MTSU’s online program experienced record growth last fall with 54% of students taking at least one MTSU Online course.

The number of fully online programs offered has more than tripled since 2016—from 20 in 2016 to 72 in 2024, with 43 of those programs launched since 2020.

The number of online students began steadily increasing in 2020, due in part to students’ being introduced to online learning during the COVID-19 outbreak. Importantly, emergency remote teaching differs from intentional and carefully designed online courses. COVID-19 was more a catalyst than a reason for the growth of MTSU Online, and

I am proud that MTSU recognized and prioritized online learning long before the pandemic began.

Now, as of last fall, MTSU Online supports 28 full-time, temporary instructors in 18 academic departments who focus on providing high-quality online teaching. A total of 545 unique online courses were introduced, leading to 27% of all MTSU student credit hours last semester coming from online courses. More than 2,800 students were fully online in the Fall 2024 semester, which comprises almost 14% of our total student headcount. MTSU even had about two dozen full-time, undergraduate MTSU students living in the residence halls, taking fully online courses! That may seem unusual now, but it will likely become more and more common.

University College, which generally focuses on nontraditional students, has been a pioneer in promoting fully online degrees, along with the Jones College of Business.

Most MTSU online courses are asynchronous (students do not have to meet at the same time), providing greater flexibility for working adults to incorporate pursuing a degree into their busy daily lives.

Nontraditional and graduate students may be the majority of online students, but 18- to 24-year-olds are also participating online.

Thirty additional online programs are in active development. We’re also working on initiatives such as a virtual student union and virtual clubs—ways for students to connect and engage and feel like they belong at MTSU because they do belong at MTSU, and it’s a significant population.

MTSU Online already offers key student services for online students such as counseling services, 24/7 live subject tutoring, library services, and writing center tutors, as well as many faculty services including faculty development and training workshops and peer mentoring.