Commoditization and Competition in Higher Education

In June 2013, The EvoLLLution dedicated a Special Feature to Commoditization and Competition in Higher Education.

The past decade has seen sweeping changes in the higher education space, the most significant of which has been the increasing competition in the post-secondary marketplace. The popularization of online learning has expanded the competitive landscape from the few local institutions and catapulted it onto a global level. At the same time, the number of institutions has ballooned and now includes everything from for-profit schools to MOOC providers and more. What this means is that students must now choose between thousands of schools, programs and courses. But do they see the options as being interchangeable? And how can institutions differentiate themselves?

Commoditization Drives Institutions to Innovate and Enhance

John Ebersole | President, Excelsior College

While commoditization in the higher education space might appear to cheapen the product, the enhancements, innovations and adjustments that come as a result of competition can make postsecondary education more accessible and relevant for students in need.

AUDIO | Commoditization Reduces Uniqueness But Increases Affordability

Paul LeBlanc | President, Southern New Hampshire University

As higher education becomes more commoditized, what’s lost is the uniqueness and individuality of different programs. In return, however, the system gains greater efficiency in producing and disseminating content.

AUDIO | Commoditization Forces Business Model Transformation

Michael Horn | Co-Founder and Executive Director, Clayton Christensen Institute for Disruptive Innovation

The business model being practiced by higher education institutions is becoming rapidly outdated for today’s marketplace. As commoditization impacts the value of postsecondary teaching and learning, institutions must re-think the services they have on offer.

Ballooning Costs and Demand Attract Alternative Providers

Dennis Jones | President, National Center for Higher Education Management Systems

As the cost of higher education has skyrocketed in recent years and demands from students for alternative approaches to education have become more prevalent, alternative providers are finding space to succeed in the higher education marketplace.

AUDIO | Universities Will Serve Better-Prepared Students in a Decade

David Collis | Professor of Business Administration, Harvard University

As higher education institutions adapt to the increasing numbers of competitors entering the marketplace, it’s important to note this isn’t the first time online learning providers have shaken up the industry. However, institutions will need to provide clear evidence of their value going forward if they hope to succeed.

Technological Growth Opening Market for Educational Providers to Flourish

Bryan Alexander | Senior Research Fellow, National Institute for Technology in Liberal Education

As new technologies begin to make high-quality, lecture-based online education accessible on a global scale at an extremely low cost, traditional institutions must adapt themselves to the new marketplace.

Strength of Character: The Unique Good of Higher Education

Andrew Roth | President, Notre Dame College

Universities’ and colleges’ ability to produce strength of character is what differentiates higher education from any other product in the marketplace.

AUDIO | Higher Education Blends Longevity with Responsiveness

Kevin Currie | Executive Director, Northeastern University Online

The biggest difference between higher education and other industries is that postsecondary institutions do not guarantee the consumer a particular outcome. As competition for enrollments increases, different types of institutions are striving to meet demands from various segments of the market.

Commoditization Lessens the Value of Higher Education to Society

Tom Castle | Dean of Adult Programs, Mount Mercy University

As higher education becomes more commoditized, the impact could be extremely negative on students who are already struggling to pay for their education. Further, a commoditized higher education would be more focused on serving as “manufacturing plants” for the workforce, rather than helping mold informed and educated citizens for the future.

Has Higher Education Lost Its Uniqueness?

Rick Shearer | Director of World Campus Learning Design, Penn State World Campus

As higher education becomes more commoditized, many institutions are partnering with vendors and losing control of the elements that make them most unique, for example, teaching and the content being taught.

Market Differentiation and Cost Savings: The Value of Competency-Based Assessment

David Schejbal | Dean of Continuing Education, Outreach and E-Learning, University of Wisconsin-Extension

Focusing on student assessment rather than instruction is one way institutions can reduce their operating costs and find success in the commoditized higher education marketplace.

Yours, Mine and Theirs: Differentiating Online Programming

Albert Powell | Director of Learning Technologies, Colorado State University

There are some specific steps an institution can take to become visible in a crowded and hypercompetitive higher education marketplace.

Innovation Instruction Critical for Higher Education Institutions

Edward Abeyta | Director of K-16 Programs, UC San Diego

As increasing numbers of institutions and providers enter the higher education marketplace, the college or university that can best prepare graduates to succeed and innovate in the labor market will be the institution that comes out on top.

