On September19, 2012 Inside Higher Ed ran a fascinating article describing an Eduventures report about the pace of growth in online education.  Specifically the Eduventures report detailed the results of their survey of prospective adult students. The survey found that there has been little change in prospective students’ preference for online education since a similar survey was conducted in 2006.  The relative stability in the numbers seems to suggest that after years of significant year over year growth, the market is reaching maturity.  The report goes on to say that despite the majority of the past growth being confined to the for-profit sector, this same sector has seen enrollments tumble in the recent past.

The Inside Higher Ed article makes reference to several reasons why certain entities have seen enrollment stagnation or declines, but the reason that is most interesting to us is competition.  On the issue of competition the Inside Higher Ed made the following point which it followed up with comments from Eduventures Vice President Richard Garrett.

Convenience was the big draw in the past, and might have been enough to attract students. That is probably no longer the case, according to the report.

Colleges will have to compete on the quality of their online academic experience, said Garrett. And learning outcomes — more tangible evidence of learning and return on investment — will also become more important in the jostling of a tighter online market.

The competition could be a good thing, Garrett said, and there is plenty of room for colleges to demonstrate their strengths online because, currently, “it’s very hard to tell one school from the other.”

At BEST we have held this same belief for quite some time.  It is not enough to just offer online programs; for every online business degree there are 100 others just like it.  Students have a huge amount of choice in the market today.  We know from interacting with students everyday that the choice of one college versus another is often tied to something about the chosen school that makes it different from the competition.  The market for online education may be maturing, but we believe that also means that quality will necessarily improve as well.  The schools that thrive will be the ones that embrace the market forces and differentiate themselves through quality, service and program offerings.

But the question remains, has the growth of online education hit a plateau? Maybe it has, but in our opinion that does not mean that there is no room for growth in certain sectors.  While the for profits may be experiencing declining enrollment, we are seeing traditional schools enter the space and experience positive growth.  A small college with niche offerings can still expand in a profitable manner.  In fact 100 small colleges could grow a campus of 1000 online students each and there would still be room in the market for additional enrollment expansion, at least that’s how we see it.

Growing an online campus may just be a question of having the right partner in place.  To find out if BEST is the right partner for your college, please contact us at pete@barkereducation.com or (602) 377-1792.

There are a lot of factors to consider when launching an online program.  Preparing the proper groundwork for educating online students is as important as actually delivering curriculum.   We recently went through the exercise of launching with a new client and our operational experience was instrumental in ensuring that the programs started on time.  The BEST team put together a project management plan that outlined each milestone that we needed to hit in order to launch on time.  Members of our team even got involved in program selection, scheduling and policy development.  This launch was an example of our anti-cookie cutter methods put in action.  The following is an overview of some of the tasks that the BEST team completed in order to launch ontime:

• Assisted with the development of admissions and academic policies for online students.
• Developed admissions workflows defining interactions between departments.
• Assisted with the selection of an e-text solution.
• Assisted with the selection of an online learning platform.
• Developed schedules.
• Assisted with program selection.
• Assisted with initial course offering selection.
• Built enrollment budgets and forecasts.
• Designed and built a microsite for the online programs.
• Designed and built an online application for admission.
• Developed credit pre-evaluation workflow.
• Developed transcript request workflow.
• Assisted with the development of workflow for student financing.
• Worked with academic staff to develop the online classroom experience.
• Worked with academic staff to define student participation requirements.
• Developed service level agreements defining process completion timelines.
• Wrote press releases.
• Initiated inquiry generation campaigns.

This list is probably incomplete, but it does show how much work goes into an online program before a student even takes a class.  If you institution is thinking about building an online campus, you might think about whether or not you have the institutional bandwidth to build the necessary infrastructure.  If the answer is no, give us a call.  We might be able to help.

The reasons why we preach an anti-turnkey philosophy are pretty complex but they can be summed up in one sentence, ‘Every college is different’.  It really is that simple.  It is a waste of time and an exercise in frustration to try and make every college client fit into a rigid model.  Instead, we work to understand a client and we build a model that works for that institution.  Of course there are certain consistencies that we encounter with each client, but there are also vast differences from college to college.   The consistencies between clients are things like financial aid departments, registrars offices, admissions departments and academic affairs offices.  However, within each of these there are individuals,  personalities, long standing policies and procedures and most importantly institutional culture.  All of these things contribute to the institution’s makeup and in many cases this makeup is not immediately suited to facilitate the growth of an online campus.  Our job is to work within a college to build the infrastructure to support a growing online campus.

