New data on 100% online colleges enrollment from Fall 2017 reveals how a small number of institutions served a disproportionately large share of online students. This post explores who enrolled, where they studied, and what these patterns tell us about the future of distance education. All findings are based on publicly available IPEDS data and laid the foundation for the development of the International Distance Education Benchmark Project (IDEBP).
Key Findings on 100% Online Colleges Enrollment Data
- Just 67 institutions enrolled 452,004 students entirely online, yet accounted for 14% of all exclusively online enrollments nationwide.
- Institution types:
- 59% of students were at private for-profit colleges
- 34% at private nonprofit colleges
- 7% at public colleges
- Demographics:
- 88% of students were located out-of-state
- 90% were age 25 or older
- 63% were women
- Graduate student share: 36% of enrollments at 100% online colleges were graduate students—more than double the national average.
Why 100% Online Colleges Matter for Enrollment Strategy
Institutions delivering fully online programs to exclusively online students operate differently. In contrast to national norms, where public institutions dominate distance education, these 100% online colleges flipped the pattern—most students attended private institutions and lived in different states than their institution. These patterns have major implications for recruitment, tuition policy, and retention strategies.
From 2017 Data to Actionable Benchmarking
This enrollment data preview directly informed the creation of IDEBP, a project designed to fill gaps in how we track and compare distance education outcomes. While IPEDS provides aggregate data, IDEBP goes deeper—capturing retention, program-level admissions, and student success metrics specific to 100% online programs.
For more on related insights, visit our full research blog.