While it is certainly the case that many UK universities lack the capability and experience to enter and successfully operate in online student markets, it is also worth questioning the ability of all OPM companies to achieve significant online international student recruitment goals. As such, it is worth exploring the data and track records of OPMs in genuinely scaling up online international student recruitment.

In my experience, the international online student market is one where the scale of the opportunity somewhat clouds the realities. It is an area that many in UK higher education do not always fully understand.

Several universities ultimately failed to capitalise on the opportunities presented during that period, and as a result are left in weaker positions today. Decisions made during the MOOC era offer lessons that universities can learn from as they develop online learning in the 2020’s.

2024 has been another year of increasing focus on online learning from UK universities. This has been reflected in the increasing number of partnerships with online education companies and the growth of online degrees, sub-degree courses, and portfolios. All of this points towards intensifying competition for a market that does not show clear evidence of rapid or substantial short-term growth.

It’s been another eventful quarter in the world of online learning within UK higher education. The partnership and portfolio moves by UK universities, along with efforts from companies like THE and StudyPortals to plant a flag in online learning, reflect a growing interest that is taking various forms.

If we combine the financial challenges many universities in the sector are currently facing with the ambitions many have to develop online provision, then we face a challenge. Which is that if you want to grow an online learning portfolio, your number of online students, and compete with other providers, this entails investment—and not just investment, but smart investment.

However, there are other routes to consider that might in some way help mitigate the effects of financial challenges and also aid the development of online provision. One that I’m interested in seeing more universities explore is the sharing of online elective modules across institutions.

There has been positive news for UK higher education and its potential to reach the Indian higher education market. The establishment of branch campuses and moves to gain recognition for UK distance learning degrees are steps in the right direction. However, one lingering question remains: what realistic opportunity does online learning present for transnational student growth in India?

What is largely evident across Welsh universities is a general lack of an institutional strategy and cohesive, university-wide approaches to online learning. While there are many online degrees developed in an ad-hoc and fragmented manner within specific faculties, there is no clear indication that universities have coordinated, strategic, institution-level approaches to online education.

This quarter has seen new partnerships between universities and companies, significant developments in online education and edtech companies, the release of important data on online enrolments, and a continued focus by UK higher education institutions (HEIs) on recruiting for online education-related roles

Of all the various groupings of UK higher education institutions (HEIs) with representative bodies, the most prestigious is the research-intensive, highly ranked Russell Group. This group largely comprises the UK universities that consistently rank the highest internationally among UK HEIs and possess some of the biggest and strongest brands of all UK universities.

This gives them a strong and advantageous position to attract prospective online students. However, in general, elite, prestigious universities have not always had the strongest relationship with online distance education.

institutions that have sought to really understand the needs of today's students and not simply tinkered at the edges but changed more significantly feel like outliers.

While the financial pressures being experienced by UK HEIs are real and need to be addressed, there may come a time when it is not a lack of money that precipitates a slide into decline, but a lack of understanding your audience and changing what you do as a result.

Tax might seem like an unusual topic for an article, but tax in relation to online distance learning is currently a challenge for higher education providers. This is due to an increasing number of countries introducing goods and services taxes on digital services and the evolving nature of this area of taxation.

The new interim head of the Office for Students (OfS), David Behan, recently made headlines by suggesting that the golden age of higher education could be over. He highlighted a range of issues that have emerged in recent years, leading to the financial difficulties faced by higher education institutions (HEIs) across the UK.

By the time you read this, the UK general election will either be well into its second half, or based on all the predictions and polls, the UK will have a new government. In the last few weeks, the limited number of outlets covering UK higher education have been largely dominated by election coverage.

We’re now entering the summer months here in the UK, and for the moment the sun is shining and it’s nice and warm, at least where I am. This is particularly encouraging given that in recent weeks the internet has been serving up articles entitled “Can you imagine a year without a summer?” and ”Why is June so cold and will it get warmer?”. As we prepare to enter what will hopefully be a summer-like July and the 3rd quarter of 2024, it’s time to reflect upon all the developments in online education we’ve seen in April, May, and June. The last quarter has been full of interesting news, announcements, and developments from various companies operating in online education and several UK higher education institutions (HEIs).

After over a decade of the Conservative party being in power, there is a Labour party leader potentially on the cusp of becoming prime minister. But the year isn’t 2024, it’s 1963. This was the year Harold Wilson gave his famous “white heat of technology” speech in Scarborough before winning the 1964 general election. In this speech, he also mentioned his plan for a “university of the air,” and this new university was to be:

“designed to provide an opportunity for those who for one reason or another have not been able to take advantage of higher education now to do so”

It wasn’t until 1969 that this plan materialised as the Open University. It is also not the only example of a historical state-sponsored move to create a distance education university.

It’s not been a great year for data in UK higher education (HE). Firstly, the key annual UK HE sector data compiled by the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) has suffered multiple publication delays. We’re now expecting to get data on the 22/23 academic year in August. The horse has already bolted by the time we usually get it in January for the previous academic year, but it’s well and truly over the hills and far away now.

The online programme management (OPM) company space has undergone significant turbulence in the last few years. The influences behind this are varied, causing changes among many of the companies in this market.

As of 2020, the biggest players in the OPM world were Pearson Online Learning Services (POLS), Wiley Education Services, Academic Partnerships, and 2U. However, all four have been involved in mergers and acquisitions that have fundamentally changed the landscape.

At the end of last year, I wrote about a new online learning ranking announced by Times Higher Education (THE). At that stage, details were somewhat fuzzy, which, as might be expected, stimulated a lot of questions. On the whole, my conclusion was that an online learning ranking has the potential to be something positive, but there are challenges to doing this effectively and in a way that is trusted by the sector.