ROLL TIDE: Over 6.7 million students took at least one online course during the fall 2011 term (an increase of 570,000 over the same term during previous year), according to the latest survey from the Babson Survey Research Group and the College Board. Based on responses from over 2,800 educators, the survey finds that even though the proportion of students taking online courses has reached an all-time high of 32%, only 30% of chief academic officers--"lower than the rate recorded in 2004"--say their faculty accept its value and legitimacy. This attitude perhaps explains the findings that over 88% of chief academic officers are still undecided or have no plans to implement them in the future. (Here's the short infographic version.) It's a somewhat sobering look into the ivory tower's insights on the MOOC craze that's infected the nation. And to dampen the spirit just a tad more, there's also this report that only one person outside of the UC system enrolled in its antiquated, pre-MOOC online learning platform.
