Online education in 2024: how to develop an online school now

The popularity of online learning continues to grow: a record enrollment of students for online courses around the world was recorded in 2020, and since then universities have been actively launching new online programs.

In this regard, new players are emerging in the online learning market: universities, schools and other distance learning courses. It is expected that the scale of market changes and the growth of the industry will become a huge challenge for many institutions in the competitive struggle in the education market.

The main market forces

Competition is getting tougher, big players are joining together, investments are coming in, and quality standards are rising. From 2011 to 2021, the number of listeners of massive open online courses increased from 300 thousand to 220 million people, and the number of students of hybrid and distance learning programs at public universities increased by 36% from 2012 to 2019.

Therefore, we have prepared five key points that online schools should work on in order to continue to develop and meet the requirements of students in the era of online education.

1. Keeping up with the market

Educational institutions, as a rule, are focused first on gaining knowledge, and only then on building a career. But students, especially those who are going to study online, pay attention to how much their degree will be in demand in an ever-changing labor market. Universities that produce talented professionals must adapt to these changes – that is, revise their training programs in order to better prepare their students for a dynamic work environment.

That's what you should pay attention to first:

• Trends

Even in online universities, programs are developed based on outdated material, which often does not take into account the current needs of employers and industries. This approach not only leads to a discrepancy in the qualifications of graduates, but also rarely allows them to find a job immediately after graduation.

Thus, the new programs of the University of Mexico, based on identifying changes in labor market trends and evaluating competitors' programs, provided 34% of all new students in the period from 2016 to 2019. Their development was carried out within the framework of a flexible team of specialists, which made it possible to create new programs in less than three months.

Institutes can stay ahead of events by creating training programs based on the principle of "learn and design".

• Practice

A McKinsey study found that lack of practice is one of the main educational problems for 30% of students. Many students who study only online are too old to wait for graduation to apply their practical skills at work.

The solution is composite programs that will allow students to complete internships simultaneously or sequentially. This will not only increase interest in studying and allow students to immediately apply their knowledge, but also give them work experience even before graduation.

2. Competent presentation of the material

Online learning needs a serviceable platform – easy to use and able to withstand large influx of users. In addition, for a more complete and interesting education, additional tools will not hurt, for example:

• trailers (short videos) for previewing courses;
• academic performance dashboards and tips based on it;
  
• recommendations for finding educational resources;
  
• other widgets that help you track your progress or repeat the training material.
  

The main thing is not to overload the learning space: it should be concise and set up for the learning process. Some universities even allow students to customize their profiles and home pages themselves – to choose which blocks of information will be shown to them and which will not.

An example of an edited educational website of one of the Russian universities.

3. Improving career guidance

As a rule, students begin their career path by choosing a specialty in the first year or two after graduation, and try to find a job in a related field shortly before graduation. So, students know where to enroll, but not about what to do after graduation.

The Strada study showed that more than a third of adults would change their profile if they could re-enroll in university, and among high-income people, the level of regret is lower.

How to prepare students for graduation and going out? Here are some tips:

• Career guidance questionnaires and tests

In order to help students identify their interests and choose a suitable specialty, some universities conduct questionnaires and career guidance tests. This allows you to identify the aptitudes, skills and experience of students, and set them an educational and career direction based on this.

For example, Dickinson College and Boston College include the study of students' strengths and interests in summer orientation sessions, so that students think about their future specialty and career even before classes begin. With this information, educational institutions help them make individual study plans in the early stages of the program.

Offering students full immersion in the world of career paths is what is important for educational institutions.

• Assistance in compiling a work portfolio

It allows companies to accurately assess the skills of an applicant and is often a decisive factor in hiring. Therefore, by helping a student with his main career document, educational institutions can adapt their programs to the requirements of most companies and provide not only academic knowledge, but also practical skills necessary to start a career.

• Cooperation with companies

Online schools and universities can also provide their students with access to a network of companies that are actively looking for new specialists. This gives students the opportunity to find a job or internship in their field before graduation.

For example, in Russia, the Facultetus is engaged in this – a digital career environment for students and employers. She cooperates with many Russian universities and helps students across the country find jobs in their specialty.

4. The revolution in relations with employers

According to the Udacity study, 69% of young people believe that employers should invest in the future of their employees and provide them with professional training. However, only a few universities put cooperation with companies at the forefront. 

Now, when companies lack qualified personnel and future students are looking for career opportunities, it's time to think about how online schools and universities can establish effective B2B partnerships*.

*B2B (business to business) – sales from business to business. Unlike B2C (business to clients), which provides services directly to clients, B2B is a partnership of businesses.

• Think about what you can give to your partners

An online school can be a "corporate academy" and improve the skills of employees. For example, she can develop individual plans for each employee and track the overall progress of the company.

In addition, schools and universities can offer individual student support tailored to a specific partner. This gives you the opportunity not only to develop existing employees, but also to attract new ones.

• Focus on specific professional skills

Many online learning platforms offer a wide range of certifications and educational programs, aiming to demonstrate the overall value of their education to potential partners, instead of focusing on the skills needed for a particular industry or position. Study these positions and identify the specific skills the employee needs.

5. Brand and advertising

In today's competitive environment, it is important, first of all, to create your own bright and memorable brand. And don't forget about marketing – potential students should constantly learn about you. Here are some simple marketing tips in modern realities:

• Create a compelling and unique message. For example, focus on the accessibility and flexibility of your training.
• Not only attract new students, but also maintain long-term cooperation with them so that they can advise you in the future.
  
• Develop different digital channels, the more the better. Different social networks and video hosting sites will attract more audience than just one blog in one. But we warn you, do not duplicate information in the same way on all social networks – follow the format adopted by the social network so that people like your posts.
  
• Use real opinions and feedback from your students in advertising. If they talk about you honestly and well, use it for promotion, if they talk about you honestly and poorly, use it for development. Work on your minuses and turn them into pluses.
  

That's it. Follow trends, be fast and involve your entire organization in changes. We believe that by observing these five points, you will give your students the conditions they need, put your business on the path of rapid development and achieve the best results in the new year.

Are you looking for a suitable IT franchise? Join the CODDY team! 24 countries, a place in the top 5 best franchises of the Russian Federation in 2023 and thousands of reviews – we guarantee development.