The percentage of students taking online classes continue to rise,
but is it the right investment? If institutions see it as a way to generate revenue,
they may need to think again.
Online education needs to be economically sustainable. It
should also make sense from a cost and investment standpoint, according to
Joshua Kim, director of digital learning initiatives at the Dartmouth Center
for the Advancement of Learning.
“Putting money as the first and ultimate goal of online education
will cause a school to make a series of bad choices, while simultaneously
closing off other potential benefits of online learning,” Kim wrote in his
regular blog post for Inside Higher Ed.
Online programs should align with and support the
strategic mission of the institution. In developing online classes, the school
needs to start with an understanding of where its strengths lie as opposed to developing
courses to meet particular market demands.
“There will be winners and losers in any such
conversation, and the role of leadership is to have the discipline and courage
to invest in areas of comparative strength,” Kim wrote. “Only once a clear
institutional strategy has been built around areas of differentiating excellence
should any online education strategy be enacted.”