Q. Now that all our classes have moved online and everyone is concerned about shoring up future enrollment, there is intense interest in putting nearly all courses and programs online. Business deans are particularly keen. Our online division has always prided itself on picking the right programs for online development, not just responding to random enthusiasm. During this unprecedented time, should we change our strategy?
Our advice is to hold the line on which programs to put online. Throwing everything online will diminish returns, stretch resources, weaken quality, and confuse the market. There is also the risk of a duplication of effort and unhelpful internal competition. Better to use this moment to stimulate collaboration across university system campuses to produce best-in-class online programs, and rationalize the number of programs that systems want to invest in or even sustain. The current crisis will severely test institutions that have bloated program portfolios and do not use this time to integrate related programs and drop others.
If a certain business program is already online, can other campuses with similar on-ground programs help (over time) to make the online program better, and in the end it becomes a systemwide program? If a school wants to put a current on-ground program online, could their on-ground students start to enroll in online courses in a similar program already available from another system campus (and split the revenue)? Can on-ground faculty help teach/support an online program if enrollment is spiking?
No institution or system has the resources to develop scores of high quality online programs right now. Instead, focus on the production of truly compelling exemplar programs (e.g., largest enrollment programs and courses for the biggest impact) and work with leaders across campus to explore how these templates could be adapted efficiently at the local level.
Eduventures Chief Research Officer at ACT | NRCCUA
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Tuesday June 25, 2019 at 2PM ET/1PM CT
Most colleges and universities are defined by a physical campus in a fixed location, while online learning knows no geographical bounds. Now that fully online enrollments account for about 15% of all undergraduates, and more than 30% of graduate students, the relationship between school location and student location is changing.
A few schools have used online to become national players with large numbers of students in every state, while most institutions have a predominantly local online student body. But does the future favor national or local online markets? Which strategy—local, national, or both—is in the best interests of different types of schools and different types of students, and should policymakers and taxpayers care? The answers will either reinforce institutional locations and identities as we know them, or advance a completely different relationship between institution, student, and place.
In this webinar, we will review new Eduventures analysis of online higher education market dynamics, and the emerging terms of engagement in the battle for value.