Credentialing is How Institutions will Differentiate in the Future

Mika Hoffman | Executive Director of the Center for Educational Measurement, Excelsior College

Accepting and rewarding prior learning gained from multiple sources is a step institutions can take to succeed in the commoditized higher education marketplace.

Context over Content in the Age of MOOCs

David Grossman | Retired University Continuing Educator

If institutions refuse to focus on differentiating themselves with content, they will quickly find themselves unable to compete in the commoditized higher education marketplace.

AUDIO | Online Learning Making Education Fungible for Non-Traditional Students

Joshua Kim | Director of Learning and Technology for MHCDS, Dartmouth College

Massive Open Online Courses will not have much impact on traditional, residential higher education. However, as these types of courses begin to garner credit, they will flatten the industry for non-traditional students and make education a more fungible product.

Education Not So Much a Commodity as a Political Football

Michael Chanan | Professor, Roehampton University

The commoditization of higher education is driven by a false economy where students are convinced of the need to earn a degree, but the labor market does not have the openings to support them.

Darwin and the Disruption Cycle: Reframing Higher Education’s Value Proposition

Peter Smith | Senior Vice President, Kaplan Higher Education

For-profit institutions have created a more business-like higher education industry, where institutions succeed based on outcomes and service rather than name and prestige.

What Do Diapers, Banking and Continuing Education Have in Common?

Karishma Furtado | Continuing and Online Education Forum Senior Analyst, Education Advisory Board

In a commoditized marketplace, the product a particular company is selling becomes less important than the services or supports they can bundle it with.

AUDIO | Online Learning Captures Transactional Value of Higher Education

David Staley | Director of the Harvey Goldberg Center, The Ohio State University

Higher education can have two distinct value propositions; transformational and transactional. At the moment, online learning captures the transactional element with ease, but the next big innovation is going to be when online learning can dominate the transformational marketplace as well.

Commoditization, For-Profit Institutions and the Value of Higher Education

Anthony Picciano | Executive Officer of Urban Education, City University of New York

There is more to education than simply moving graduates into paid work, but as for-profit institutions dominate more space in the marketplace institutions are being forced to shift their focus largely to preparing the future workforce.

AUDIO | Changing Dynamics of Higher Education Leave Institutions with a Choice

Burck Smith | Chief Executive Officer, StraighterLine

As unaccredited providers increase their presence in the higher education space, some institutions may look to reduce their prices by partnering with online providers, whereas others may try to ignore the change in the market and simply hope it goes away.

Commoditization Forces Standardization on Diverse Market

Jay Halfond | Associate Professor, Boston University

American higher education institutions exist within a vast ecosystem, with a number of players filling different niches. Losing uniqueness and independence would be detrimental to the overall system.

Commoditization Helps Institutions Become More Efficient and Affordable

Jeffery Alejandro | Coordinator of Lifelong Learning Program, East Carolina University

Commoditization pushes institutions to do more with less, but in doing so, institutions have the impetus to become more efficient and streamlined in their operations.

AUDIO | Small Institutions Best Positioned to Succeed in the Commoditized Marketplace

Richard DeMillo | Director of the Center for 21st Century Universities, Georgia Institute of Technology

Smaller colleges are well-positioned to succeed in the commoditized higher education marketplace, but they must focus on using new technologies to help them achieve their value proposition rather than following the lead of larger institutions.

AUDIO | Serving Local Community Critical for Small Institution Success

Richard Holmgren | Vice President for Information Services and Planning, Alleghany College

Smaller institutions are positioned to succeed in the commoditized higher education marketplace by maintaining their focus on meeting local needs and serving local stakeholders.

How Smaller Institutions Can Succeed in a Commoditized Marketplace

Earl Harewood | Lecturer, Heriot-Watt University/School of Higher Education

Technology can provide smaller institutions with the opportunity to aggressively compete in the new higher education marketplace, but they must also develop a brand and value proposition that will carry them through the next few decades.

On the Internet, Will Anyone Know You’re An Ivy?

Richard Katz | President, Richard N. Katz and Associates, Inc.

As digitization grips the higher education marketplace, the differences between prestigious institutions and the rest of the market are becoming less pronounced.

