education. Sterling, Virginia: Stylus. ISBN 978-1-57922-796-8.] -
First Online Programs
First fully online programs were founded: New York University Online, Western Governor's University, The California Virtual University, and Trident University International.
[Miller, G., Benke, M., Chaloux, B., Ragan, L.C., Schroeder, R., Smutz, W., & Swan, K. (2020). Leading the e-learning transformation of higher education. Sterling, Virginia: Stylus. ISBN 978-1-57922-796-8.] -
Distance Offerings Increase
Many colleges and universities offer at least some courses online. -
Online Enrollment Begins to Take Hold
Online enrollment grows to eight percent. [That is, 8% of all postsecondary students are enrolled in online courses.]
[Radford, A.W. (2011). "Learning at a Distance: Undergraduate Enrollment in Distance Education Courses and Degree Programs". nces.ed.gov.] -
Online Enrollment Grows
Student enrollment in online courses increases to twenty percent nationally.
[Radford, A.W. (2011). "Learning at a Distance: Undergraduate Enrollment in Distance Education Courses and Degree Programs". nces.ed.gov.] -
Online College Enrollment Increases to 30%
Some thirty percent of postsecondary students are enrolled in at least some online courses.
[National Center for Education Statistics (2016). "Digest of education statistics, 2014". nces.ed.gov. U.S. Department of Education.] -
The Global Pandemic
Global pandemic forces institutions of higher learning into digital survival mode.
[Lederman, D. (2020, July 29). Virtual learning will be better this fall. Right? Inside Higher Ed. https://www.insidehighered.com/digital-learning/article/2020/07/29/will-virtual-learning-be-better-fall-will-it-be-better-enough] -
Campuses Go Virtual
College and university instructors develop emergency virtual classroom protocols as students engage in synchronous/asynchronous classes from home.
[Izumi, T., Sukhwani, V., Surjan, A., & Shaw, R. (2021), Managing and responding to pandemics in higher educational institutions: Initial learning from COVID-19. International Journal of Disaster Resilience in the Built Environment, 12(1), 51-66. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJDRBE-06-2020-0054] -
Online Enrollment Sees Astronomical Growth
National Center for Educational Statistics estimated that, in 2022, more than 53% of the 24.9 million college students were enrolled in online education with 26% of those enrolled in online programs exclusively.
[Homan, J. (2024, February 27). The online college students report 2024. Education Dynamics. https://www.educationdynamics.com/the-online-college-students-report-2024/]