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This week, I had the pleasure of conducting a webinar with Howard Lurie, Principal Analyst, Adult and Online Learning at Eduventures. The topic was Building Online Programs Without an OPM.

Conventional OPMs, estimated to be used by about 15-20% of universities in the U.S., are a popular option to outsource online degree program development, management, and marketing in return for a share of the revenue. In the webinar, we discussed the pros and cons of this model and also introduced an alternative model: professional services firms (e.g., ExtensionEngine).

Our mission at Talented Learning is to independently research the learning technology marketplace and help organizations choose and use the right solutions for their unique business needs. We recently uncovered a new trend that’s reshaping the way we’re think about online training for revenue, Custom Learning Experiences.

The value of online program management (OPM) companies is much debated these days. The piece at the top of everyone’s minds is a highly critical report produced by The Century Foundation which suggests these profit-driven companies “present potential risks to quality and value in the education.”

If you provide training to external audiences for revenue or to create impact - what is sometimes referred to as commercial training or extended enterprise - how do you remain competitive in the online learning space? By creating compelling, user-centric, differentiated training programs that stand out in the market. The question is, can you do that with your learning platform?

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