Among institutions that offered all programs completely through distance education in 2015-16, two-year and four-year for-profit institutions paid their full-time instructional staff members higher average salaries than did four-year public and private nonprofit institutions. The four-year private nonprofit sector — where Western Governors University is the dominant distance-education-only provider — had the greatest share of female instructional staff members.
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| 4-year public institutions (N=3) | 19 | 47.4% | $42,219 |
| 4-year private nonprofit institutions (N=4) | 1,710 | 77.2% | $41,706 |
| 4-year for-profit institutions (N=22) | 1,641 | 57.3% | $45,135 |
| 2-year for-profit institutions (N=1) | 4 | 0.0% | $56,250 |
Note: Forty degree-granting colleges in the United States that are eligible to participate in Title IV federal financial-aid programs reported offering all programs completely via distance education. The data in this table are based on the 30 of those that reported having any full-time instructional staff members. Average salaries are adjusted to a standard nine-month academic year, and are weighted. Distance education refers to the use of one or more technologies to instruct students who are separated by distance from the instructor, and to support interaction between students and the instructor. The technologies may include the internet, closed-circuit television, and audio conferencing.
Source: Chronicle analysis of U.S. Department of Education data
