2U Signs 50 New Online Degrees

2U Signs 50 New Online Degrees with Six University Partners

2U is the company behind edX.

”LANHAM, Md., Nov. 10, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- 2U, Inc.(Nasdaq: TWOU), the company behind global online learning platform edX, today announced it has signed contracts with six universities to launch 50 new degree programs under the company's 'flex' degree partnership model, with the majority launching in 2024. The new online degrees will be offered by four new 2U partners–Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences (ACPHS), Hawai'i Pacific University (HPU), King's College London, and Maryville University–and two existing 2U partners, Emerson College and University of Cape Town(UCT).

Today's announcement underscores the significant demand for 2U's 'flex' degree model and follows seven previously-announced degree contracts set to launch in 2024, including those from UC Davis and UNC Chapel-Hill. This continued momentum builds toward 2U's plan to launch at least 80 new degree programs in 2024.”

https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/2u-signs-50-new-online-degrees-with-six-university-partners-1032806921

 

They seem to be prioritizing growth over quality given the concerns raised by existing 2U customers.

 

I guess they figure that's where the money is. Sadly, complaints and all, I'm still not sure they're wrong about that.

 

They need to start offering affordable Doctorate degrees.

 

How does it work? It seems it just redirects you to a partner's program if you want a degree program.

 

2U is basically an accelerator for universities. They provide canned curriculum, lead generation (the redirection to the partners), and administrative support to schools to deliver more programs. You can enroll at USC and think you're getting a customized program delivered by USC professors but in the background the program was developed by 2U and the professors are only there to grade your assignments. USC awards the credential and 2U takes half the tuition in exchange. You can't enroll directly with 2U, but must go through one of their partners, who are all universities.

 

Well, I guess the lenders felt it was a good idea to make loans to 2U for purchases they couldn't afford. Maybe they were dazzled by the fast book-keeping described - including recognizing the mere existence of contractual cancellation provisions as immediate cash revenue. They shouldn't have been dazzled. It's their job to spot this stuff.

The lenders appear to be the players in this who need additional education, big-time. What they did is like lending an old-age pensioner (me) $300K to buy a Ferrari and later wondering why the payments aren't forthcoming, and their security is a writeoff.

30 years in the credit business here - my take: This was a great mistake - by the lenders.

 

The whole 2U saga shows us once again -- "The Bigger They Are, The Harder They Fall. 2U probably won't be anywhere near the last company to mess up this business model. They go in as tigers and come out as mice. Often, dead mice.

If there's a moral here - and in a wreck this size, there'd better be - these are two good candidates:

(1) "Don't buy stuff you can't afford."
(2) "Don't lend to those who can't repay."

 

This looks like the schools are subbing out (partnering) some marketing/lead generation and perhaps content and deliver support. Reminiscent of something San Jose State did almost 50 years ago.

 

According to that article, acquiring edX by taking on massive debt was a mistake. That massive debt becoming extremely expensive because of interest rate increases is a disaster. Good luck, 2U.

 

That might explain why I don't get my freaking grade for my edX Micromasters: The staff is too busy updating their resumes!

 

I sometimes wonder if most American lenders (or borrowers) learned anything from the Sub-Prime mortgage crisis. Or the various panics, depressions etc. that preceded it.

 

At least one man in Canada saw that crisis coming and averted it. He was Jim Flaherty, Federal Finance Minister in the reign of the much-despised (by me, at least) Stephen Harper. His policies saved Canada from becoming a victim of such a crisis, by upping the already fairly stringent standards for mortgage lenders.

The Hon. Mr. Flaherty passed on in 2014. He and his work will not be forgotten. Thank you, Jim.

PS. I'm pretty sure Mr. Flaherty is the only Progressive Conservative Party Member I've ever been moved to thank. Ontario Premier Doug Ford and the rest of them - блядь!

 

This isn’t entirely accurate. USC had full control of the curriculum, 2U is/was the delivery method. Many members of our cohort strongly disliked 2U so we had many conversations about the processes with faculty. All of the pre-recorded material was from USC faculty, many assignments were outside of 2U, etc. The benefit of 2U, in addition to marketing and lead generation, was that USC faculty didn’t have to manage an LMS, just submit everything to 2U and they handled all the editing and upload. The downside was that it was inflexible and had to be submitted months in advance so faculty didn’t have the option to change things as they liked (which led to assignments outside of the LMS). USC has decided to sever the relationship with 2U and bring it all back in house.

 

Thanks for providing this insight, I was wrong and stand corrected. I used USC as an example because of their well-publicized fallout with 2U, and the expensive tuition. I think there are schools that are delivering canned content in this way, though USC is apparently not one.

 

Complex question, simple answer: No.

 

"Dance me through the Panic, till we're safely gathered in..." (Leonard Cohen)

 

I’ve said it on the forum before, I am not a fan of the “canned” curriculum these 3rd parties come up with. I believe the university needs to design a program in house and utilize the expertise of the professors as well as an instructional design team within the university.

I think 2U, Coursera, etc. would be great for free or little cost continuing education but housing entire degree programs is insane to me.

 

Agreed, 100%. And so is lending firms like this a billion dollars.