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Since 1742 Moravian College has had a history of providing access to underserved students. It was the first school to educate women and the first to educate Native Americans in their own language. As times have changed, so has the college. A men’s college (a seminary) was added in 1807, and in the 1950s the two colleges merged to become coeducational. Then, as the new millennium progressed (and in keeping with its mission of access), Moravian College faced the need to transition into the digital age. 

Like a lot of people, I am fascinated by self-driving vehicles. The rapid advancement of the enabling technology is mind-blowing itself, but I think the implications for other industries is even more interesting. 

I am sitting at the SeaTac airport waiting to fly back to Boston from the 2019 UPCEA Annual Conference, and I thought I’d share some observations from my conversations with conference attendees.

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.

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.

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.

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.