Moving to Anywhere, Anytime Learning
Institutional Strategies for Meeting the
Online Education Needs of Lifelong Learners
Dr. Andy DiPaolo
Executive Director
News Items
• UMass Online enrollments exceed 21,000
with revenue at $21M, a 29% increase in one
year. March 2006
• For-profit University of Phoenix enrolls over
160,000 in online degree programs.
Anticipate 500,000 students worldwide by
2010. June 2005
Stanford Center for Professional Development
• 2
News Items
• UCLA’s OnlineLearning.net enrolls over
60,000 students annually in lifelong learning
classes. March 2004
• After spending over $30M Columbia
University closes Fathom, its money-losing
online learning venture. January 2003
Stanford Center for Professional Development
• 3
News Items
• More than 1.2M students
in the U.S. – representing
7% of all students enrolled
in degree-granting
institutions – projected to
earn their degree entirely
online. Estimates indicate
that by 2008 one out of
every 10 students will be
enrolled in an online
degree program. May 2006
Stanford Center for Professional Development
• 4
News Items
• Universitas 21, an international online
education partnership of 16 research
universities in 8 countries and Thomson
Learning, falls short of student and financial
forecasts. November 2004
• Scotland’s Interactive University claims it
exceeds all targets and enrolls more than
60,000 online students in 20 countries in
first 18 months. July 2004
Stanford Center for Professional Development
• 5
News Items
• NextEd partners with 11 higher education
institutions to deliver online graduate and
professional education throughout Asia via
the Global University Alliance. November 2003
• New York University shuts down its virtual
university spin-off company, NYU Online.
January 2003
Stanford Center for Professional Development
• 6
News Items
• eARMYU’s $600M partnership with 29
institutions makes 146 degree programs
available online. Mar 2005
• Australian universities launch aggressive
advertising campaign with government
support in a bid to maintain share of
lucrative international online education
market. May 2004
Stanford Center for Professional Development
• 7
News Items
• Claiming more than 250,000 enrollments,
the University Alliance Online – a private
company – markets degree programs from
11 accredited U.S. universities. June 2005
• Ireland and UK sign higher education pact
to create lifelong access to flexible and
convenient e-learning programs. November 2005
Stanford Center for Professional Development
• 8
News Items
• Barnes and Noble University – an
“edumarketing” initiative from a book
seller -- enrolls 200,000 online students.
September 2005
• Stanford Center for Professional
Development delivers 14,000 hours of
online academic and professional education
courses. Becomes major provider of online
education for high potential engineers,
scientists and technology managers. August 2005
Stanford Center for Professional Development
• 9
News Items
• American Council on Education indicates
online higher education is attractive to
entrepreneurs and traditional universities
likely to lose an increasing share of market
to alternative providers. August 2005
• MIT’s Open Courseware initiative offers free
online access to materials from 2000
courses. January 2005
Stanford Center for Professional Development
• 10
News Items
• Donald Trump, U.S. billionaire, opens Trump
U, an online university for business
education. May 2005
• UK eUniversities Worldwide designed to
provide global online degrees from UK’s
best universities fails after spending $63M.
May 2004
Stanford Center for Professional Development
• 11
News Items
• Intel and Microsoft work with institutions to
develop company-specific online graduate
degree programs. February 2005
• AllLearn - a nonprofit venture by Oxford,
Stanford and Yale to provide online
noncredit humanities courses - closes
citing financial woes. March 2006
Stanford Center for Professional Development
• 12
News Items
• Sloan Foundation contributes over $50M to
118 academic institutions to develop
asynchronous learning networks. December 2004
• Over 200 colleges and universities join
together to offer free online courses to
support displaced students from Hurricane
Katrina. Effort provides boost to
acceptability of online higher education.
October 2005
Stanford Center for Professional Development
• 13
The Online Higher Education
Market Continues to Churn…
• Successfully implemented but with mixed
elements of hype and reality.
• Many providers ranging from traditional
universities to collaborations to start-ups.
• Lifelong learners generally select online
providers with a known brand and
reputation, especially those most apt to aid
in employability and career growth.
Stanford Center for Professional Development
• 14
The Challenge
What Do Lifelong Learners Want,
Need and Expect of Higher
Education Providers?
Stanford Center for Professional Development
• 15
The Challenge
• Assume responsibility for
increasing personal market
value. Busy yet anxious to
learn.
• Access to learning anytime
and anywhere. Time and
availability is often more
important than cost for
mobile learners who want
an on-the-go, 24/7
connection to education.
Stanford Center for Professional Development
• 16
The Challenge
• Convenience and flexibility with a
range of course and program
delivery options and multiple
avenues for learning.
• Wide range of online degree,
certification and career-building
programs – not just random
online courses – with flexibility
around when programs start and
end. Push is for modular
instruction versus courses.
