The world of online learning, both at the K-12 and post-secondary level, is booming, according to those attending yesterday’s BMO Capital Markets’ 2008 Education Conference. CEOs from over 16 publically held companies (including Apollo/University of Phoenix, Capella University, K12, Inc.) presented a very optimistic outlook for continued growth in enrollments and the expansion of degrees online.
Yours truly was invited by BMO to be the lone representative from the online non-profit university sector (yes it’s a tough job, but someone had to do it), and provide the 300-plus attendees with my perspective of the issues and opportunities facing non-profit colleges, like Drexel University, who currently offer online degree programs. My read and comments, based on numerous studies and reports (i.e., Sloan-C), is that those non-profits institutions that are now offering online degrees will continue to grow (more students, more online programs), but fewer and fewer colleges currently not offering online degrees will elect to start offering online degrees for the first time. However, non-profit colleges will continue to pull students away from the for-profit colleges, as the non-profits learn how to properly scale their programs and how to successfully incentivizing their faculty to teach online.
That’s my 2 cents…..I welcome yours.
Ken Hartman