AUDIO | Prestigious Universities Less Burdened by Competition Than Near-Prestigious Universities

Henry Eyring | Vice President of Advancement, Brigham Young University—Idaho

While price competition will not significantly impact prestigious universities in a negative way, it will have an extremely negative impact on “near-prestigious” universities who try to capture the same market segment as the Top-20 universities in the country.

Free Online Courses Increase Accessibility To Higher Education At The Expense Of Quality

Bhupesh Shah | Social Media Program Coordinator, Seneca College

Free online courses are providing skilled workers with an accessible pathway to advance their skills and knowledge but are not in a position to change traditional higher education as yet.

New Models of Online Education: Disrupting the User Experience for the Better

Jaigris Hodson | Instructor, Ryerson University

MOOCs have not yet disrupted the higher education space in any significant way, but they could have a massive impact on the importance of providing students with a better learning experience at institutions, whether online or on-campus.

Massive Disruption: MOOCs in Higher Education

Deborah Cooke | Instructional Designer, University of Oregon Center for Applied Second Language Studies

Opinions as to how MOOCs will change teaching and learning in higher education are varied, but that they are completely changing postsecondary education is not in dispute.

Standing Out by Looking In: How Operational Efficiency Creates an Exceptional Experience for Students

Shaul Kuper | Chief Executive Officer, Destiny Solutions

Whether an institution looks to decrease its costs, improve its offerings or increase its market share to succeed in the commoditized marketplace, the airline industry provides an excellent example of how these strategies must be paired with efficient operations to be truly successful.

Five Ways to Modify Marketing Practices for the Commoditized Higher Education Marketplace

Craig Maslowsky | Vice President of Enrollment Management and Marketing, Excelsior College

Implementing more effective marketing practices can provide the base on which institutions can succeed in the commoditized higher education marketplace.

Seven Steps to Finding Your Sweet Spot in the New Era of Higher Education

Margaret Andrews | Associate Dean for Management Programs, Harvard University Division of Continuing Education

In a commoditized marketplace, higher education institutions that take the time to plan strategically are more likely to succeed.

Inter-Institutional Collaborations Critical to Compete

Mark Sarver | Chief Executive Officer, eduKan

By collaborating on major ventures, institutions can expand their offerings and programs beyond any internal limitations in expertise without having to break the bank.

The Flying Carpet that Caused Higher Education’s Commoditization

Jonathan Tice | Senior Vice President, Destiny Solutions

While some institutions chose to ride the flying carpet of government subsidies following the economic recession, others used the time to begin developing new and innovative programs to buoy them in the changing marketplace. Now that the rug has been pulled out, the institutions that committed to change early are the frontrunners to succeed in the commoditized marketplace.

Change is Optional, Survival is Not Guaranteed

Daniel Christian | Senior Instructional Designer, Calvin College

As higher education becomes increasingly expensive for students and as low-cost technology-enhanced substitutes continue entering the marketplace, higher education institutions will need to adapt past the status quo to survive and succeed.

AUDIO | Rejecting Federal Funding to Better Serve Adult Students

Terry Rawls | President, Patten University

Low-cost for-profit institutions such as Patten University have implemented strategies — such as not accepting Title IV funding from the federal government — to keep costs low for students and to compete in the commoditized adult education marketplace.

Independence and Revenue-Generation Critical to Staying Nimble and Responsive

Becky Takeda-Tinker | President, Colorado State University—Global Campus

As a public institution that does not receive state funds, CSU-Global is able to accomplish its mission of serving adult students by operating nimbly, responding to needs as they arise and delivering programs that are in-demand across the labor market.

AUDIO | Name Recognition is Key to Competing and Succeeding

Lisa Verma | Director of Custom and On-Site Programs, Louisiana State University

Colleges and universities have many resources to compete in the highly competitive professional development marketplace, and having name recognition is an added bonus for larger institutions. The biggest drawback, however, is the inability of these institutions to dedicate large numbers of full-time staff to these training endeavors.

Justifying the Cost of Higher Education: Why I Took a MOOC

Cody McGee | Business Analyst, Destiny Solutions

MOOCs allow students the opportunity to learn the material they need to advance their careers without forcing them to conform to the mold of a given institution.

Choosing a University over a MOOC: There’s More to Higher Education than Learning

Todd McCullough | President, Adults Belong in College

Since most individuals pursue higher learning for tangible outcomes outside of knowledge enhancement, traditional higher education institutions are still preferred over MOOCs by prospective learners.

