U21 Global, an online university, hoped to have 500,000 students by 2011. After being open for eight years, however, it has only enrolled 1 percent of its goal. Now Universitas 21, an international association of research institutions, is giving up its controlling interest in the ailing program to the Manipal Group, an Indian education and healthcare company, The Australian reports. Manipal aims to shift the focus from master’s degrees to corporate education.
U21 Global was originally organized as a $50-million, profit-making venture to which members of the association contributed varying amounts. Among the largest investors was Melbourne University, which owned 20 percent of U21 and has channeled about $15-million to the project. The only American institution among the initial investors was the University of Virginia, which put in $1-million. U21 Global offered its first courses in 2003.
U21 Global’s problems are a reflection of continuing difficulties among online-education programs. Earlier this year the University of Illinois announced a downsizing of, and fundamental shift to, its distance-education project, Global Campus.
5 Responses to Online University, Struggling to Attract Students, Loses Investors as Well
jsener - December 9, 2009 at 5:15 pm
U21 Global’s problems are a not a “reflection of continuing difficulties among online-education programs.” They are a reflection of continuing difficulties among online-education programs with dubious or unsustainable business models, which is a very small slice of the whole pie. Online education programs continue to proliferate in various sectors, and enrollment is steaming along at a healthy clip. It takes a rather blindly narrow perspective to characterize online education programs as having “continuing difficulties.”
curtmadison - December 9, 2009 at 5:27 pm
I agree with jsener. It is disingenuous to equate a poor business plan with an innovation in higher education. Clearly, the increase in rate of students are enrolling in online courses ten times the rate of those in on campus courses. And there are many more successful ventures than a few failed ones. If the writer had looked into the University of Illinois venture at any depth, he would have realized his mistake.
richardtaborgreene - December 10, 2009 at 2:21 am
Lazy professors who wish to “put” their stuff on-line as courses and lazy university administrators who wish to “sell” via “another channel” what professors already generate in 1000 year old style classes—deserve richly the huge losses their eVentures generate. People unable to think do not generally get rich though great thought does not automatically make one rich. The eChannel requires compensations—a la JSBrown and Duguid—for the loss of face-to-face-ness (Skype notwithstanding). It also has a different benefit profile with far highly quailty feedback somewhat compesating for lack of personal relations built compared to traditional campus propinquity arrangements. Any business deals with this sort of channel specificity all the time–university administrators, long proud of their second rateness are now paying real prices for not keeping abreast of their commercial competitors.
arrive2_net - December 10, 2009 at 2:59 am
You have to wonder if there would be real value in saying you have a degree from something called U21 Global … I mean, regardless of what value they offer in their degrees that name just doesn’t sound real, so it seem like you have to start explaining to people that it is not just a diploma mill. I don’t know if the “AACSB” accreditation they offer is of real value. I did not find it in the approved list at the US Dept of Ed. On their website, U21 shows that their Singapore Branch MBA program is rated very high by the FINANCIAL TIMES of London, but I’m not sure how much credibility that would have for an American employer. (Maybe their degrees would be highly valued in Europe … that is unknown to me … but it still seems like such a seemingly thrown together institution may not be fully trusted.) Today the online degree world, like the job market, is competitive. You have to offer the real degree that can get you the respect you need to take you where you want to go.
laoshi - December 10, 2009 at 5:34 am
Manipal Group? Yikes! My wife and used to use the Manipal Hospital in Bangalore, and though it is considered top by local standards, it is a bit like medical care in a crowded public bus terminal. Scary place, where power-outages and dirty floors are common. I can only imagine how they might run an online university racket. Caveat emptor!