Stanford Center for Professional Development
• 17
The Challenge
• Well-designed, engaging, relevant
and continuously updated
programs which facilitate the
transfer of learning to direct
application. Rapid mastery of
knowledge and skills – practice
oriented education - is the goal.
• Emphasis on active, challenging
scenario-based learning using
real, vivid and familiar examples.
Think games, simulations and
shared virtual and immersive
environments.
Stanford Center for Professional Development
• 18
The Challenge
• Self-directed, demanddriven learning with
control of the pace,
sequence and mode of
learning. Impatient with
inefficient methods. Want
to multi-task while
learning.
• Choice of synchronous,
asynchronous and
blended learning options.
Stanford Center for Professional Development
• 19
The Challenge
• Customized learning
experiences based on
assessment of knowledge
gaps, personal learning
styles and preferences. Shift
from “just-in-case” to “justin-time” to “just-for-me”
learning. Strong interest in
search/Google-like learning.
• Provisions for e-advising, ecoaching and e-mentoring.
Stanford Center for Professional Development
• 20
The Challenge
• Participation in a “networked
learning community” including
interaction with instructors,
tutors, peers and experts.
• Learn, refine and apply online
group collaboration skills and
knowledge management tools in
learning situations including
international interactions.
Stanford Center for Professional Development
• 21
The Challenge
• Access to providers with a
recognized brand and
reputation. Will consider a mix
of higher education, prof &
trade associations, publishers,
govt agencies, libraries,
corporations, etc. but want
formal “certification” for the
effort.
• Preview of courses and review
of evaluations before
registering.
Stanford Center for Professional Development
• 22
The Challenge
• World-wide access to electronic
resources with instruction on how
to evaluate and apply what is
collected.
• Outstanding support services with
a focus on “student as customer.”
Elimination of delays and
inefficient procedures regarded as
essential.
• Competitive and variable pricing.
Stanford Center for Professional Development
• 23
The Challenge
• Continuous, prompt, and
meaningful forms of assessment
and feedback.
• Use of delivery technology which
is smaller, faster, brighter,
cheaper and usable anywhere.
• Ongoing educational renewal
over an entire career with
commitment from their provider
to support learning for a lifetime.
Stanford Center for Professional Development
• 24
Institutional Strategies for
Anywhere/Anytime Lifelong
Learning
Some Lessons Learned
Stanford Center for Professional Development
• 25
Strategies
• Online initiative needs to be consistent
with institution’s mission, values, strengths
and areas of distinction. Build from
tradition in new ways.
• Must begin with a clear, worthy strategic
plan keeping it close to core faculty and
using traditional academic structures to
accelerate development.
Stanford Center for Professional Development
• 26
Strategies
• Design online education initiative as a way
to extend and enhance - not replace academic programs. Develop a unique
niche to meet a local, national or global
market need.
• Aim for the “sweet spot” -- intersection of
audience needs and wants, faculty
interests, institutional strengths and what
people will pay for.
Stanford Center for Professional Development
• 27
Strategies
• Think course-to-certificate-to-degree
progression. Online versions of existing
courses are easier to start than new ones.
• Recruit best faculty by offering incentives
and rewards supportive of change and
performance. Address faculty concerns
regarding ownership of intellectual
property, increased demands and impact
on workload.
Stanford Center for Professional Development
• 28
Strategies
• Develop financial model that covers costs
and investments with revenue distributed
to participating departments and faculty.
Point out non-revenue values of faculty
participation.
• Start small: pilot with existing students,
alumni and focus groups. Benchmark
against competition. Experiment, adapt,
improve and then scale and publicize with
care.
Stanford Center for Professional Development
• 29
Strategies
• If possible, create a unified institutional
brand. Strong brands with weak programs
will diminish the reputation of the
institution. Use caution in developing
collaborations and outside partnerships.
• Identify every possible student service
interaction and try to make it positive and
satisfying. Be fast, flexible and attentive.
Stanford Center for Professional Development
• 30
Moving to Anywhere, Anytime Learning
• Remember: it’s not about technology, it’s
about learning and innovation!
• Question everything like an entrepreneur.
Think daringly, execute steadily.
• Capitalize on the unexpected and have the
courage to stop doing.
• Appoint leaders with vision, passion and a
Stanford Center for Professional Development
• 31
Moving to Anywhere, Anytime Learning
“The scarce resource today is not
bandwidth, but people who can
create and innovate in the
knowledge age.”
- How Academic Leadership Works
Stanford Center for Professional Development
• 32
Questions and Conversations
• Andy DiPaolo
adp@stanford.edu
• Stanford Center for Professional
Development
http://scpd.stanford.edu
Stanford Center for Professional Development
• 33
Slides at http://scpd.stanford.edu
Stanford Center for Professional Development
• 34
Moving to Anywhere, Anytime Learning
Institutional Strategies for Meeting the
Online Education Needs of Lifelong Learners
Dr. Andy DiPaolo
Executive Director
Stanford Center for Professional Development
• 35