Running head: JOURNAL ENTRY MODULE 3 1

Journal Entry Module 3

Laura Howard
University of Maryland University College
https://lhowarddepm622.weebly.com/

Business Trend

The status of the competition business trend in academia has continued to be

highlighted in Module 3. This includes learning about the aspects of the educational market.

Marginson (2009) explains that there are competition aspects between institutions for quality

products, status, fee charges and global aspects. An example that Marginson (2009) uses to

help explain this is “for example, if an elite university expands to soak up all the possible

student demand in the manner of, say Toyota in the automobile market or Dell in t he

computer market, it devalues the positional, status value of its own degrees and ceases to be

an elite university” (p. 6). Also, Kinser (2006) explains how the University of Phoenix was

able to be so grow successful in the academic market with its five characteristics of being

new, big, unconventional, wealthy and expanding, producing a huge number of enrollments

larger than its other competitors. The institution where I work also focuses on marketing

factors such as finding and offering financial assistance resources for non-credit professional

training courses, since financial aid is either not available or as prevalent as for credit courses.
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DE as Business

I still consider education in general to be a business because of the competition factors,

services needed and marketing aspects. I think the business aspect is a more common trait for

higher education institutions since students are choosing what institutions they want to attend,

unlike public primary schools. However, public primary grade level institutions may also be

in competition because there are many private school institutions as well where parents

choose to send their children. This is especially influential in Morey’s (2004) statement “for

profit institutions focus on students as customers, and provide services to them that minimize

the amount of bureaucracy through which a student must navigate” (p. 135). At the

community college institution where I work, one of the major aspects that helps continue

beginning higher education enrollment is that many of the credit courses are transferrable to 4

year or other institutions. Starting at a 2-year institution, with the intention to transfer credits

to a 4-year institution, may greatly reduce costs to the students.

Media

“Comparing vocational vs 2 year vs 4 year colleges” (College Admissions, 2014):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S-eipYmOy9Q

I think this is a really helpful video to show anyone a short informational break-down of

the various institution types. This would be helpful to someone trying to decide what institution

would best fit their needs. This video could be relevant whether someone wants to take

traditional classroom methods or online. This could also help any businesses who are looking to

starting offering or developing courses and content to determine what type of market they want

to target.
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Elevator pitch

Due to increased interest in our growing number of programs, it would be in our best

interest and for the survival of our programs to offer the most convenient and accessible

services to help students pay. If we implement an online scholarship application method, this

not only helps the students but it will be the most efficient and cost-effective service for

administrators as well because of its advanced technology capabilities. Plus, this will help

minimize our competition between other institutions who may not have any many scholarship

resources and/or services available. Even if there is some initials costs and introductory

training involved this should create a return on investment once our enrollments increase due

to these new services.

Module 3 Objectives

The 1st objective is “identify the opportunities and threats that are changing the

identities of post-secondary education providers and factors that viability of businesses in this

industry” (University of Maryland University College, 2019, Module 3: Differentiation and

Competition-Organizational Design and Positioning section, para. 2). This objective has been

achieved upon learning about the success and issues of the University of Phoenix (U of P).

This includes how the for-profit institutions, such as U of P, are operating more on a business

perspective level. This situates for-profit institutions in direct competition between non-profit

institutions, thus changing how non-profits need to be marketing and recruiting students.

The 2nd objective is “describe the factors in the external environment that have led to

the emergence of the private sector” (University of Maryland University College, 2019, Module

3: Differentiation and Competition-Organizational Design and Positioning section, para. 2). This
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objective has been achieved because the factors that contribute to the private sector are

globalization for access to education and the advancements in technology (Morey, 2004).

