3 Reasons Online Schools are Inevitable
3 Reasons Online Schools are Inevitable
Online schools should grow through scale to embrace this future.
Based on my learning from UVA Darden's Business Growth Strategy course, I am writing a 4 part series on the growth of online schools. The course outlines 4 growth strategies: growth through scaling, entry, acquisition, and innovation.
The online schools I am discussing (often called cohort-based courses) are live, virtual schools for adults (typically post-undergrad) without accreditation.
Scaling
Per UVA’s Business Growth Strategy Course, growth through scaling is simply "doing more of what you're already doing." In order to grow through scaling, companies must determine if there is a high growth market that can accommodate demand for more of what the company is already doing.
Growth through scaling is considered a bet on the future. It's a bet that certain trends will continue and there will be demand for more of the product.
For the following reasons, online schools are the future and scaling online schools will be necessary to accommodate the future needs of students.
H/t to Garrett Smiley, cofounder of Sora Schools, who wrote a great post about virtual high schools that influenced my writing and thinking.
Technology
Zoom is just the beginning. Technology around the virtual collaboration environment will improve, which directly improves online education environments. With many companies embracing remote work, technology companies will invest in improving tools for online collaboration.
From major players like Zoom and Slack to startups, we've already seen major improvements in these environments in past year. As the virtual learning environment improves, the online schooling experience will improve leading to additional demand.
In addition, we're moving in the direction of ubiquitous, high-speed internet access. This will bring more people into the online education market.
Accessibility
There is less friction in meeting online. Remove the barrier of meeting in person, and online schools are able to connect people in an instant. This allows for more collaboration with less friction as students are able to enter the virtual classroom without a commute.
With lower friction, online schools can connect people from all over the world based on their shared interests rather than their location. Now, there is no need to uproot one’s life and move to an expensive city for an education. As such, online schools give more options for high-quality learning to people around the world.
In addition, online schools improve accessibility as they can keep costs down with less administrative costs, the power of software, and the cost advantage of meeting online.
The accessibility of the online classroom combined with the cost advantage will continue to increase the demand.
Flexibility
Online schools can operate like startups. They can quickly iterate and improve based on market trends. Tiago Forte notes that this makes cohort-based courses (CBCs) rate of improvement look "more like updates to a software program than a university class."
Class size, cost, curriculum, length, intensity, content, and every minor detail can quickly be updated with the flexibility of the software, the virtual environment, and the small teams leading online schools.
The flexibility of online schools allow for “customer” obsession. Like software products, rapid feedback from students allows for constant improvement for the end user of the product.
A bet on the future: online schools are inevitable. Online schools should grow through scale to embrace this future.