Who Is the Average Online College Student? [#Infographic]

Online coursework is booming.

Colleges around the world continue to expand their online course offerings. Even prestigious schools like Harvard have tossed their hats into the online ring, according to a May 18 article in The Boston Globe.

Quietly, Harvard has built what amounts to an in-house production company to create massive open online courses, or MOOCs, high-end classes that some prestigious universities are offering for free to anyone in the world, generally without formal academic credit. Contrary to the popular image of online classes consisting largely of video from a camera planted at the back of the lecture hall, Harvard is increasingly using mini-documentaries, animation, and interactive software tools to offer a far richer product.

The digital trend is opening the doors of higher learning for a variety of students with different needs and lifestyles than traditional students.

But who populates these courses? Who is the average online college student?

According to CollegeAtlas.org, the average online student is a 25- to 29-year-old woman, taking classes while working full-time and values the ability to balance work, family and schooling.

The website includes these and other nuggets of information on online college students, based on research from four websites, in its latest infographic.

For the full scoop, read on: