OPMs, Oversight, and Online Education in the Crosshairs

Growing online enrollment is one of the most effective strategies institutions can employ to counterbalance the oncoming shortfall of traditional undergraduates. But recent developments from both the EdTech industry and the U.S. government are complicating life for many institutions.

Just as we enter the academic year in which the first of two demographic cliffs is projected to begin, some of the largest Online Program Management (OPM) vendors have experienced business disruptions and the U.S. Education Department (USED) is proposing regulatory changes that will both further challenge current practices among the OPMs, and complicate or curtail the ability of many institutions to leverage online growth for enrollment health.

The recently published CHLOE 9 report investigated institutional use of and attitudes about OPMs. The data make clear that should the USED complicate working with OPMs (as a Democratic victory in November would almost ensure), many institutions may need to rethink their growth strategy. Among the most interesting CHLOE 9 findings were:

1. 24 percent of institutions currently work with an OPM and all but 52 percent have at least considered doing so over the last several years. (p. 29)
2. 15 percent worked with an OPM in the past but will not consider doing it again (p. 29)
3. Among institutions working with OPMs, 29 percent are discussing making changes to their relationships, while 22 percent are at least discussing exiting their OPM relationship. (p. 30)

This summer I discussed the impact of EdTech instability and USED policy changes for institutions with EdTech analyst and blogger Phil Hill. Phil brought incredible clarity to how the regulatory changes being considered are likely to have negative “unintended consequences” for institutions AND quite “intended consequences” for OPMs. While many OPMs have already left the market, the proposed changes can only make their challenges greater.

Don’t miss our webinar on October 17

Join Phil and I on October 17 for an expanded version of our conversation. We will be joined by Eddie Maloney, who leads Georgetown University’s Center for New Designs in Learning and Scholarship and is the co-author of Inside Higher Education’s Learning Innovation blog. We will talk in detail about all the proposed regulatory changes, get up-to-the-minute updated intelligence on the OPMs, and close with a discussion about how institutions can best move forward as they confront enrollment challenges and new hurdles to growth.

You will leave with the intelligence you need to take your next steps in preparing for the demographic cliff.