What are students paying for when they learn online?

Online learning is no longer considered a “disruptor”. It is now a credible and popular alternative to traditional face-to-face learning. Learners need, and want, the flexibility that online learning can provide. At the University of Canterbury (UC), we have seen exponential growth in the demand for online learning across a range of short courses, microcredentials and longer programmes.

From school-leavers to mid-career upskillers and lifelong learners, learners are choosing to study online because it suits their busy lives, letting them choose when and where to engage. Online education can offer those with no other options the opportunity for further study. Consider the story of Zakkaia Waipouri, a student who faced not only health restrictions but also the physical barrier of the Southern Alps of Aotearoa New Zealand when considering higher education. Accessible and flexible study through UC Online enabled her to successfully complete a UC qualification.

Online learning also brings key benefits to industry and government; it caters to a range of diverse learning needs and styles, provides industry-relevant skills development to teams in an efficient delivery method, and offers access to world-leading research and knowledge from a university without the cost and inconvenience of sending employees to a physical campus. Graduates come into the workforce armed with great knowledge in their field but will need to upskill throughout their careers, and online options can fill that need. A provider that is backed or accredited by a reputable institution such as a university should always be the provider of choice.

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So, the value of truly accessible education is recognised, but what exactly are learners paying for when they sign up to an online higher education course or programme of study?

Value for money can be subjective, but there are a few factors that learners are generally looking for in an online programme or course, and these determine what they will likely be prepared to pay. These drivers include: courses that help them achieve a formal qualification to practise or progress in their career; courses that help them keep pace as skills requirements evolve; and courses that help them make career shifts.

When designing and developing programmes or short courses, it is important to know the learner that you are targeting. Personas are a useful tool to use to profile your target learners before designing the course.

Managing cost of online course design and delivery

Covid-19 accelerated the popularity of online learning (through necessity), but it also contributed to a negative perception of the model. Poorly designed courses with little to no learner engagement proliferated. The concept of “recorded lectures” persists, along with the assumption that online learning must be a quick, cheap option for a provider. In reality, high costs of both course creation and delivery, combined with an intense and time-consuming process, mean that online learning is not at all cheap.

The time it takes to create a course is a major cost factor. Understanding how the course content can be most engaging and delivered in the best way for the topic and learner cohort should not be rushed. A highly skilled educational media and design team and adhering to strong quality assurance contributes to a lengthy process.

However, efficiency and cost-saving practices can be employed. Planning programmes and courses in advance allows for overlaps in material to be factored into your designs for efficiency purposes. Different programmes – in health, engineering and business, for example – may all include a leadership course. These courses will likely have common elements that can be duplicated or adapted. Courses that are part of a programme may lend themselves to a series of shorter courses. Courses at the beginning of a programme may lend themselves to learners needing introductory-style short courses, whereas courses near the end of a programme may work for those who are already qualified and want to dip into new cutting-edge material.

The careful use of AI can also offer efficiencies to course designers. Despite these, the human element will always remain at the heart of online learning design and delivery. Call on the expertise of your researchers and teachers, as well as bringing in industry expertise. However, ensure that you engage your subject matter experts (SMEs) early and negotiate how their time will be leveraged as your access to these often very busy people will probably be limited. It is very important that you have good access to your SME early on to ensure that you emphasise good design, and from there it’s usually a steady flow of communication and information between your SME and learning designer.

It is not just content that these experts and skilled facilitators provide; often they add their own flavour into the courses, update content as the course progresses, and contribute time and insights in synchronous sessions for learners.

Elements that enrich online learning

Online learning continues to challenge the notion that a learner cannot acquire the same learning community experience as in a face-to-face model. This is where innovative and intense course design and detailed delivery planning come into play. Interactive and responsive forum engagement, opportunities to engage with fellow learners and the course facilitator, and synchronous online meetings can elevate an online course to a new level of engagement for learners.

At UC, we define an online course as at least 80 per cent online, allowing for face-to-face time when relevant or appropriate, and when it adds real value to the learner. Activities are built to enable learners to connect beyond the content. Communities of practice encourage learners to share ideas and interpretations of the content and to find ways to use their new skills and knowledge. Assessments in online courses are no longer limited to exams, but also include authentic learning opportunities often tied to work-related, real-life outcomes.

Online learning has long evolved past the point of recorded talks and continues to innovate to improve the learner experience and outcomes. Flexibility remains the key attraction, but understanding the considerable investment that is made into quality online content should give learners a sense of confidence that their learning and resulting credentials are world-class.

Mick Grimley is director and dean, and Lisa Burdes is partnerships manager of UC Online, both in Future Learning and Development at the University of Canterbury.

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