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Our colleagues at Quality Matters and Eduventures Research (the research division of ACT | NRCCUA) have just released the third edition of the The Changing Landscape of Online Education (CHLOE): Behind the Numbers. The report is a hefty summary and analysis of data collected through a comprehensive survey of 280 chief online learning officers at colleges and universities across the United States.

As we enter 2019, many institutions that have tiptoed around the digital landscape are coming to grips with the realization that online learning is almost certainly in their future, one way or another. One driver is declining overall enrollments; the latest statistics show a drop of 90,000 students — or a half of a percentage point — during 2017, the most recent period for which we have data. At the same time, enrollments in online learning increased by 350,000, or 5.7%.

Student enrollments in online learning continue to increase but are very concentrated in public institutions and large private universities. Left out in the cold — and seemingly content to remain there — are the smaller private institutions.

Goldie Blumenstyk’s recent column, “Online Learning Is Misunderstood. Here’s How,” in The Chronicle of Higher Education, raises compelling issues about online learning.

We exhibited at the DevLearn show in Las Vegas last week, and it was an interesting experience. Well, of course just being in Las Vegas is an interesting experience. But more relevant to the interests of our blog readers is the experience we had in our conversations with conference attendees.

Extension Engine, a leading provider of custom learning experiences, announced it has developed an online learning program for the Brightline™ Initiative to help business leaders turn their ideas into reality and drive change within their organizations.

The online program management (OPM) landscape is a confusing one, the result of rapid evolution and an ever-greater assortment of businesses keen on winning their share of what has become a very lucrative market. We do not envy the task of any institution of higher learning seeking to upgrade their online learning program, and even less one considering the launch of their first program.

It’s not personal — it’s demographic. College enrollments are going to seriously ebb within the next few years due to a complex set of circumstances that have more to do with demographic shifts than economic ones. That’s not to say, however, that economics are not at the root.

At the 2018 Eduventures Summit in Boston, a panel of representatives from Harvard Business School, ArtCenter College of Design, Moravian College, and Extension Engine discussed the following tenet:

In a crowded market, higher ed institutions should create online learning that is differentiated, conforms to their core pedagogy, and delivers great learner experience.

John Leh at Talented Learning interviewed Meera Chary of The Bridgespan Group about how that organization has leveraged online learning to reach a broader client base for their consulting services. You can listen to the podcast here, or continue reading for a brief recap.