Online Education
When Colleges Consider Outsourcing Online Programs, Calculations Can Get Complicated
Author: Ray Schroeder
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By Jeffrey R. Young, EdSurge
A growing number of colleges are turning to for-profit companies to help them run their online programs, and to help finance them. These companies are known as online program managers, or OPMs. The relationships can mean a clash of cultures. One college official recalled a meeting where the head of a popular OPM showed up wearing a gold chain and talking about the “cost of acquisition” of students. That focus on sales can be uncomfortable for traditional colleges, who prefer to talk about their nonprofit missions of preparing students to be good citizens.