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Online learning offers freedom to progress at your own pace and the convenience to learn when and where it suits you. A student does not have to be on campus for an 45 minute lecture and can study when it suits them. The flexibility that comes with online education seems particularly well suited for life-long learning.[1] While this flexibility and freedom has, over the past 15 years, supported teaching and learning for many students. Some are arguing that platforms challenge academic freedom and intellectual property (IP) rights[2]where knowledge assetization prevails and public knowledge is privatized.[3] Online enrollments have grown substantially, especially after the global shutdown. Convenience and flexibility is not the only explanation for this rapid growth. Universities, facing budget shortfalls, have turned to Online Program Managers, commonly known as OPMs to recruit these students and build online programs.[4] OPMs provide bundled products and services to private and public educational institutions in exchange for a revenue sharing arrangement. Universities have come to rely on these services to recruit new students, design, develop, run online programs and more.[5]
OPMs are often funded by private equity or venture capital as a for-profit enterprises. A revenue-sharing contract[6] has allowed universities to enter into the online education business and gain market share without the need to build their own platform.[7] Such predatory partnerships incentivise aggressive student recruitment (and revenue collection)[8] while outsourcers core edtech capability in an instution.[9] Until recently, they have also been less subject to government scrutiny.[10]
In the face of scrutiny from educational institutions and regulators and competition in the sector, edtech market analyst Phil Hill said in 2023 that the OPM business model was now "on life support."[11]
- ^ Wood, Jonny. (27 January 2002). "These 3 charts show the global growth in online learning". weforum.org. Retrieved 9 April 2024.
- ^ https://www.ei-ie.org/en/item/28484:behind-the-platforms-safeguarding-intellectual-property-rights-and-academic-freedom-in-higher-education
- ^ https://mitpress.mit.edu/9780262539173/assetization/
- ^ ""The Anatomy of an OPM and a $7.7B Market in 2025"". 13 February 2019. Retrieved 9 April 2024.
- ^ Hamilton, Laura (2024). "The For-Profit Side of Public U: University Contracts with Online Program Managers". Socius: Sociological Research for a Dynamic World. 10. doi:10.1177/23780231231214952. Retrieved 9 April 2024.
- ^ Hall, Stephanie (20 January 2023). "Your OPM Isn't a Tech Platform. It's a Marketing Firm". tcf.org. Retrieved 9 April 2024.
- ^ Pelletier, Stephen. "The Evolution of Online Program Management". unbound.upcea.edu. Retrieved 19 December 2020.
- ^ Hamilton, Laura (2024). "The For-Profit Side of Public U: University Contracts with Online Program Managers". Socius: Sociological Research for a Dynamic World. 10. doi:10.1177/23780231231214952. Retrieved 9 April 2024.
- ^ Marcus, Jon (8 January 2021). "More colleges and universities outsource services to for-profit companies". hechingerreport.org. Hechinger Report. Retrieved 15 July 2021.
- ^ Knott, Katherine. "Oversight Coming for Online Program Providers". www.insidehighered.com. Inside Higher Education. Retrieved 21 February 2023.
- ^ Coffey, Lauren. "OPMs on 'Life Support' in Changing Online Marketplace". www.insidehighered.com. Inside Higher Education. Retrieved 12 October 2023.
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