There have been several very public failures of online degree programs in the past 12 months, and several others that were not so public as well.  As an observer of online higher education, I think it is safe to say that programs are closing almost as quickly as they are being launched.  The fact is traditional institutions seem to have a lot of trouble figuring out how to make a new online division successful.  In the process of trying to determine the equation for success, these colleges often spend large sums of money only to eventually close the online programs entirely.  This pattern begs the question, ‘why does this happen?’.  I think that there are several answers to this question, all of which center around a common theme: traditional institutions simply do not approach online education correctly.  The following are some flaws in approach that lead to online program failures.

Attitude toward enrollment

Enrollment for a traditional institution is generally a passive process.  The admissions department announces enrollment deadlines, potential student applications pour in and the college makes decisions about whom to admit and whom to reject.  The college is not required to pursue potential students because the students come to them.  When a college launches an online program they generally approach enrollment in the same way.  The program is launched, the college does some limited advertising and they sit back and expect the students to just show up.  Simply put, enrollment into non-traditional programs doesn’t work like that.  A college that fails to adopt a proactive enrollment model can expect their non-traditional programs to fail.

Program Selection

There are many ‘high demand’ degree programs in the world of non-traditional education, but these same programs also tend to be ‘high supply’.  In other words, there is a lot of demand for a Bachelors Degree in Business Management, but just about every school offers this program.  Differentiation of offerings is a way to stand out among the crowd and attract potential student interest.  Iowa Central Community College is a great example of how degree differentiation can help a new program launch.  The college leveraged campus resources to add a Homeland Security twist to its online criminal justice program.  Iowa Central was a first mover for this type of offering and it enjoyed the success of a unique program when the degree was launched.  The key to program differentiation is to offer a unique program that is not too niche to appeal to a wide audience.  A Business Degree with an emphasis in E-Business has a wide appeal and it stands out from the crowd, an emphasis in recreation management might stand out from the crowd, but the audience of potential students is much smaller.  Program selection can be the difference between success and failure.  Colleges should choose programs based on demand, not what the faculty wants to teach.

Advertising

Many traditional colleges launching online programs fail to advertise the new offerings properly.  I believe that there is a common misconception that simply being on the internet is enough to bring inquiries to you.  Personally I have spoken to several program administrators who did not even realize that it was necessary to purchase inquiries for their program offerings.  Furthermore, in the instances where they knew it was necessary, they did not have any sense of how to go about doing so.  The fact remains that if a college wants a successful online program, they need to promote it, and doing so can be expensive.  Those schools that do understand that inquiry generation is a necessity are faced with another challenge, how does the enrollment department intake and manage inquiries.  Whether the college chooses to engage in interactive or traditional advertising, it needs a way to manage the inquiries that are submitted.  In the absence of inquiry delivery and management tools it is impossible to effectively evaluate the impact of advertising expenditures.  Advertising new online offerings presents a college with a set of challenges that the program administrators may not be prepared to handle.  Promoting online programs is a lot more complex than simply spending money.  It requires both understanding of the market and technological expertise.  In most cases it makes financial sense for colleges to engage an experienced partner to help them manage the critical advertising function.

Evaluation of Enrollment Outcomes

Enrollment for online degree programs is significantly different than enrollment for traditional campus programs.  In particular, online enrollment requires that an admissions department track certain key metrics that are not generally evaluated by a traditional admissions division.  In particular the college must closely evaluate its cost per new student acquisition or CPA.  This metric is a key performance indicator for enrollment and marketing efforts and it lends significant insight into the effectiveness of both.  This figure generally ranges from $1200 to $2500 depending on the program and admissions requirements.  The fact is that most colleges launching new online programs do not realize how expensive it is to acquire new students.  In many cases this metric is not even being calculated and therefore it is impossible to truly evaluate how effective the enrollment staff is being or how effectively marketing dollars are being spent.  It is also important to note that CPA is only one of many important metrics used for tracking enrollment outcomes.  There is a lot that goes into enrollment, and it is possible to waste a lot of time and money trying to figure what metrics to monitor.  The best solution for a college new to online enrollment is to enlist the help of a partner that is proficient in the field.  ‘Consultant’ is a bit of a dirty with negative connotations, but the truth is, an experienced consultant can save a college time and money and help build a foundation for future enrollment success.  In short, if you don’t know what questions to ask, hire someone who does it’s worth it.