Distance learning is no longer the wave of the future. The growth of enrollment in online courses continues to outpace that of higher education overall.

And it is the current standard in many cases for agency training of federal employees.

More than 4.6 million students took at least one online course during the fall 2008 term, a 17 percent increase over the number reported the previous year, according to "Learning on Demand, Online Education in the United States, 2009," a survey published by the Sloan Consortium. The consortium's members are dedicated to improving the quality of online education.

The 17 percent growth rate for online enrollments far exceeds the 1.2 percent growth of the overall higher education student population, the report says.

Government trainers and educators are increasingly relying on distance learning as technologies have advanced, and to save money.

The Air Force is one example of an agency that is making the most of distance learning.

It has turned exclusively to distance learning through its virtual university for all new supervisor training and new employee orientation, said Michael Hameroff, chief of civilian training policy for the Air Force.

The Air Force in August launched its online new employee orientation program, seven modules introducing new hires to the business of the Air Force. So far, more than 8,000 new and current employees have visited the site.

More than 80 percent of the visitors are new, but current employees visit, as well, because they realize good information is available there, Hameroff said.

Training for new supervisors started at the virtual university in November and will be the only source of training as of Oct. 1 for 4,000 to 5,000 new supervisors per year, Hameroff said. Initially, new supervisors are required to take three courses that are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. But over three years, they will be required to take another 80 hours.

The supervisory courses are based on skills included in the Air Force's institutional competencies. "We've mapped the direction the Air Force is going in as far as developing leaders," Hameroff said.

New supervisors register for online classes that are taught by faculty. Students use a webcam so they can see and communicate with the instructor and other participants. Groups then work on assigned projects together.

The supervisory training is used around the world, even when it means online faculty must work at 2 a.m. to teach to those in the far-off time zones of the Pacific and European commands, Hameroff said.

"The reviews we're getting are outstanding," he said. "People are saying, ‘This is the best training I've ever had.'"

The Air Force measures knowledge gained by testing students before and after they take a course or program. On average, the agency is seeing a 63 percent gain in knowledge of the supervisory skills being taught, Hameroff said.

Bases can supplement the mandatory supervisory training, but they can't duplicate it, he said.

The Air Force will save $560,000 to $600,000 per year by delivering new supervisory training through the virtual university, Hameroff said.

The Air Force also has been testing at its Air Force Materiel Command an online supervisory resource center that will help supervisors, those who are thinking about becoming supervisors and others who need professional development.

The resource center is interactive, and users can voluntarily take courses online. In the last two years, between 25,000 and 26,000 people have taken courses through the online resource center, Hameroff said.

There has been a push within the Air Force to ensure employees know what skills they need and where they can find training information.

As of March 1, employees can access a mentoring tool — called "my civilian development plan" — that allows them to compare where they are now with where they would like to be, and decide how to get there.

"We're into this virtual world. The next thing you may see are avatars," Hameroff joked.

AF-sponsored master's degree

The Air Force opened to a limited number of civilian employees in 2008 a distance learning master's program through the Air Command and Staff College (ACSC), said Loretta Brown, chief of leadership development at the Air Force Personnel Center, Randolph Air Force Base, Texas. The two-year program is in military operational art and science and is free except for books and supplies. It is for GS-12s and 13s and those in National Security Personnel System Pay Band 2.

Those who finish the distance program receive the same degree as those who take the one-year resident program.

Interest was high, with more than 600 applicants, Brown said. But only 150 were admitted in 2008 and another 150 in 2009.

"It becomes a competitive process because we have so many people applying," she said.

The Air Force recently approved the civilian institutional continuum, which shows what leadership development is available and what employees should be taking at certain levels along the way, she said.

Those wanting to get ahead are encouraged to take distance-learning courses through the Squadron Officer School, ACSC and Air War College. Those courses make employees more competitive for the in-residence courses as they move into higher-level positions, Brown said.

The Air Force gives $6 million to $7 million a year for leadership development training and tuition assistance for middle- and upper-level civilians, Brown said. Of that, it spent about $3 million on tuition assistance in 2008 and about $2 million on tuition assistance in 2009. The remainder went toward leadership development.

To compete for these opportunities, Brown said employees need to be proficient in their jobs, show self-development, be geographically mobile and be mobile within their organizations.

HHS University

HHS University offers e-learning for Health and Human Services Department employees that can be tailored to an office's needs for mandatory or developmental training.

The HHS University site, learning.hhs.gov, also houses "communities of practice" so employees who are geographically separated can share what they've learned through tools such as the knowledge library and expert feedback.

More than 5,000 employees participate in 500 instructor-led training classes annually through HHS University's center for curriculum management. Some classes are distance learning. Registration for the classes is done through an online learning management system.

More than 2,700 online classes are free through the learning management system, which also tracks employee training.

University programs

Seeking an online degree from a university is not necessarily less expensive than attending a brick-and-mortar institution, said Eugene Mayo, human resources director at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

Where the savings come in is with out-of-town single courses. If many employees need the same course, it can be less expensive to use a distance-learning medium rather than to pay travel costs for all to attend.

"We do cost-benefit analysis as it relates to training," said Mayo, adding that he expects to see even more use of distance learning in the future.

Despite all that distance learning has to offer, some skills are still best taught in person, Hameroff said.

"If you're going to repair an airframe, I'm not sure we want to teach you that online. I think what we want to do is get you inside that airframe."