![]() Others say online program managers help serve an unmet need. “Because of that then, the (online program manager) really has the upper hand in helping to drive program creation and deciding, ‘How many students are we going to try to get into these programs?’ ” “There’s too much of a corporate relationship between the (online program manager) and the college,” Hall said. She argued that when businesses are paid a percentage of an academic program’s revenue, they have an incentive to set up offerings quickly and “enroll as many students as possible.” Stephanie Hall is a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress who has written critically about online program managers. That’s part of a federal law meant to prevent unscrupulous operators from enrolling as many students as they can in low-quality academic programs.Ĭolleges can pay online program managers for recruitment if they offer additional products like marketing, advertising or student support services. Normally, colleges can’t pay employees or companies based on the number of students they recruit. Like Dukuly, students may be unaware that their programs are being managed by for-profit companies.Ĭhristopher “Chip” Paucek, CEO and co-founder of 2U, said the company has never hidden its role but also told the Wall Street Journal in 2021 that in its early days, colleges wanted the company “to not be visible.” Paucek told USA TODAY the company going forward plans to recommend to its partners that 2U employees identify themselves more clearly, but that decision remains up to the college.Ĭoncerns over transparency extend to how colleges and these companies find and enroll new students. Online program managers are often criticized for their opaque business practices. What are the concerns about online program managers? Other online program managers include Academic Partnerships and Wiley University Services.Ī Government Accountability Office report last April found at least 550 colleges had worked with online program managers as of July 2021. Online program managers take on the upfront cost in exchange for keeping, at times, a majority of the program’s revenue for years.ĢU is among the largest and best-known online program managers, and it grew even larger with the $800 million purchase of edX, a nonprofit focused on free online courses, in 2021. It’s an increasingly competitive undertaking, as more colleges seek to attract adult learners to fill the gap left as fewer students enroll straight out of high school.Īt the same time, setting up online classes is expensive. Online program managers, like 2U, help bring in-person courses online, market the programs and find students. Most universities are slow to change, and teaching online isn’t as simple as hosting a Zoom meeting. Critics say the companies’ business model can cause confusion among students and may lead to universities and for-profit operators favoring enrollment goals over academic quality. Lack of transparency, however, is among growing criticisms directed at companies like 2U, known as online program managers.Įducation technology leaders say these companies can help colleges financially while making higher education accessible to students not well served by brick-and-mortar programs. When announced in February 2021, it was billed as an affordable degree completion program for some of the nation’s 2.2 million Black men with college credits but no degree. Morehouse Online is a partnership between Morehouse, the nation’s only all-men’s historically Black college, and 2U, a for-profit education technology company. “They should identify as who they are,” he said. Reviewing his emails, Dukuly noticed other clues, such as passing references to 2U in the URL of his online portal – but not in his adviser’s email signature. On LinkedIn, however, the man lists his employer as 2U. When he sought guidance, he thought he was talking to a Morehouse adviser. He was surprised to learn an advisor he thought worked for Morehouse actually worked for the company, 2U. Teddy Dukuly is finishing his bachelor's degree via Morehouse's online degree completion program.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |