Higher education technology company OpenLearning Limited (ASX:OLL) has signed a five-year agreement with the University of New South Wales Global (UNSW Global) to design and deliver an online pathway program for international students through its OpenLearning platform.
The new UNSW Transition Program (online) is set to commence in March 2021 and is designed to provide the same outcomes for international students as UNSW Global’s existing face-to-face Transition Program, which will continue to be delivered on campus.
The four-month program will be delivered via the company’s platform to international students who want to gain entry into UNSW, a world top 50 university. UNSW Global is a wholly-owned enterprise of UNSW and a pioneer of foundation studies and pathway programs.
OpenLearning Group CEO and Managing Director, Adam Brimo, said the agreement is transformative for OpenLearning both in terms of the additional revenue stream it will provide and the nature of the work the Company will undertake.
Mr Brimo said the company expects to receive net revenue of between $6,000 to $9,000 for each student in the program after fees paid to UNSW Global and based on the estimated enrolment fee per student.
The company will incur upfront costs for the establishment, design and delivery of the program and will expand its team in Australia under the leadership of the company’s Managing Director of Australia, Cherie Diaz, who has extensive experience in the private higher education sector for both domestic and international students.
“We’re excited to partner with UNSW Global to set a new standard for online education by reimagining the UNSW Transition Program.
“For the first time, we’re combining OpenLearning’s socially constructive and community-driven approach with a teaching model that integrates small group and personalised coaching, continuous portfolio-based assessment and final interviews instead of exams to create a superior learning experience that will thoroughly prepare students to succeed at Australia’s top universities.”
Under the agreement, UNSW Global will be responsible for marketing the program and providing curriculum, content, quality assurance, and certification. The Company will support UNSW Global’s marketing activities in addition to carrying out its own marketing initiatives through the OpenLearning platform in order to maximise student numbers.
OpenLearning Group CEO & Managing Director Adam Brimo said:
Based on an established on-campus program, the new UNSW Transition Program (online) offers the same learning and pathway outcomes as its face-to-face counterpart, but with a completely different delivery style and learning experience.
Rather than a ‘lift-and-shift’ implementation of the on-campus program, the new program is purpose-built for online delivery. In addition to providing its platform and design services, OpenLearning is responsible for managing the student lifecycle from application through to teaching and assessment. After consistently proving the efficacy of its platform and educational philosophy, OpenLearning is confident that it has the expertise and resources to pioneer this new delivery model in collaboration with UNSW Global.
The Company’s ground-breaking online teaching model relies on activity-based learning, personalised coaching and interviews instead of exams. OpenLearning will provide students with more feedback from teachers and peer interaction than other online programs, with a progressive shift from teacher-led sessions to student-led ones that give students accountability with support. In addition, an automatically generated online portfolio will allow teachers to monitor students’ progress throughout the program, making it possible to tailor coaching and support to each student.
