Extension Engine
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I have the unique privilege of viewing the development of online learning from three different lenses — as former faculty and program head at the Michigan Ross School of Business, as former dean at Babson College, and now as Principal Learning Strategist at Extension Engine.

As 2017 has proven, online learning has been top-of-mind for many institutional leaders. Scaling offerings through online programs or courses has become an inherent part of growth for public, private, and non-traditional colleges and universities.

As an end of the year tribute to the evolution of online learning in 2017, here’s a recap of a few topics that resonated with us, our perspective on those topics, and a few topics that we hope to see discussed more broadly in 2018.

Roger Pao, J.D., is an attorney and educator with extensive experience in online education and an interest in dynamic, innovative pedagogies. He is currently Assistant Provost and Dean of Undergraduate Studies at the New England College of Business and Finance. He is a graduate of Harvard Law School, magna cum laude, and Duke University, summa cum laude.

“Online learning businesses have it all wrong—they are not thinking like a product company.”

Every day, we speak to universities, nonprofits and corporations who are looking to put their training or education online with the goal of generating revenue, creating impact or influencing an audience. And these conversations are very similar – people usually anchor their thinking to the existing and ask “how do we create an online course.”

"50% of the 4,000 colleges and universities in the US will be bankrupt in 10-15 years". Strong words yet those are just some of the gems that HBS professor Clayton Christensen gives in this talk on disruption in higher education in which he makes this bold predication.