When Did Online College Start? A Brief History

Online colleges have become a way for students to access education like never before. Today, a student from Texas could earn a degree from New York. A working mother can study between her job and time with the kids.

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, the availability of online college programs has continued to grow. But when did online college start, and how?

A Brief History of Online College

Keep reading to get a brief history of online college and learn more about the state of online college today.

Precursors to Online College

The concept of distance learning predates online college by centuries. These early programs were taught through mail, radio, and television.

The first recorded distance education program was started in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1728. It was run by a man named Caleb Phillips, who taught weekly shorthand lessons by mail.

These types of distance programs continued to pop up, and in 1858 the University of London began its External Programme, which allowed students in other areas of England to earn their degrees by mail.

In 1982, the University of Wisconsin coined the term 'distance education' when they began recording their lectures and sending them out on phonographs.

The final distance learning method before computer learning was learning via television. These telecourses took hold in the 1950s, once certain television frequencies were reserved for educational programming.

Online College Emerges

Perhaps unexpectedly, the idea of online learning predates the World Wide Web.

The first online courses came from the University of Alberta's Department of Medicine when it began teaching online courses over the IBM 1500 network in 1968. More than 20,000 students participated in these courses.

In 1982, the Western Behavioral Sciences Institute began offering a distance education program for business executives through computer conferencing.

Only a few years later in 1989, the University of Phoenix, a for-profit university, began offering online programs through the online service Prodigy.

The World Wide Web

That same year, across the world at CERN, the World Wide Web was invented.

The invention of the World Wide Web, coupled with the invention of the first internet browser, allowed more institutions to offer online programs.

In 1993, Jones International University became the first fully online university in the world. The following year, CALCampus launched the first synchronous online program, which offered real-time instruction.

Online Learning Picks Up Steam

By the mid-1990s, the potential of online programs was becoming impossible to ignore.

In 1997, a group of governors from 19 western U.S. states created Western Governor's University, a fully online, competency-based university that still offers programs today.

This time saw several online programs emerge, including New York University Online, the California Virtual University, Trident University, and New Hampshire College, which would later become online powerhouse Southern New Hampshire University.

Enrollment in online courses rose steadily through the early 2000s, hitting a peak in 2016 with over 43% of undergraduate students taking at least some of their courses online.

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit the U.S. in early 2020, many colleges and universities switched to an online format, including those that had not previously offered online courses.

The Present and Future of Online Colleges

The COVID-19 pandemic not only led to a massive expansion of online programs but also shifted the way people think about online learning. Many of the colleges and universities that switched to online learning opted to continue their online offerings after the pandemic subsided in order to reach more students.

Students now have the opportunity to pursue the exact program they want, regardless of where they live. In the fall of 2020, 23% of students enrolled in exclusively online courses were enrolled at a school in a different state than the one they lived in.

Online learning also makes it possible for adults with jobs or dependents to pursue their education. By reaching students who may not otherwise be able to get their degrees, online colleges are cementing their worth.

Online College: A Brief History and a Bright Future

While distance learning has been around for hundreds of years, online college started less than half a century ago. It's grown by leaps and bounds since then, and will likely continue to grow for years to come.