Online Learning 2.0: Strategies for a Mature Market

INTRODUCTION It is an exciting time for online education. Lately, there has been breathless talk of a “revolution” and massive “disruption,” largely based on Massively Open Online Course (MOOC) models pioneered by universities such as MIT and Stanford, and headline-grabbing start-up companies such as Udacity and Coursera. Meanwhile, university professional and continuing education units have long been pioneers in online education and have been evolving their course, certificate, and degree offerings for more than a decade. While the world awaits the impact from MOOCs and the emergence of sustainable business models and evidence of student learning, the demand for online degree programs and courses from universities remains very strong. Online education has now passed the tipping point in credibility in the mind of the consumer public, university faculty and administrators, and importantly, employers. Other developments are adding to the momentum. According to research organizations such as Eduventures and the Sloan Consortium, thousands of colleges are now active in online education, enrollment now stands at millions of students, and the online market now represents $25 billion in annual tuition revenue—and one-third of all adult