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Yet Another Survey Showing Declines in Online Ed
Color me skeptical about the interpretation, however
Phil Hill
June 11, 2025
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I’ll give Morgan a break from being the one calling out questionable survey interpretation this time. But should we believe that preference-based survey questions indicate a shift away from online education and back to face-to-face?
Tyton Partners released its 2025 Time for Class report today, which is one of my favorite report series. Tyton describes its data well and has provided many valuable insights. This year the headline they provide is around “renorming” and getting back to human and face-to-face interactions.
Face-to-face instruction is resurging, not just in preference but also in practice (see Figure 1). The percentage of instructors who prefer face-to-face teaching rose from 55% in 2023 to 64% in 2025. Students are echoing this shift: While 33% now prefer face-to-face courses (up from 25%), a growing 29% prefer hybrid instruction—a notable increase from 22% in 2023. Students prefer hybrid instruction due to the flexibility it offers. Notably, students who are parents or caregivers in 2025 are more likely to prefer fully online options (16% vs. 11%) and less likely to prefer face-to-face (26% vs. 35%) compared to nonparents. Offering hybrid modalities increases access for students dealing with responsibilities outside the classroom while preserving opportunities for in-person connection.
This swing back toward in-person interaction reflects a broader challenge: disengagement and declining student motivation.
Figure 1 is the key data point, and it is based on three questions (helpfully included in the graphic).
*Survey question: “In general, I prefer teaching courses ______”, n=1,572 (Instructor, 2025), n=1,602 (Instructor, 2024);
**Survey question: “If I had to choose just one way, in general, I prefer taking courses ______”, n=1,529 (Student, 2025), n=1,526 (Student, 2024), n=2,056 (Student, 2023);
^Survey question: “Which of the following course modalities best describes the primary modality in which you teach?”, n=1,572 (2025), n=1,602 (2024), n=1,747 (2023);
Morgan addressed in her commentary about the Educause survey report the same issue I have with the first two questions.
