The document discusses the value proposition of higher education in a world with increasing online education options. It notes that some studies have found minimal skills gains from college. It also lists some of the functional benefits traditionally provided by colleges that can now be accessed online for free through venues like iTunes U, edX, Udacity, and Coursera. However, it notes that online options provide fewer emotional and social benefits. It discusses how traditional colleges and these online platforms are positioning themselves and the evolving brand landscape in online education.

2. The Value Prop for
Higher Ed in a World of Online
Education
FUTUREM
OCTOBER 25, 2012

3. WHO NEEDS SCHOOL ANYWAY?
PHYSICS

4. WHO NEEDS SCHOOL ANYWAY?
CHEMISTRY

5. WHO NEEDS SCHOOL ANYWAY?
BIOLOGY

6. WHO NEEDS SCHOOL ANYWAY?
ATHLETICS

7. WHO NEEDS SCHOOL ANYWAY?
SOCIAL
SCIENCES

8. WHO NEEDS SCHOOL ANYWAY?
EXTRACURRICULAR
ACTIVITIES

9. WHO NEEDS SCHOOL ANYWAY?
STIMULATING
LECTURES

10. WHO NEEDS SCHOOL ANYWAY?
FACILITIES

11. WHO NEEDS SCHOOL ANYWAY?
ASSISTED
LIVING

12. WHO NEEDS SCHOOL ANYWAY?
“At least a third of students gain no measurable
skills during their four years in college. For the
remainder who do, the gains are usually minimal.”
– Richard Arum and Josipa Roksa, Academically Adrift

13. WHO NEEDS SCHOOL ANYWAY?
“Mythomania about college has turned
getting a degree into an American
neurosis. It’s sending parents to the
poorhouse and saddling students with
a backpack full of debt that doesn’t
even guarantee a good job in the end.”
– Newsweek

14. WHO NEEDS SCHOOL ANYWAY?
The New York Times, September 8, 2012

15. WHO NEEDS SCHOOL ANYWAY?
Value Proposition =
Features +
Benefits

16. WHO NEEDS SCHOOL ANYWAY?
Value Proposition =
What do you offer? +
Why should I care?

17. WHO NEEDS SCHOOL ANYWAY?
Functional Benefits =
What does it do for me?

18. WHO NEEDS SCHOOL ANYWAY?
Emotional Benefits =
How does it make me feel?

19. WHO NEEDS SCHOOL ANYWAY?
Self-expressive Benefits =
What does it say about me?

20. WHO NEEDS SCHOOL ANYWAY?
What are the functional benefits
of a college education?
Basically, all the stuff you can
get for free online.

21. WHO NEEDS SCHOOL ANYWAY?
iTunes U

22. WHO NEEDS SCHOOL ANYWAY?
iTunes U

23. WHO NEEDS SCHOOL ANYWAY?
edX

24. WHO NEEDS SCHOOL ANYWAY?
Udacity

25. WHO NEEDS SCHOOL ANYWAY?
Udacity

26. WHO NEEDS SCHOOL ANYWAY?
Coursera

27. WHO NEEDS SCHOOL ANYWAY?
Minerva University

28. WHO NEEDS SCHOOL ANYWAY?

29. WHO NEEDS SCHOOL ANYWAY?
Positioning Statements:
iTunes U = Learn anything, anywhere, anytime.
Coursera = Higher education that overcomes the
boundaries of geography, time and money!
Udacity = At Udacity, we put you, the student, at the
center of the universe.
edX = The Future of Online Education for anyone,
anywhere, anytime
Minerva = dedicated to providing a uniquely rigorous
and challenging education to the brightest students
in the world

30. WHO NEEDS SCHOOL ANYWAY?
Functional Benefits
Traditional Online
college credits certificates
faculty of the college world–class teachers
college campus wherever there’s wifi
fellow students social network
alumni network peer network
career services office LinkedIn
very expensive free (or mostly so)
doesn’t scale well scales for some courses

31. WHO NEEDS SCHOOL ANYWAY?
Emotional Benefits
Traditional Online
peer community discussion forum
leadership opportunities not so much
physical activities not so much
social bonding social networking
“nourishing mother” my actual mother
fun ?

32. WHO NEEDS SCHOOL ANYWAY?
Self-expressive Benefits
Traditional Online
pride as alum pride as self-motivated
learner
“college-educated” gained competence in X
at Prestigious U.
I invested in educ. I’m a smart shopper

33. WHO NEEDS SCHOOL ANYWAY?
Market Noise

34. WHO NEEDS SCHOOL ANYWAY?
Degree vs.
Market Noise Certificate
Online vs. Prestigious vs.
Off-line/Hybrid Mass Market
Repackaging vs.
Creating
Paid vs. Non-profit vs.
Free For-profit

35. WHO NEEDS SCHOOL ANYWAY?
What we’re seeing from a brand perspective:
•Traditional colleges and universities are
under pressure to offer online courses to
reduce costs and improve outcomes – without
damaging their brand.
• Create a separate online-only brand that houses
online courses from top universities.
• Use the online-only brand as a platform for
partnerships with other universities.

36. WHO NEEDS SCHOOL ANYWAY?
What we’re seeing from a brand perspective:
•Some of these platforms are venture-funded
for-profit spinoffs from universities (both from
Stanford).
• Coursera offers courses from top universities and
gets brand lift from it’s content.
• Udacity is trying to build their brand from the
ground up.

37. WHO NEEDS SCHOOL ANYWAY?
What we’re seeing from a brand perspective:
•There will only be room for a few super
brands in a global online education
marketplace.
• Joining an existing platform, such as edX or
Coursera or iTunes U will be much more effective
than trying to market online offerings as an
institution.

38. WHO NEEDS SCHOOL ANYWAY?
What we’re seeing from a brand perspective:
•The model for online education at the high
end is still evolving.
• Are universities cannibalizing their offering by
giving it away online? Or are they building a larger
audience by growing global awareness? Or are
they “doing the right thing” by sharing their content.
• Some for-profit online education is being funded by
VCs and corporations as a way to identify talent
worldwide.
• “Certificates of Accomplishment” are gaining
traction on resumes.

39. WHO NEEDS SCHOOL ANYWAY?
What we’re seeing from a brand perspective:
•We predict that individual star faculty will also
develop and need to manage their brands as
their revenue potential grows with a global
audience.

40. WHO NEEDS SCHOOL ANYWAY?
“What students find at a university is mainly
each other – a culture of learning.”
– Brian Harvey, University of California-Berkeley

41. THANK YOU