UCEA.edu: Resources: Publications: InFocus: February 2008 Cover Story

Newspapers Explore Higher Education Market

From the February 2008 Issue of InFocus (PDF)

Two major national newspapers – the Washington Post Company and The New York Times – are reaching out to new audiences with professional and continuing education online offerings. Such diversification can be seen as another response by newspapers to the decline of traditional revenue streams as more readers have moved from print to online.

The Washington Post Company has been in the education business for several years, having purchased Kaplan in 1984. Still, the important role of education in the Post’s business model was not widely appreciated until last December when the Company announced that it was no longer solely a newspaper company, but rather an “education and media company.”

Kaplan

The Post’s subsidiary, Kaplan Inc, includes four components: Kaplan Kids and Schools, Kaplan Test Prep and Admissions, Kaplan Professional, and Kaplan Higher Education.  The Higher Education division is one of the largest for-profit providers of postsecondary education in the United States with 68,000 enrollments in 2007. It is also the leading revenue producer for Kaplan. Kaplan Inc. now accounts for 50 cents of every dollar of parent Company revenue, as compared with 21 cents from the Post newspaper

Times Knowledge Network

Recently The New York Times has also ventured into online continuing education with its Knowledge Network. Unlike the Washington Post Company which purchased an existing education company, however, the Times has elected to partner with traditional higher education institutions. Some initial partner institutions are: Towson University, Northern Kentucky University, New York University and Allegheny College. Content is created by faculty at partner institutions. The New York Times supplements the courses with relevant newspaper articles and a rich array of multimedia and archival materials. Course content and supplementary resources are available to students online. Funds from tuition revenue are shared by the institutions and the Times.

New York University’s first course on the Knowledge Network was “America in the World: Emerging Challenges to U.S. Primacy.” The three-week, noncredit offering consists of assigned readings, online lectures, and moderated discussions. Some 60 students enrolled in the first session.

Dorothy Durkin, Associate Dean at SCPS, found the partnership beneficial. “We were able to combine content and talent. Our faculty member had an opportunity to work with The New York Times columnists. We shared assets with great results.”

Epsilen

The Times Knowledge Network also leases its Epsilen learning and networking software to partner institutions. The Epsilen Environment was developed by the Purdue School of Engineering and Technology at IUPUI, and The New York Times is an equity and strategic partner in the company. New York University’s School of Continuing and Professional Studies is one of the partner institutions using the Epsilen platform, which offers electronic portfolios, blogging and other software and interactive teaching tools.  The basic portfolio creating services are free for those with an “edu” email address. Students involved in a Knowledge Network online class can then become a member of a social network. That was a draw for NYU’s SCPS.

Durkin concedes that not all Knowledge network courses are as interactive as that of the SCPS. Partner institutions can run their own programs using the Epsilen platform, but depending on the content, not every courses has the asset of a Times columnist.

Towson University in Towson, MD, also has a course on the Knowledge Network. It differs from the NYU offering in that it is self-paced and geared toward business needs. However, like NYU, Towson’s Project Management Prep Course, is also noncredit. Towson offers the information in both a traditional classroom or online, yet they see using the Network as a way to expose Towson to potential students outside their immediate market.

“It’s a great portal that offers courses to students who may not otherwise have known about the course,” says Allie Pyzik, Program Coordinator, Extended Education and Online Learning Unit at Towson. “The feedback so far has been good. The system is organized and user-friendly.”

Felice Nudelman, Director of Education for the Times, acknowledges the broad reach of the Knowledge Network. “The audience is world-wide. We have participants from traditional age students to life-long learners, and alumni to those seeking professional development. We also see students from all over the globe, from New Zealand, Beijing and Argentina,” she explains.

“We are excited about The New York Times long-term commitment to education and see these partnerships growing and becoming even more substantive,” she adds.

As  newspapers like The Times and the Washington Post focus on these relationships, more print organizations may include higher education as part of a new business model – perhaps as a necessity to stay relevant in a time when the electronic media rule.

- Kandace Gilligan