Blog Entry
A colleague recently emailed me with an interesting concept—the idea that it takes some 18 months for students to decide to take on a particular course of new learning…and the need for at least about a year before a new degree program or course catches on. The concept is something like having to live with an idea for a while before getting used to it sufficiently to accept it.
At this time when so many departments are working to put their courses and degree programs online to fine “new students,” that concept of a latency period is an interesting one.
Tapping into the global e-learning market is a lot easier said than done. This involves connecting with potential learners where they’re at and also connecting with potential employers in the particular fields of the domain coursework. This means a lot of cross-cultural interactions. This means remote support for learners with various technological contexts. This means standing out with a global brand in an ever-more crowded marketplace.
The usual approach is twofold:
Offer courses in which one can specialize and stand out globally.
Offer interdisciplinary courses in which one can specialize and stand out globally.
Then, it’s about putting the right processes in place to create quality courses. Departments that have faculty who view the online space as a totally unknown territory and a threat will not likely make that transition well.
Another strategy is to create alliances of organizations that can share their course building resources, their faculty talents, and their student pools. Organizations are positioning themselves to be competitive.
Some courses “take” right away as they tap into an expressed or tacit need in the community. There is passion for a particular topic. I’ve had a collaboratively built course that evolved over the spring and summer that launched to several full sections in the fall—without any publicity. The course sold itself.
I’ve also had a course that I thought would catch on and be wildly popular—because of the faculty member’s stature and ties to national organizations—that barely filled sufficiently to run.
And those who’ve worked in public relations and marketing and advertising probably already know that getting an effective message out is only part of the battle. People who read the message then need to have a behavioral response, and that can be a tough link to close.
Comments
PHP Programming 2 months, 2 weeks ago
Thanks for the details.In this competitive day and age one needs to communicate effectively.I hope after reading this post..people would get a better perspective on marketing online courses.
hostgator 2 months, 1 week ago
Online marketing course is actually a good idea. Quality above all.
Corporate Behavior 2 months, 1 week ago
Have to agree with hostgator - first quality, than quantity (Like there are countless numbers of Online-Marketing Agencies for example, but only a handfull is really good at what they do!)
Backpacks for laptops 2 months, 1 week ago
It also pays to be the first university to offer a unique course. I remember there was a lot of free press and media mentions for universities that first started courses in a very specialized niche.
Then again a lot of online course popularity depends on how well it is integrated with new technologies that are blooming... like Twitter for example.
Eruditio Loginquitas 2 months, 1 week ago
Hello, Backpacks for Laptops: Aligning with popular technologies is one common strategy, but it also has to make sense in the teaching context. Too often, people will jump on a technology bandwagon and not have a learning reason to integrate that technology. And many will break all sorts of intellectual property laws while using the new technologies by swiping images and contents from the Web.
Yes, it does help to get press coverage for unique and original courses and degrees. However, I'll also add that behind the articles and "free" press coverage is a lot of hard work by the universities' public information offices.
seo specialist 2 months, 1 week ago
It's always easier said then done with the whole press coverage subject. I've experienced working in that kind of atmosphere before & i'm glad you've highlighted the hard work that has to be put into it.
RWH 1 month, 4 weeks ago
Thanks for pointing out some great points. Online courses can be helpful in many aspects such as flexibility, price wise but also they pose many questions, for instance: if the school offering the courses is accredited or not, the qualification of the instructors, is the school well- established and known, and many more. But like you said, the presentation of the quality courses in the right time with effective marketing approach can certainly make a difference especially if the school providing the courses is reputed and accredited.
First Class Fashionista 1 month, 2 weeks ago
I think that the younger kids are more likely to be willing to try something new. I have to daughters in college and both are taking at least one online course. However, I graduated from college over twenty years ago and I still value a classroom education.
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