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As commencement season has begun, higher education institutions are asking: “How do we acknowledge the difficulty and disappointment for students while still moving forward? How do we use virtual tools to deliver experiences in a way that is still authentic, inclusive, engaging, and meaningful?”

The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed the inadequacy of generic videoconferencing tools for online teaching. In this article I describe important dimensions of a differentiated online synchronous (OnSync) course for both students and faculty. I describe the shortcomings of current technology for OnSync courses and what new technological solutions would have to provide. I conclude by describing how to compete and win with differentiated OnSync teaching.

Higher Education Strategy Series: This is entry #8 of 15 in this series. This page describes the whole series and provides links to all of the articles.

This series has covered a lot of ground and included many details. The last two installments have been particularly demanding. In this model we wrap up the discussion of the Generalized Differentiation Strategy model.

Higher Education Strategy Series: This is entry #7 of this series. This page describes the whole series and provides links to all of the articles.

The previous essay focused on defining the Generalized Differentiation (GD) Strategy Model. It was detailed and required the reader to do a lot of thinking and research in order to gather the information needed to use it. In this essay, my goal is to show the reader that all of the effort was warranted. I describe four important takeaways from the model, and then highlight multiple ways an educational leader can use GD-focused insights to increase enrollment and increase profits.

Higher Education Strategy Series: This is entry #6 of this series. This page describes the whole series and provides links to all of the articles.

In this series I have made the case for why a higher education institution needs a strategy. Then I highlighted the importance of understanding an institution’s competitive position within a market and, frankly, to underscore that market positioning should be paramount in any discussion of the design and launch of educational programs.

Higher Education Strategy Series: This is entry #5 of this series. This page describes the whole series and provides links to all of the articles.