"Going the Distance: Online Education in the United States, 2011" is the ninth annual report on the state of online learning in U.S. higher education. The survey is designed, administered and analyzed by the Babson Survey Research Group. Data collection is conducted in partnership with the College Board. This year's study, like those for the previous eight years, is aimed at answering fundamental questions about the nature and extent of online education. Based on responses from more than 2,500 colleges and universities, the study addresses: Is online learning strategic? After remaining steady for several years, the proportion of chief academic officers saying that online education is critical to their long-term strategy took an upward turn in both 2010 and 2011. Sixty-five percent of all reporting institutions said that online learning was a critical part of their long-term strategy, a small increase from sixty-three percent in 2010. The year-to-year change was greatest among the for-profit institutions, which increased from fifty-one percent agreeing in 2009 to sixty-nine percent in 2011. For-profit institutions are the most likely to have included online learning as a part of their strategic plan. (Contains 4 footnotes.) [For the previous report, "Class Differences: Online Education in the United States, 2010," see ED529952.]