Back in the first part of the year there was a lot of talk about UK universities partnering with Online Programme Managers (OPM’s) partly sparked by this article https://www.palatinate.org.uk/exclusive-university-proposes-online-only-degrees-as-part-of-radical-restructuring/ and the subsequent fallout. Much was lost in the noise...and misconceptions 1/

so far I’ve noticed 2 x UK universities partner with OPMs including a Russell Group (although I may have missed some). Really, I think these kinds of partnership are about a desire to reach a demographic of students who may not opt for the campus experience....2/

e.g. working professionals. In spite of everything there still seems great appetite for the on-campus experience. With university numbers set to grow - the question is whether the pandemic experience will fuel a greater desire for those who would’ve usually adopted to...3/

...study on-campus to do so online. I struggle to see droves of undergraduates choosing to study online in a way that represents a paradigm shift..but predictions are exactly that. For me the big question is will more universities seek to diversify their portfolios...4/

...and develop online courses, microcredentials and programmes geared up for those not likely to come study on-campus or who want a flexible mode of study around work and life...that’s going to be interesting to see play out....5/

...and it comes down to the question who is university for? And who should they be trying to reach in terms of providing education? There is and will be a demand for learning amongst people unlikely to go to university in the traditional sense. Online or blended learning..6/

offers the opportunity to meet that demand....and as such universities have opportunities to broaden what they do...if too few choose to do so...will we see those few that are actively growing their online operations become dominant in the UK in a way some of the large US.../7

online universities are? It will be interesting to observe but just like the number of words spilled didn’t lead to a mass number of OPM partnerships, they might not lead to a fundamental paradigm shift to online education in universities...8/

Online education and programmes are still a means of education for providers to engage in strategically, for good reasons and require a different kind of setup and support to do extremely well, as many have found out 1st hand this year....end/