To Degree, Or Not to Degree?

Ray Sanders | Undergraduate Research Assistant, Arizona State University

Students interested in learning for learning’s sake should turn toward MOOCs. However, if an individual’s objective is career advancement or change, a traditional degree or certificate is still the most effective option.

Separating MOOCs and University Courses

Jodi Robison | Director of Assessment, UniversityNow

Massive Open Online Courses have value for adult students looking to return to higher education, but there are a number of hurdles standing in the way, not the least of which is the challenge of accreditation and credentialing.

AUDIO | Low-Cost Degrees Bringing About A New Dawn for Higher Education

Thomas Lindsay | Director of the Center for Higher Education, Texas Public Policy Foundation

Low-cost options simultaneously catalyze the commoditization of higher education and cause institutions to shift their focus from seat time to learning outcomes as a measure of their effectiveness.

AUDIO | Low-Cost Providers Force Traditional Institutions to Rethink Pricing Models

Shai Reshef | Founder and President, University of the People

By creating a model that shows higher education can be delivered with almost no financial burden for students, low-cost post-secondary providers appearing in the market have the potential to completely revolutionize the delivery of degrees in North America and across the world.

Price vs. Value: What Does a Degree Cost and What Is It Worth?

John DeLalla | Director of Continuing Education, University of Arizona South

Low-cost higher education providers are pushing institutions across the country to cut costs to reduce the prices of their degree programs. However, these cost-saving measures are coming at the expense of the interpersonal interaction that makes higher education a valuable investment in the first place.

The Price of Higher Education: Investigating Global Commoditization

Stefan Popenici | Senior Lecturer, Macquarie University

Higher education institutions are starting to consciously work toward improving the quality of postsecondary learning opportunities to help the industry overcome the perception education is a simple commodity.

The Commoditization of Higher Education in Australia

Ken Udas | Deputy Vice Chancellor and Chief Information Officer, University of Southern Queensland and Jan Thomas | Vice Chancellor and President, University of Southern Queensland

There are many similarities between higher education in the United States and Australia, but the government support of tuition levels mean Australian higher education institutions must compete on factors other than price.

The Commoditization of Higher Education in Portugal

Alfredo Soeiro | EUCEN Representative, Universidade do Porto

In Portugal, higher-priced private institutions are providing a pathway to professional degrees for students who would not be able to access the higher-quality public institutions. These professional degrees have become more critical in the wake of the recent economic crisis, as students are looking to enroll in degree programs that can move them into high-earning careers quickly.

The Commoditization of Higher Education in Finland

Kirsti Miettinen | Head of Continuing Education, Aalto University

In Finland, undergraduate students — whose education is subsidized by the government — tend to choose higher education institutions based on reputation, while professional and continuing education students tend to base their choices on the student experience offered.

The Commoditization of Higher Education in the United Kingdom

Cathy Schofield | Lecturer, Truro and Penwith College

A recent change in the government-subsidized tuition structure in the United Kingdom has made clear to higher education institutions that price is a significant factor for students looking to enroll in a postsecondary program.

AUDIO | Personalization is the Next Phase in Higher Education’s Commoditization

Vicki Brannock | Director of the School of Extended Education, Brandman University

As students in the higher education system become increasingly older and non-traditional, personalized learning opportunities and higher education programs geared toward local business needs are going to be critical for institutions to offer.

Addressing Commoditization: A Continuing Education Perspective

Lesley Snyder | Director of Continuing Education, UNC Charlotte

Prospective students — both traditional and non-traditional — are increasingly seeing higher education as a commodity, with different institutions differentiated by cost and not much else. It’s up to institutions to step away from the pack and effectively communicate the advantages their institution can offer, and in many cases continuing education leaders can help their institution stand out.

Commoditization versus Differentiation: How We Market our Universities

Stephen Cucchiara | Assistant Director of the Office of Student Activities, University of Colorado at Colorado Springs

The commoditization of the higher education marketplace provides students with more choice and access to the further education, but intangible “quality” is not being properly assessed as institutions are increasingly judged on price.

Three Positives and Negatives of Higher Education’s Commoditization for Students

Thomas J. Grites | Assistant Provost, Richard Stockton College of New Jersey

Commoditization can make higher education far more accessible for non-traditional students, but given the competition beginning to characterize the marketplace, it is becoming more difficult for students to determine which programs are right for them.