Nearly 100 studies have been published in recent years comparing online educations to classroom educations. Most of these define online programs as those which provide the majority of their coursework online.
The U.S. Department of Education released a report in June 2009 summarizing over 50 independent studies comparing online and classroom learning, with surprising results.
The Department of Education concluded that "students who took all or part of their instruction online performed better" than students who learned exclusively in a classroom setting.
The studies overwhelmingly concluded that online programs enable students to control much of their education, which furthers learning.
The tools used in online instruction have a direct impact on the success or failure of a program. Tools like videos and online quizzes are less effective than more interactive elements and those which require independent research and study.