Instructional material delivered via self-paced e-learning is generally absorbed in less time than the same material delivered in the classroom. By enabling learners to navigate through material at their own pace, e-learning minimizes the time that knowledgeable learners must spend in such training activity. And, for all learners, graphical presentation of material leads to faster comprehension. 

These two factors help to explain the results of several studies, cited below, showing significant time saved per course:

• Greg Kearsley, The Human Equation: E-learning reduces training time by as much as 50 percent.
• Brandon-Hall, an e-learning market research company: E-learning typically requires from 40 percent to 60 percent less employee time than the same material delivered in a traditional classroom setting. 
• The Advance Distributed Learning Initiative (ADL): On average, e-learning “reduces time to achieve given instructional objectives by as much as 30 percent—or increases student skills and knowledge by 30 percent—depending on whether achievement or time is held constant.”  In practice, more rapid learning translates to millions of dollars saved for a large organization. 

It was reported in 2001 that e-learning, by reducing by 30 percent the time to train 40 percent of all U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) students in specialized skills training—which excludes categories such as recruit training, pilot training, unit training, and field exercises—had the potential to save the DoD over $500 million annually. E-learning is more convenient. 

Unlike traditional classroom training, which is sometimes scheduled at a time inconvenient to the learner, in a location requiring travel, e-learning offers the learner flexibility with respect to time and place. And, since no travel is required, it's "green!"