The question facing universities looking to compete in the booming market for online higher education is not so much how to do it, but how to distinguish themselves from the rest. In this, Christian universities appear to have a built-in advantage. And many are seizing the opportunity to expand their footprint.
"Given the relatively strong religious character of much of the U.S. population, and an ever more crowded online market, the schools that that are faith-based in some strong sense" have an advantage over others, the majority of whom have built "more generic programs that don’t have any strong affiliation with a demographic group or belief system," says Richard Garrett, an online learning analyst for the consulting group Eduventures.