Better Than Waiting

Higher education is too expensive. Some of that statement is perception: net of merit and need-based aid, tuition has been flat to inflation for two decades. But some of it is real, like our country’s $1.7 trillion student debt crisis.
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The good news is, online and hybrid courses and programs can lower costs, and are as good—as measured by learning outcomes and by engagement & survey metrics—as on-campus programs.  The landscape of higher education has become increasingly unpredictable. Yet across every industry, we know definitively that people and organizations that master technology prove more resilient and agile.
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It’s time…

‍Now Is The Time To
‍Invest In Better Tech

We’re no longer in the realm of using technology to simply power online courses and degrees. Agile universities use great tech campus-wide.

Noodle invests in tools and services that translate just as powerfully into the marketing, instruction, and administration of ground-based programs because better technology can elevate everyone.

‍National Is Strong;
Regional Is Stronger

You’ve certainly witnessed the rise of a small group of online-focused universities with strong national brands.

Don’t be fooled by the quality or volume of their advertising; schools with strong regional brands are increasingly taking back large portions of local students.

Seventy-five percent of students in online programs study within 50 miles of home, and that percentage grows every year (up from 67% in 2019). Fifty percent study within 15 miles of home.

‍Online Programs
Can Be Great

The Noodle model was designed to align our interests with those of our university partners. We profit when our partners achieve a better quality and lower cost program than it could achieve on its own.

Noodle collects a flat fee for every credit hour enrolled in programs managed by us, so we are incentivized to grow enrollments to a healthy scale. But that fee is the same regardless of how much the university charges per credit hour, so we are NOT incentivized to work with expensive programs or inflate pricing.

This is a crucial difference between our model and the conventional OPM revenue share, where the most profit is made by steering students to less selective, more expensive schools. Further, conventional OPMs often require their partners to adapt to and invest in the OPM’s in-house technology and marketing strategy. In doing so, they are adding stress and cost to an already exhaustive process.

Students Prefer
To Study Online

Obviously, most traditional undergraduates enjoy and benefit from a campus environment. But everyone prefers the option to take certain courses online, and adult learners and graduate students prefer to study entirely online.

Before the pandemic, more than 35% of US graduate students were enrolled in online programs, and exclusively online. Even after a vaccine has been deployed, it is likely that number will never fall below 50% again.

‍The Risk
Of Waiting

Integrating technology into your practice carries some risk, but failing to do so is riskier. While you dip your toes in with MOOCs and certificate programs, both students and other top universities have been jumping in with both feet.

Overall enrollment is not rising dramatically, which means that the gains of online programs have been at the expense of on-campus ones.

The smartest way to grow online is to invest in your strongest areas, extending your engagement, capacity, and reputation there.

We’re glad to discuss your needs anytime, and help you chart a path through these complex times.