Open 24/7: How Online Learning Is Helping Universities Deliver for Professionals and Drive Revenue
September 27, 2022
Online learning is now easy to deliver for alumni and working professionals. For universities, this means creating practical, effective, and easily consumable programs that anyone can access regardless of where they are or what their schedule looks like. To increase your chances of success, work with a partner who helps you launch the program with ease, leverages their expertise, and utilizes technology that facilitates scale and sustainable revenue. Here are three ways that online learning delivers exactly what professionals need.
1. Professional learning needs to be targeted, relevant and consumable
Professional learning and development are critical concerns for employers. Upskilling is the act of improving current employees’ skill sets through training, and roughly 9 in 10 companies say that upskilling has boosted productivity at work [1]. The past few years have seen a distinct uptick in upskilling with 42 percent of companies stepping up their upskilling efforts after the COVID-19 outbreak [1]. Many employees think this is a needed step as well with 74 percent believing their managers require additional training [1].
However, the design of a course can impact learning. This study found that the learning environment strongly correlated (r ≥ 0.50) with learning outcomes [2]. Furthermore, results from hierarchical multiple regression suggested that characteristics of learners in addition to the learning environment positively influenced the outcomes of online learning (R2 = 0.679, p < 0.01) [2].
Unlike undergraduates, professionals require coursework that is targeted, relevant, and consumable. Designing a learning program with them in mind is vitally important for ultimate success.
2. University professional programs can be launched with the right technology for the job
Online learning implementation has boomed in the past few years because of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, not all of those learners are K-12 or college students. Instead, the vast majority of online learners — at 68 percent — are experienced professionals [3]. They’re often part-time students who are an average age of 32 years old [3].
The right design of an online platform helps connect learners to instructors and build trust in the institution that’s educating them. SaaS solutions are flexible and can be modified for the learner. Universities must focus on making high-quality courses that are highly consumable, social, and utilize features to engage and retain their learners –not distract them.
3. Partnerships in SaaS are key
The software as a service (SaaS) industry is rapidly growing. It’s expanded from a $31.5 billion to a $171.9 billion industry in just 7 years [4]. As companies grow, they tend to use more SaaS applications. For example, when companies have fewer than 50 employees, they use around 16 SaaS applications. If companies employ between 50 and 99 employees, then that number increases to 24 applications.
Why are SaaS solutions so popular? They’re a simple, affordable, and accessible solution to nearly all businesses. With both infrastructure and software development costs rising, having the right platform for the job is critical. The SaaS model offers an easy alternative to traditional on-site hardware and software.
The Takeaway
Amesite offers branded systems to universities, which enables them to offer subscription, single-purchase, or combination programs out-of-the-box. Provide products that alumni love to rebuild revenue for universities. Learn how we helped Wayne State University deliver a fully online, on-demand engaging learning experience here.
