Alamo Colleges District officials announced the creation of a stand-alone School of Online Learning, which is projected to surpass 25,000 students enrolled by 2029.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The online school was approved by the Alamo Colleges Board of Trustees during a board meeting in October, and officials expect to fully launch it by fall of 2026.<\/p>\n
\u201cWith the School for Online Learning, we\u2019re creating a more cohesive experience for our students, one that reflects the same quality and support they would expect from any classroom across our colleges,\u201d said Mike Flores, Alamo Colleges District chancellor, in a written statement.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Enrollment of students who solely take online courses throughout the five Alamo Colleges \u2014 Palo Alto College, Northwest Vista College, Northeast Lakeview College, San Antonio College and St. Philip\u2019s College \u2014 has steadily increased over the years, going from an enrollment of 16,473 students last academic year, to just over 18,300 this fall.\u00a0<\/p>\n
This particular effort to improve online access began in 2018, when the colleges had about 7,000 enrolled online. The first steps involved hiring an online learning officer, designing what the online services would look like, and creating micro-credentials that could be earned fully online.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is a significant commitment by the board, our chancellor, by our college presidents to say, \u2018We understand that access looks different to different parts of our community. We understand that what we offer in our face-to-face classrooms\u2026 is top of the line and we can do the same thing and are doing the same thing online,\u2019\u201d said Luke Dowden, Alamo Colleges vice chancellor for digital learning and transformation.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The colleges now offer 164 programs developed for fully-online students \u2014 including programs for bachelor\u2019s and associate degrees, certificates and occupational skills awards. These have attracted a student population that is on average 27 years old, with a majority being continuing education students attending on a full-time basis at a higher rate than in-person students. This group is largely female, with a higher number of student parents than the overall Alamo Colleges population.<\/p>\n
\u201cI never expected the number of full-time students that we have,\u201d Dowden said in an interview. \u201cBecause if you look at Alamo, the majority [81%] of our profile is part-time\u2026 of our fully online students, 30% are full-time.\u201d<\/p>\n