Working adults and the financial opportunity for higher education
Posted by John Panaccione on Tue, Dec 15, 2009 @ 06:56 PM
One of the most memorable "aha moments" I had was during a conference sponsored by the Stevens Institute. It was held in New York City, and it was a gathering of continuing education leaders who focused on online programs for working adults. As part of the day's presentations, they video teleconferenced in an employee from Boeing in Seattle who was a student in one of Stevens' (in NYC) online programs. This employee made an interesting comment that has since been stuck in my head. He said, and I'm paraphrasing here, that "one of the things that I like most about this format is that I learn just like I work. At work, I'm routinely using email, collaborating from a distance with my fellow employees, attending teleconferences and web meetings. The program I'm enrolled in at Stevens is in the same format that I work in."
That comment was striking. It's a great summation of why well designed online programs delivered by universities can be uniquely valuable to working adults. However, it's been our experience that quality is driven equally by two variables. The first is the content, which is driven by the experts who developed it and the university brand behind it. The second is the packaging. The design of online programs is absolutely as important as the content. Putting great content in poorly designed packaging results in a poor program. Conversely, poor content in a well designed program may be efficient but not effective. The real trick is to combine great content, brand, and design into a single package.
The recent news from the University of California that tuitions are being raised by over 32 percent despite deep cost cuts in the recent past is alarming many. I believe that it's a symptom of the problem. In a New York Times article about this issue, part of the remedy, according to a spokesperson, is to implement an "online 11th U.C. campus" to bring other students from other states and countries to the institution.
Universities have a tremendous opportunity to tap untapped markets - working adults like the Boeing employee. However, it's easier said than done. There is a great deal of misunderstanding among university staffs and faculty on what it takes to create an effective, quality online program for working adults. The landscape is littered with past failures, mostly the result of poor design. The trick is to not think of technology as something that's going to make the traditional ways less expensive. Rather the challenge is to think of technology as an enabler of innovative, new ways of educating that ONLY a technology-driven approach can deliver. The convergence of the traditional educational contexts and new technology-enabled "packaging" is truly exciting. It offers access to self-improvement for working adults while also providing much needed new financial opportunities for higher education institutions that can get it right the first time.
This article was written by John Panaccione.