University Operations: Online Program Launch & Management

Do you work for a university that's planning to develop and deliver online programs? 

Have you and an "online task force" developed a 30 page strategy document that, while it was a lot of work with a lot of smart people, still gives you no idea where to start and what you're actually building? 

Do you have any idea what the online student experience looks like from prospect to grad? Is it the same as your campus experience? How different is it? 

How do we organize ourselves, our various teams, and create and manage a plan that gets us beyond strategy into coordinated delivery? 

Do you wonder: should we do it all ourselves or partner with an OPM (Online Program Management provider)? 

It can be completely overwhelming, especially if you're starting from scratch, but you don’t have to. 

You Can Start With My Online Operations Course!

You’ll find many courses on instructional design and course development, which is, of course, an important component of a university’s plan to offer online courses and programs. However, it is just one component.  If you work for a university or you’ve been a student, you’re familiar with the other important components: admissions, bursar, registrar, student support, to name a few. This isn’t a course specifically about any one them, either (though future courses may be).

So, what this course actually is is an introduction to how to tactically, operationally, pull all these components and teams together so that you can create and deliver your best online student experience, from prospect to graduate. It's a very practical approach and I provide starter templates to help you get going.

Talking Trees University’s Journey  

Talking Trees University is a fictitious university I created to illustrate how to apply some of my methods and use the starter templates. TTU is currently in the process of figuring out how to plan and launch its president's online programs initiative. In each section, you'll follow TTU's progress as it applies each lesson to successfully launch its online operation. 

You'll learn: 

• how to create and use the integrated online student lifecycle model - beyond the courses, what does the rest of the online student lifecycle look like, what does the student go through to finally get into the first course and how does each of the operational teams fit and depend on each other to help that happen?
• how to integrate process & technology - why and how should you create a high-level student process diagram that illustrates the student experience and incorporates your operations teams, technology and potential service providers? 
• how to create program launch milestones - what should your basic launch plan look like, what are the major milestones: what are the core activities that must happen in order for your students to successfully progress from prospect to participating (and paying) students in the first week of class?
• how to determine the right "partner" model - in the world of edtech OPMs and service providers, do you need a partner to "do everything" or a service provider who provides expertise in a few key areas you can integrate into your operation? It's not one size fits all.