What would it take to start an online college?

Discussion in 'Off-Topic Discussions' started by thomas_jefferson, Sep 17, 2010.

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  1. Have any of you ever considered this? What kind of capital would it take to get started? What degrees would help you most in getting the project going and giving it credibility? How long would it take before you got DETC (or some other somewhat respectable) accreditation? What degree would you offer at first to get it going?

    I've been daydreaming about this lately and was wondering if anyone had any thoughts on this?
     
  2. b4cz28

    b4cz28 New Member

    I would start with only one degree to get off the ground, a BGS. It would take you a year to get the course material written and ready. I believe DETC only cost $1,500 up front, then you pay for their trip to see you and a certain % of school revenue. If you meet the degree requirements from the DETC to run the school than all you need is you. I bet if you could do it all yourself , then it would just be over $5,000
     
  3. Maniac Craniac

    Maniac Craniac Moderator Staff Member

    However, it may be costly to have your operation meets their standards on a continual basis.
     
  4. Interesting, that's pretty cheap.

    Would a general "Associate of Arts" degree be even easier?

    To keep costs at a bare minimum, I wonder if you could even get new master's degree holders to teach 10 week courses for free for the experience. You could give them the freedom to design the course and also promise them a letter of recommendation. As your student body grew you could start to actually hire teachers.

    Another cost would be setting up Blackboard or Angel. There are probably free alternatives to these systems.

    How do you get a .edu domain name?
     
  5. StefanM

    StefanM New Member

    I believe new domains with an .edu suffix require accreditation.
     
  6. Mary A

    Mary A Member

    I have had some experience with this as a co-founder of Aspen University and American Graduate School of Management, a predecessor school to American Sentinel University and you couldn't be further off the mark. The regulatory costs for the state can be significant. Like many businesses, you incur significant costs whether you have one student or 100. You have not considered the requirements to become accredited e.g. you must be in operation as a school for a minimum of two years and for a degree program you must have a graduate before you can apply. That typically means three years of operations before you can hope to get accredited. I could go on, but won't. You can look at the requirements for accreditation and the requirements for whatever state in which you are located. Starting a school is rewarding but takes a lot of hard work and a whole lot of money. It cannot be a one person or even a 5 person outfit anymore. That said, it's a whole lot of fun.

    Mary Adams
    President
     
  7. So, for three years you have to operate as an unaccredited school? Ouch.

    You're obviously much more experienced in this than I am, but is it really so expensive to start an unaccredited school with volunteer teachers and a single associate's degree program? What are your costs in the initial stages other than web site design and hosting?
     
  8. BrandeX

    BrandeX New Member

    I'd want to set up a "big fourth". A DETC school that had 100% transferability towards degree programs with a cost much less than the RA "big 3". It may have some marketability towards individuals around the world who could use an "Any accredited" degree.
     
  9. b4cz28

    b4cz28 New Member

    I have wondered why they have never done that. There would be a market for it.
     
  10. rickyjo

    rickyjo New Member

    I don't actually think DETC allows schools to have a zero credit residency requirement, I'm not 100%, but I beleive the reason there is no DETC big 4 is because of the regulations of the DETC itself.

    On the original topic of the thread, I believe that the best way to start an online school would be as a CEU granting, certification or CLEP preparation institution. I don't think IACET (the CEU people) have the same kind of tough requirements or waiting periods as DETC. So a school that wishes to be a nursing school could start out as a school that offers refresher courses to nurses in states that require getting CEUs every now and then. Hopefully that would be enough to turn a profit and still be 100% legitimate. That should also bypass some regulation. The slow morph into a degree granting institution would surely take time, but hopefully it would lower the start-up capital required.

    I believe Straighterline has innovated another method as well. Get a big name on your side (in their case McGraw Hill) and then convince other colleges or ACE to treat you like a real college. If one wanted to it eventually could morph into a true college. The advantage is, again, avoiding regulation, you could start with less classes and students this way. To grant degrees I think you are required to have a certain number of classes and that would make it difficult to start-up and turn a profit. SL bypassed this and can offer the classes they are truly equipped to oversee at this time. That said, I'd rather start something like Straighterline, or design something like ALEKS. I wish SL would make a deal with one of the big three to offer all the courses required for a degree and then transfer them over. Imagine, your A.S. for $2000 + plus EC's cut. Regulation effectively bypassed.

    I think it could be done creatively at low cost, but one must be outside the box and look at the handful of innovative companies that are making headway.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 18, 2010
  11. Mary A

    Mary A Member

    You would need to have a lot of volunteers to fill other positions in the school: student services for example, director of education or dean to oversee the program, sales/recruiting people and a plan for growing the school. While one person can do multiple jobs, you have to be able to demonstrate they are qualified to do all of the jobs they are doing which is not usually the case. I don't want to discourage you, but if you think about it, there is a reason investors try to buy schools rather than start one. It's expensive to start a school.

    With regard to the suggestion that there be another big 4, as suggested this is prohibited by DETC standards. In order to earn a degree from a DETC school a student must complete at least 15 credits (associates), 30 credits (bachelors) or 18 credits (masters) at the school.

    With the current state of accreditation in the US (call is a state of flux) I can only imagine that the cost to start and operate a school is going to go up but I could be wrong.

    Mary

    PS - I thought your idea of giving faculty online teaching experience in exchange for free teaching was interesting although it may not be a sustainable model long term.
     
  12. Abner

    Abner Well-Known Member


    Hey Mary,

    Good to hear from you as always. You hit the nail on the head. Most investors/start ups buy established schools because of the initial headaches/hoops. There is a reason why even a small established school can command several millions when bought out.


    Abner
     

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