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Institutional Decisions on OPM Market: Upcoming discussions on complicated questions

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Following our recent webinar with WCET on the Online Program Management (OPM) market, I am excited to lead two sessions next week at one of my favorite events of the year – the #WCET19 conference in Denver. As background, see this post addressing the OPM market.

  • Wednesday, Nov 6th at 1:45pm MT in Penrose 2 – #WCETOPM Navigating the OPM Marketplace: Picking the Right Partners While Avoiding Market Chaos This will have some overlap with the webinar but will focus more on the choices and decision-making processes that academic institutions face when evaluating OPM vendors or even deciding whether to use an OPM partner.
  • Wednesday, Nov 6th at 4:30pm MT in Denver 1-2 – #WCETOPMUnconf OPM Unconference Session Our webinar from September is available online, and we had some great questions during the webinar but were restricted by time constraints on addressing them all. During this session we plan to focus on answer the webinar questions and new questions from attendees. Come for a discussion.

Some the topics that we plan to address in these sessions, partially based on webinar questions:

  • Ideas for bringing OPM providers and schools together for more transparency and research on program outcomes;
  • The relationship between the OPM (and broader Online Program Enablement, or OPE) market and all-too-common lack of institutional support/structures vs. demand/competition for online learning programs;
  • Whether OPM critics, analytics, scholars, company leaders, and schools can come together for a collegial discussion;
  • The increasing emphasis on quality course and curriculum design; and
  • Advice for schools to consider with regards to policy, practice, and regulation when entering into a partnership with an OPM/OPE.

I don’t pretend to have simple answers for all questions – come, participate and expect a real discussion at the sessions.

Online Program Management: An updated view of the market landscape for 2019

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Yesterday I had the opportunity to share an updated view of the Online Program Management (OPM) market in a webinar with WCET. There were too many questions to fully address during the session, and we are planning a joint blog post to address additional questions over the next week.

You can view the recorded webinar at https://youtu.be/uMSa3lEn_4I or at the embed below the graphic.

We have a session planned for the annual WCET conference in Denver in early November. We’d love to see you there and continue the conversation in person.

Updates since 2018

As part of the webinar I released an updated graphic of the OPM landscape, taking a broader view of this growing but dynamic market. Since the last version shared a year ago, I added a new sub-category of vendors, for-profit conversions, to capture the Kaplan (Purdue Global) and Grand Canyon Education (GCU) with its recent Orbis acquisition. I expect this group to grow, as Bridgepoint Education (Walden U) is seeking approval to make similar changes.

Some other enhancements to note:

  • The business model axis makes it more clear that there is a range of options between Tuition Revenue Share and Fee for Service.
  • 2U now shows its acquisitions of GetSmarter and Trilogy, while also add its investment and partnership with Keypath. I also am showing the entry into the bachelors degree market the London School of Economics and the more recent Institutional Suite.
  • Wiley shows its acquisition of Learning House.
  • I have adjusted the sampling of fee-for-service vendors based on market activity.

Fall 2019 Graphic

As before, please note that this view is intended to give a visual overview of the market landscape and is not comprehensive in terms of vendors represented. This is particularly true as you approach the bottom of the graphic.

Market landscape of OPM vendors, showing business model from revenue sharing to fee-for-service on vertical, and credential from degrees to certificates on horizontal.

The webinar covers additional context around this graphic.

(Source for video: https://youtu.be/uMSa3lEn_4I)

Expect more coverage soon on the OPM market and the broader world of online and hybrid education.

Update 9/28: Mentioned that 2U’s entry into bachelors degree market started with London School of Economics, which pre-dated the Institutional Suite announcement.