Generations of Learners

The online education market has shifted from a “Gen X/Millennial” audience to one that is now is predominantly “Millennial/Gen Z.”

Is this a seismic shift? Do the expectations and preferences of this new target audience—two generations that have grown up in a customized, personalized, tech-enhanced world—diverge considerably from Gen X, the last generation that had a pre-online existence?

We set out to compare key findings from our 2024 Online Student Recruitment Report to see how expectations have changed and how institutions can use critical market intelligence to make strategic decisions that will maximize online student enrollment.

These students are similar across the generations in many ways:

• All expect a timely response within three hours—with not more than 2 percent differentiation among the generations.
• They prefer being communicated with on weekday mornings—and afternoons. Pandemic-era changes to work may have had a permanent impact.
• They are uniform in expecting career-preparatory content and activities in their online coursework.

How do they differ? Complete the form above to download the report and find out.