The complex inner workings of a client school are where we thrive.   Each client presents a unique set of challenges and our goal is to develop solutions to address them.   Online degree seekers are a different group than traditional students.  An institution must recognize this fact and structure its online campus to serve the needs of a non-traditional student.  We  find ways to make the various departments within a college work together in a seamless manner to serve online students.  This process is never the same from college to college.  The BEST team looks at each stage in the student life cycle and asks “Is this the best way to serve the students?”.  When the answer is no, we work with our clients to develop solutions to improve the student experience and position the institution for growth and success.  Our team draws from lessons learned with other clients, but in each case the solutions are unique to each institution.  BEST believes in being nimble and responsive and our model reflects this.  To learn more about how our approach can help your online campus grow, please contact Pete Morton at pete@barkereducation.com or (602) 377-1792.

“…a series on student mobility that the clearinghouse has begun producing to capitalize on the unique data it collects as a repository of student-level information from more than 3,000 colleges — reveals that 45 percent of all students who finished a four-year degree in 2010-11 had previously enrolled at a two-year college.

Of those students, 24 percent had been enrolled at the two-year institution for just one term, 16 percent for two terms, and 19 percent for three or four terms. But a full 12 percent were enrolled for at least 10 terms, suggesting that even students who spend a significant length of time at a community college might eventually go on to a four-year college.”

Given the rapidly increasing tuition rates at many state and private institutions nationwide, community colleges provide students with an attractive option for completing their education.  However, there have also been recent reports that major community college systems are facing budget cuts and increased demand which is leading to students being turned away or wait listed.  Fortunately for these students there are many more options at community colleges offering online degrees.  If the campus is not an option, earning a degree online is a great way to make progress toward a four year degree.

Scottsdale, AZ (PRWEB) July 30, 2012

Barker Educational Services Team (BEST) is pleased to announce a new enrollment partnership with Webber International University located in Babson Park, Florida, and St. Andrews University, formerly known as St. Andrews Presbyterian College, located in Laurinburg, North Carolina. St. Andrews is a branch of Webber International University, and Webber is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.

Under the partnership, which began in June of 2012, BEST will manage all of the advertising, enrollment and student services activities for the online programs at both the Florida and North Carolina locations. BEST has another client, Iowa Central Community College Online, for which it provides the same comprehensive set of services at the associate’s degree level. The new partnership with Webber and St. Andrews provides a logical complement to the program offerings at Iowa Central Online, as both institutions offer bachelor’s completion tracks for online students.

Todd Prince, President of BEST had the following to say about the new partnership, “We are all really excited about this new relationship. Webber and St. Andrews have great programs and strong leaders who really ‘get it’. We know from experience that the president of a client institution is critical to the success of a new online campus. We are honored to have been selected as the team that will help them to grow.”

Todd went on to say “This partnership provides us with another opportunity as well; many of our graduates at Iowa Central ask us for guidance on where to pursue a bachelor’s degree. Now we have two great educational opportunities for them!”

Dr. Keith Wade, the president of Webber International University added, “Once you admit that you’re not great at everything, it empowers you to work towards becoming the best in the world at the things you do really, really well. What Webber is really, really good at is producing business leaders. What St. Andrews is really, really good at is producing critical thinkers. What BEST is really, really good at is providing extraordinary service to on-line learners. When you combine these core competencies – superlative education and exceptional student centric service – students win big.”

Webber and St. Andrews are currently accepting applicants for the online programs that will begin in the fall of 2012. For more information about applying please visit http://www.webberdegrees.com.

About Webber International University and St. Andrews University

Webber International University offers 11 different majors in various areas of business at the Florida campus. And St. Andrews University offers a wide range of degree programs, including a unique Equine Business Management program, at the North Carolina campus.

About BEST

Barker Educational Services Team (BEST) LLC based in Scottsdale, Arizona provides marketing, consulting, and enrollment services for accredited colleges and universities across the U.S. BEST was formed by the former Executive Vice President of the University of Phoenix, Bob Barker. Barker was also Senior Vice President of Apollo Group Inc., the holding company for the University of Phoenix.

Pete Morton
Barker Educational Services Team
480.663.9800
Email Information

Amy will be working side by side with Dave Tarner, the Vice President of Strategic Initiatives, to expand and enhance BEST’s already robust national interactive marketing campaigns. Todd Prince, President of BEST, had this to say about the expanding team, “In this slow economy it is great to see our company adding jobs. Dave has done a great job so far with our interactive marketing, but with our expanding client base he just needed more hours in the day. We are really pleased to have Amy on board to help Dave’s department grow.”

Dave Tarner went on to add, “Amy has jumped into a huge list of projects and she is rising to the challenge. She started having an impact on day one and I am really excited about our growing suite of interactive marketing capabilities.” BEST’s CEO, Bob Barker also weighed in on the new team member, “In eighteen months we made an internal commitment to become more vertically integrated with our lead generation. Our ability to expand this department is a reflection of our hard work and consistently improving performance.”