The 3rd objective is “describe the impact of managerial change and accountability on

the workload, work styles and identity of academic staff and educational developers”

(University of Maryland University College, 2019, Module 3: Differentiation and Competition-

Organizational Design and Positioning section, para. 2). This objective has been achieved

because Jarche (2011) explains that there is a need to network because not everyone will have

every quality needed to run a successful e-learning initiative. Also, Jarche (2011) states as an

example, “I have seen companies completely outsource all course design/delivery in order for

internal staff to focus on informal and social learning to support collaboration” (para. 3).

The 4th objective is “argue the impact of financing approaches on the growth of the

DE and online learning industry in different countries” (University of Maryland University

College, 2019, Module 3: Differentiation and Competition-Organizational Design and

Positioning section, para. 2). This objective has been achieved because countries have tried

various strategies and options to make education more affordable and accessible for the purpose

of enhancing socio-economic factors (Panda & Indira, 2008). The advancement of educational

technology has made education more accessible, so many countries ae now trying to implement

online and distance education institutions for cost efficiency (Panda & Indira, 2008).

The 5th objective is “appreciate the scope of the consultancy process, the diversity of

business models and the scale of the consultancy service worldwide” (University of Maryland

University College, 2019, Module 3: Differentiation and Competition-Organizational Design and

Positioning section, para. 2). This objective has been achieved because Jarche (as cited in Jarche,

2011) presented examples of various types of consultant roles, such as in the areas of business
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analytics, pedagogy and technology. Also, a list of example consultant websites was provided to

show what services were offered and the business and marketing aspects illustrated. Business

models were also included that assisted with determining what type of business case schema you

are working with to follow as a template (Stephen & Makosz, 2000).

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References

College Admissions. (2014, August 17). Comparing vocational vs 2 year vs 4 year colleges

[Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S-eipYmOy9Q

Jarche, H. (2011, November 7). So you still want to be an elearning consultant? [Web log post].

Retrieved from http://jarche.com/2011/11/so-you-still-want-to-be-an-elearning-

consultant/

Kinser, K. (2006, January 1). What Phoenix doesn’t teach us about the for-profit higher

education. Change: The Magazine of Higher Learning, 38(4), 24-29. (ERIC Document

Reproduction Service No. EJ745694). Retrieved from

http://web.b.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.umuc.edu/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=1&sid=cf

e416d5-fe38-4dfc-a9f5-3db24c33ce91%40pdc-v-sessmgr05

Marginson, S. (2009). The limits of market reform in higher education. Presented at Research

Institute of Higher Education, Hiroshima University, Japan. Retrieved from

file:///C:/Users/lehoward57235/Documents/DEPM%20622/Marginson.pdf

Morey, A. (2004, July 1). Globalization and the emergence of for-profit higher education.

Higher Education: The International Journal of Higher Education and Educational

Planning, 48(1), 131-150. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. EJ733321).

Retrieved from

http://web.b.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.umuc.edu/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=1&sid=

ec1ed528-3b8e-4e12-89d6-ce1609c90a51%40sessionmgr104

Panda, S., & Indira, A.G. (2008). Chapter 7: Funding distance education: A regional perspective.

Economics of Distance and Online Learning (pp. 107-131). Retrieved from

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https://ebookcentral-proquest-

com.ezproxy.umuc.edu/lib/umuc/detail.action?docID=332388

Stephen, A., & Makosz, P. (2000). Strengthening the Alberta advantage: Business models for

distributed learning. An interim report for the Council of Presidents of the Public

Universities, Colleges and Institutes of Alberta. Standing Stones Consulting Ltd.

Retrieved from

https://learn.umuc.edu/d2l/le/content/354229/viewContent/14382269/View

University of Maryland University College. (2019). DEPM 622 9040 Business of distance

education & e-learning (2192) DEPM-622 [Course syllabus]. DEPM 622-9040, Spring

2019, [Business of distance education & e-learning (2192) DEPM-622]. Master of

Distance Education and E-learning, University of Maryland University College,

Retrieved from

https://learn.umuc.edu/d2l/le/content/354229/viewContent/14382250/View