Government Overreach Could Deprive Students of Online Learning Opportunities
The growing trend towards online learning in American higher education is unmistakable. In a new white paper released by the American Consumer Institute, we, along with our colleagues, set out to understand how partnerships between Online Program Managers (OPMs) and institutions of higher learning (IHEs) benefit of consumers.
Specifically, we set out to address questions related to three major focus areas: student enrollment and retention, institutional resilience and financial health, and student outcomes. Across all three metrics, evidence suggests that these partnerships have proven remarkably beneficial to students and institutions alike.
We found that American college students are choosing to pursue online education at increasingly higher rates across the nation. We found that IHEs that partner with OPMs are able to offer enhanced online programs that are both more expansive and better tailored to individual student needs. Finally – and most importantly – we found that students enrolled in OPM-supported programs are excelling relative to peers in online programs that are not supported by OPMs.
These important findings arrive amid ongoing efforts on the part of the United States Department of Education to advance sweeping new regulations that threaten to disrupt the partnership between universities and OPMs and thereby undermine the effectiveness and accessibility of online learning.
If the goal of higher education is to prepare and position students to be successful, the higher graduation rates and expected earnings enjoyed by students enrolled in OPM-supported online programs clearly demonstrate the value of OPM-IHE partnerships.
The regulations currently being pursued by the Department of Education stand at odds to these positive outcomes. What’s more, the Biden Administration’s effort to re-write the rules governing OPM-IHE partnerships appears to lack any empirical grounding.
The regulatory structure governing partnerships between institutions of higher learning and OPMs was put in place by the Obama Administration not long ago. This structure has, by nearly all accounts, been effective. Why, then, is the Biden Administration working to undermine a structure that functions well for IHEs, delivers positive student outcomes, and enables colleges and universities to meet student needs without enduring undue financial strain?
Online education is remarkably popular with students, employers, faculty, and administrators alike. A 2023 Best Colleges survey found that 98% of current online students and 96% of online graduates would recommend online learning to others, with 75% reporting that online education was better than or equal to in-person learning.
OPMs enable IHEs to meet these growing demands without building online platforms from scratch, an endeavor that requires immense effort and capital. This leads to enhanced resilience and financial health for our schools, particularly as they transition their courses online, and addresses key challenges like scaling course offerings and integrating advanced technologies.
Student outcomes are the most important consideration of all. Current educational data analyzed in our report indicates that students enrolled in online courses incur fewer expenses. Such students usually spend less on tuition, save on living costs, and accumulate less debt than their counterparts attending in-person courses. These students also exhibit impressive graduation rates and often command higher earnings post-graduation.
Put simply, evidence suggests that partnerships between IHEs and OPMs have proven remarkably beneficial to consumers and institutions alike. The Administration’s expansive guidance – which would all but eliminate the OPM market – seems out of sync with prevailing realities and the Department of Education’s mandate to promote student achievement and preparation for global competitiveness by fostering educational excellence.
Rather than proceeding with its misguided regulatory overreach, the Administration should recognize that OPMs play an integral role in IHEs’ ability to meet student needs. Legal guardrails are already in place for higher education that are more than sufficient to protect the interests of consumers and other relevant stakeholders from a few bad actors. The Administration can certainly encourage the OPM sector to continue its pursuit of greater transparency – an effort that’s already well underway – but government overreach benefits no one.
It is the responsibility of IHEs, not the government, to decide what is best. Ongoing collaboration between IHEs and OPMs is key to driving innovation and competition in the education sector. Restrictive regulations can only undermine that goal.
