In 2006, the for-profit university-related online ventures that remain include e-Cornell, UNext/Cardean University, Global Education Network (with a loose affiliation to Williams College (Mass.), and the National University of California's Spectrum Pacific Learning Company, although the current profitability and long-term viability of these initiatives remains unclear. For-profit status might be aimed at enhancing the financial competitiveness of the parent institution, but there might be certain risks attached to creating a spin-off for-profit online venture separate from the university. These could include tension with the parent institution over straying away from traditional values and institutional identity, lack of faculty involvement, and concerns over assuring the quality of provision.
The few apparently more successful university online ventures are either non-profit (e.g. UMass Online, Penn State World Campus) or are backed by a private company to run the business (e.g. Bisk Education and University Alliance). By avoiding for-profit status, maintaining close links with core faculty and component campuses, and brokering mutually acceptable intellectual property/compensation agreements, online ventures such as UMass Online and World Campus seem to have avoided many of the pitfalls that plagued for-profit online counterparts such as NYU Online and Columbia's Fathom.
AllLearn's failure to move beyond the "edutainment" market appears to have been the main reason behind its demise. Until now, Oxford, Yale, and Stanford have kept quiet about the collapse of their joint e-learning venture, with next to no news coverage on AllLearn's demise. This is most likely based on concerns over the potential impact on institutional reputations, particularly on public perceptions of the partner universities' online learning capabilities. However, AllLearn's closure could offer an unprecedented opportunity to step back and discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the business model, along the lines of the publicly released UKeU documents, aimed at distilling lessons learned from the venture to take e-learning forward in the United Kingdom. Oxford, Yale, and Stanford might wish to consider being as open as possible about AllLearn's progress to date and the decision to close, and put forth observations and recommendations on how a more sustainable and informed approach to the e-learning market might have been achieved. Further research into the series of collapsed online ventures may shed some light on what makes a successful distance education program, and enable some of the surviving online providers to redefine their business models and marketing strategies accordingly.
Lisa Jokivirta is the research officer of the Observatory on Borderless Higher Education, an information service that provides information about global developments. She joined the Observatory in the summer of 2004 after completing her post-secondary studies in International Relations and French at the University of Victoria, Canada and the Institut d'Etudes Politiques de Paris, France. Her publications for the Observatory include reports on online learning and national regulatory frameworks for transnational higher education. Lisa has also published a two-part report on cross-border higher education developments in Francophone Africa. She can be reached at l.jokivirta@obhe.ac.uk.
