A Better Deal? Comparing Alumni’s Experiences with Online Degrees at For-Profit and Nonprofit Colleges
Survey
Mar. 2023
Sample Size:
386
Demographics:
alumni
Topics:
Learning
Value
Top Findings:
- More nonprofit than for-profit online alumni are satisfied with their colleges. Most online alumni of nonprofits were very satisfied (70 percent) with their college, while just 48 percent of for-profit online alumni were very satisfied. When asked about specific attributes of their college—such as providing effective guidance, making tutors available, and having good instructors—more for-profit than nonprofit online alumni counterparts say their college fell short.
- Sixty-nine percent of nonprofit online alumni say their school prioritized educating students while 31 percent say it prioritized making money. By comparison, 50 percent of for-profit online program alumni say their school prioritized students and 50 percent say it prioritized money.
- Majorities of both nonprofit and for-profit alumni say they were confident before enrolling that their degree would improve their job prospects. But that majority was stronger among nonprofit online alumni (78 percent) than among their for-profit counterparts (61 percent). Just 39 percent of for-profit online alumni believe that getting their degree was worth it compared to 57 percent of nonprofit online alumni.
- Eighty-three percent each of nonprofit online alumni and for-profit online alumni say they only applied to or seriously considered one college. When considering college, 75 percent of nonprofit online alumni paid a great deal of attention to affordability, compared to 60 percent of for-profit online alumni.