What are the symptoms of digital learning programs that are not doing as well as they could, and what underlying strategic problems do they have? I answer these two questions in this first post of a series about planning for digital learning in higher education. The following articles will outline the frameworks used for constructing a solution.
Typical symptoms of digital learning that need attention
Programs can appear to be doing “fine” but can exhibit symptoms that indicate that something is off.
- Are students, faculty, staff, and administrators excited about your digital learning programs?
- Do your programs represent you? Do they highlight those features that make you special?
- Are students highly engaged (with the other students, the professor, the content, and possibly the community)?
- Are as many learners enrolled in your program as you think possible?
- Are you spending your budget wisely? Is the program as inexpensive as it could be, given how effective it is?
- Can you get to market with new programs as quickly as you need to?
- Is each learning program an integrated whole? And does your portfolio make sense—is it integrated, and does each program have a well-defined role within the whole?
Underlying problems in need of treatment
If you answer “no” to any of the above questions, then you need to go through the analyses that follow to determine which strategic problems you need to address.
To treat these symptoms, you will need to address at least the following underlying problems that typically plague digital learning programs (as shown in the figure above).
Why you?
Your digital learning programs should represent those things that make you special. If they don’t, prospects wouldn’t have any reason to choose them. Even worse, the only way to compete if you cannot answer this question well will be on price…and that’s never a good thing for your enrollment or your bottom line.
Filming a play
Early movies were made by filming a play. Movies like “Avatar” are only made possible by realizing that a movie has unique characteristics that separate it from a play. Your digital learning programs should be designed to take advantage of the special affordances of digital learning. Don’t film a lecture and call it a digital class. If this is how you deliver your digital programs, you invite competitors to take your students and consign your program to history.
Class size too small
Faculty can deliver engaging, effective, and successful digital synchronous classes to 600 or more students at a time. I have seen it. Asynchronous classes serve thousands of students at the same time. Do not hamstring your growth by putting an artificially small cap on your classes. To deliver large classes (either synchronously or asynchronously), you have to think about their delivery differently—but it can be done.
Non-optimal program mix
Synchronous and asynchronous delivery modes have strengths and weaknesses. Be thoughtful when making your choice. Also, be aware that available financing and program scale determine the appropriate answer; thus, the answer will change over time. Further, different student populations have different demands that result in different choices about delivery modes—and these demands change over time. Continue to take the pulse of your student and target market.
Boring synchronous sessions
Everyone knows about boring talking-head videos or filmed lectures. Do not assume that synchronous learning has to be this way. It does not. With little preparation beyond what must be done for an engaging in-person class, digital synchronous sessions can be engaging and effective. Faculty must be aware of this possibility, understand the importance of online pedagogy, and be trained in a variety of approaches.
Sauntering
Over 500 online MBA programs are currently offered in the US. While this market is particularly (over)saturated, most other markets have multiple strong offerings as well. For a program to succeed, it must differentiate itself from the crowd and quickly respond to changes in the market. The program team cannot saunter through their daily activities—they must act with purpose and focus, knowing that they are competing every day for the continued commitment of their students. Further, staff and faculty must complete market and program assessments every year, given the dynamic operating environment.
Over-reliance on asynchronous mode
Asynchronous learning can be amazingly engaging and effective. (Just take a course from HBS Online, among others, if you don’t believe me.) However, it is also quite expensive if you want to do it well. If you are going to use this approach, then your programs have to have the appropriate scale. If they don’t, then you will struggle to make a profit.
Addressing those strategic problems
Now that we have an understanding of the strategic problems that commonly appear with digital learning programs, I propose a three-step process for addressing them:
- Clarify your institutional strategic approach
- Clarify how your learning program will compete
- Make decisions across your portfolio of digital programs
I will post about these three in the coming days. In the meantime, I ask: What did I miss? What problems do you see with my list?
