As higher education navigates heightened enrollment pressures, the online modality remains one of the most significant sources of opportunity — and complexity. While online enrollment continues to grow, it is doing so within a more constrained and competitive environment shaped by demographic shifts, regulatory scrutiny, and rising expectations from students and policymakers alike.
Join us as we dive into the 2026 Online Higher Education Market Update, a data-driven briefing designed for higher education leaders who need a clear, credible view of where the online market is headed. Drawing on Eduventures’ proprietary research — the only source of comprehensive online enrollment estimates and forecasts — this bi-annual update provides a high-level assessment of market direction, scale, and structure.
In this session, we’ll examine how online enrollment is evolving across institution types, where growth is concentrating, and how geographic dynamics such as in-state versus out-of-state enrollment are shifting. We’ll also address the regulatory landscape shaping online program development and delivery, and explore where artificial intelligence is (and is not) making an impact.