Opening a Dialogue: New Model for Secondary Market

1
Opening a Dialogue New Model for Secondary
Market Serving Adults Online

• EM 21 calls for increased access to academic
  programs and services for adults
• Much attention has been given to recruiting
  adults into existing or slightly modified UW
  programs

2
Opening a Dialogue New Model for Secondary
Market Serving Adults Online

• However, there are significant audiences
  available, particularly online
• Serving those audiences will require new
  assumptions, new business models, new roles, and
  new behaviors

3
Assumptions

• The traditional 18-22 year-old market will
  continue to seek on-campus learning
• The UW is secure in its ability to continue to
  serve that audience in basically traditional ways

4
Assumptions

• UW System institutions today
• 76 traditional age
• 24 over 24
• Carol Aslanian 10 year projection
• 55 traditional age
• 45 adult

5
Assumptions

• The larger adult market demands different
  programs, services, business models, etc.
• Convenience
• Online support services
• Recognition of prior learning
• Relevance of education to current jobs
• Lower online prices with expectations for high
  quality

6
Assumptions

• Only way to finance meeting the needs of this
  audience is to achieve large numbers of
  enrollments (scale)

7
Financial Assumptions

• We must decide whether assumptions that are
  accurate in traditional education hold up in
  distributed learning to adults
• Does limited revenue per DL adult enrollment lead
  to a decline in quality of instruction?

8
Example of Opportunity

• Army 2000
• 600,000,000 over four years
• Estimate 62,500 learners over next four years
• 76 at Associate level
• 17 at Baccalaureate
• 5 at Masters
• 2 Certificate
• Ultimately project up to 1 million learners
  (service-member and family)
• Content areas Business, Computer Science,
  Criminal Justice, Health Sciences, HR, Info
  Systems

9
Example of Opportunity

• There will be more other branches of military
  and government as well as corporations
• The expectations of Army and others will require
  change on our part

10
Expectations

• Maximum acceptance of American Council on
  Education (ACE) credit evaluations (for military
  and/or corporate training)
• Service-member Opportunities College affiliation
  (10 of 14 UW institutions)
• More flexible admissions requirements
• Eased transfer of credit

11
Expectations

• Demand is for high quality at reasonable prices
• Army assumes an average per credit tuition rate
  of 220

12
Expectations

• Other institutions are ready to meet or even come
  in below that average
• The only way to make this work is to assure that
  prices more than cover costs and that we have
  large number of enrollments

13
How to Deal with Expectations

• Scale (enrollment of large numbers), high quality
  and low price are all critical to online success
• Must go beyond Wisconsin to scale (population is
  not large enough)

14
How to Deal with Expectations

• We can focus on working together to effectively
  compete beyond Wisconsin
• If we just compete with one another inside
  Wisconsin, we are likely to waste resources
  critical to success beyond the state

15
Some Metrics

• If we decide to pursue opportunities, SCALE IS
  EVERYTHING
• Will need to enroll and service thousands in our
  courses

16
Some Metrics

• LI has developed the capacity to provide online
  learner services that will scale
• Advising
• Admissions
• Registration
• Bookstore
• Tracking
• Records

17
Some Metrics

• Will need to scale to teach 200, 240, or even 400
  in each course offering
• Use a model in which faculty oversee up to eight
  sections
• Sections handled by master practitioners
• 25 to 50 students per section

Course Offerings Students Traditional Model Students Master Practitioner Model
20 500 8,000
50 1,250 20,000
100 2,500 40,000
18
Impact

• Faculty will continue to lead curriculum design,
  student assessment, quality control
• Faculty role changes to include supervision of
  tutors, mentors, master practitioners

19
Impact

• Transforms faculty perceptions currently view
  role of distance learning as secondary to
  on-campus
• Impacts admissions
• Impacts transfer decisions

20
Impact

• Impacts provision of ACE, portfolio review, CLEP,
  etc.
• Must overcome assumption that we limit transfer
  credits in order to maximize credits we sell

21
Impact

• Must recognize other forms of learning
• Must provide convenience to learners
• Must limit or eliminate time away from family and
  work

22
Impact

• Are we ready for such change?
• Are we willing to make it?

23
Secondary Opportunity

• Political pressures to work with WTCS
• A mix of their programs and ours makes a
  compelling offer to Army, corporations,
  individuals

24
Secondary Opportunity

• Can we use existing and planned articulation
  agreements to collaborate for new, national
  audiences in a win-win strategy?

25
Molly Corbett Broad, President UNC

• Perhaps the greatest risk is that we move too
  slowly and lose relevance in a rapidly changing
  environment.Just in case gives way to the
  delivery of higher education just in time and
  very soon to the delivery of education just for
  you. 

26
Necessary Decisions

• Do the UW institutions want to work together and
  go after these emerging market opportunities?
• Can we prepare to move quickly when the next
  opportunity comes along?
• How should we proceed?