BEST partners with colleges and universities throughout the United States to help them grow their online student populations. In addition to interactive marketing services, BEST provides call center support, comprehensive new enrollment services, student services support and strategic consultation. To learn more about how BEST can be of service to your institution, please email Pete Morton or call him at (602) 377-1792.

Scottsdale, AZ (PRWEB) October 13, 2011

Childhelp USA has selected Barker Educational Services Team (BEST) to manage the promotion and distribution of its new online educational program. The program, Childhelp Speak Up Be Safe™, is designed to help children, parents and educators to identify, avoid and address child abuse. This curriculum is an updated version of the highly successful “Good Touch Bad Touch” series taught in schools nationally for nearly 30 years. Specifically, the new curriculum addresses modern day challenges facing children, including Cyber-Bullying and Internet Safety in addition to covering many other forms of child abuse.

Bob Barker, CEO of BEST states “We are delighted to be selected to serve this cause. The Childhelp Speak Up Be Safe program provides children with the information and tools to protect themselves and respond to dangerous situations.”

“I’ve been a celebrity ambassador for many years for Childhelp. Through my involvement with the organization I’ve learned about the horrific long-term trauma suffered by children who are physically, sexually and emotionally abused. That is why the Childhelp Speak Up Be Safe program was developed,” said Kathie Lee Gifford, Childhelp Ambassador. “Educating our children, whether in the role of parent, family member or teacher is the best way we can help fight abuse and empower our children.”

The number of children impacted by child abuse is literally staggering. Data from 2009 indicates that there were reported cases of abuse involving 6 million children. Sadly, many more cases are likely to have gone unreported. The Childhelp Speak Up Be Safe curriculum is a necessary program that gives children the tools to keep themselves safe. Preliminary data is showing a very positive response from the children that have completed the program.

“National statistics estimate that 1 in 4 youth will be victimized in some way during their childhood,” said Dr. Cindy K. Knott, VP of Special Projects and Prevention Education at Childhelp. “We know that 90 percent of child abuse victims know their perpetrator and 68 percent of abused children are abused by family members. Building awareness and communication through universal education among children, parents, and teachers, and community members is the best way to prevent child abuse.”

Childhelp Speak Up Be Safe was developed in concert with leading child psychologists and the program is designed to speak to children at each grade level, 1 through 6, and their corresponding developmental stages. Educational and community service institutions that purchase Childhelp Speak Up Be Safe receive complete curriculum, handouts and other material that children can take home as a reminder of important abuse prevention strategies. The program also includes excellent resources for the educators to ensure effective delivery to their young students in two 45-minute sessions.

Learn more today at http://www.childhelp.org/speakupbesafe

About Childhelp ®
CEO and Co-Founder Sara O’Meara and President and Co-Founder Yvonne Fedderson started Childhelp in 1959, establishing it as a leading national non-profit organization dedicated to helping victims of child abuse and neglect and at-risk children. Childhelp’s approach focuses on advocacy, prevention, treatment and community outreach.

The Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline, 1-800-4-A-CHILD®, operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and receives calls from throughout the United States, Canada, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico and Guam. Childhelp’s programs and services also include residential treatment services; children’s advocacy centers; therapeutic foster care; group homes and child abuse prevention, education and training. Childhelp also created the National Day of Hope®, held each April during National Child Abuse Prevention Month that mobilizes people across America to join the fight against child abuse.

For more information about Childhelp, please call 480-922-8212 or visit http://www.childhelp.org.

About Barker Education
After twenty years of administrative experience in education, Bob Barker founded BEST in 2006 with the goal of helping learning institutions connect with students. BEST serves a diverse client base throughout the United States and has assisted dozens of educational content providers and thousands of students to achieve success.

To Learn More about getting the Childhelp Speak Up Be Safe program in your school or community organization, please contact Pete Morton at (602) 377-1792 or pete(at)barkereducation(dot)com.

For more information about Childhelp ® please contact Chandra Stewart Vice President of Marketing & Communications at 480-922-8212 or cstewart(at)childhelp(dot)org.

BEST recently began working with a school called MTEC  that offers Medical Transcription and Editing programs online.  When we started working with this client we were immediately impressed by the quality of the online programs that this school offers.  MTEC is still relatively unknown outside of the transcription community, but we are going to change that!  We have spent time with several members of the faculty and administration at the school and they are really passionate about what they do.  After meeting the team at MTEC it was no surprise to us that graduates from the school are in high demand from employers in the field.

For more information about what is going on at MTEC you can read this article about developments in their curriculum.

MTEC is an AHDI/AHIMA approved Medical Transcription School.