Examining the OPM: Form, Function, and Policy Implications

Abstract

Online program management (OPM) is the merging of online education and outsourcing practices in higher education. OPM firms facilitate the development, delivery, and management of online programs for colleges and universities. Although OPM partnerships can help institutions offer online programs they otherwise would not be able to offer, such agreements raise concerns not seen with other types of outsourcing. To help others understand the phenomenon of online program management, we pulled together fragmented information from previous studies and literature, national datasets, websites, policies and regulations, and interviews with experts. Because previous writings use a range of definitions for the term OPM, we start by providing a working definition of an OPM agreement. Each side of the agreement is then examined in turn. For colleges and universities, we consider the reasons why they choose (or do not choose) to enter into an OPM partnership. Special attention is paid to reasons pertaining to organizational finances and nonprofit conversions. For OPM firms, we provide details about the organizations that participate in this rapidly changing market. Last, we offer policy perspectives while noting possible modifications of current regulations and providing caution about unintentional consequences of over-regulation.

EdTech-mediated outsourcing and casualisation of academic labour

“…In return, they offer some startup capital, risk absorption, platform, marketing and recruitment aid (Newton, 2015(Newton, , 2016. Some corporations lock universities into monopoly-like agreements too costly for universities to leave, thus ensuring long-term profit (Cheslock, Kinser, Zipf & Ra 2021).…”

“…While universities use digital platforms in various ways, the present text focuses specifically on study programmes that are taught and/or managed through OPMs. Typically, these programmes are hosted by universities and lead to a university qualification, but they are staffed and run by university employees as well as outsourced workers contracted by the digital provider under various agreements (Cheslock, Kinser, Zipf & Ra, 2021). While most works discussing OPMs focus on the business model behind the agreement (Komljenovic & Robertson, 2016;Ivancheva et al, 2020b), we are specifically interested in how these partnerships, in which large numbers of workers are hired by corporations 'subcontracted' by universities, contribute to the emergence of outsourced, digitalised and casualised labour in HE.…”

The business models employed by U.S. colleges & universities

“…Other public 4 and 2‐year institutions may be more likely to embrace scaling, but these institutions often have difficulty identifying pre‐existing resources to invest in a robust online program or additional instructional infrastructure. Online Program Manager (OPM) firms have offered services to address these financing challenges, but institutions typically must enter long‐term contracts and promise a substantial share of tuition revenue for the life of a long‐term contract to entice these firms to cover up‐front costs and absorb the risk of potential losses (Cheslock et al., 2021). Finally, given the limited number of available students, only a select number of schools within a given regional market will be able to sustain scale.…”