Spelman College plans to expand eSpelman program after successful 1st year
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Posted By: S. Moore on August 22, 2023 In its first, 2022-2023 academic year, Spelman College’s new online learning platform, eSpelman, brought in at least $1.5 million in net revenue. That's a big success for the relatively new online program, which aims to bring the college’s special approach to education for Black women to a new and broader audience of lifelong learners, people who may never have had the chance to go to college or those who want to learn a new skill. The plan is to use revenue from the online platform for scholarships for traditional students studying at the elite historically Black college, which is ranked No. 1 among HBCUs and No. 51 among all liberal arts colleges by U.S. News & World Report. Currently, tuition for a full academic year is close to $27,000, and college administrators hope to increase scholarship support and reduce graduating students' loan debt. ESpelman has, so far, been a success, according to Associate Vice President for eSpelman Operations Tiffany Watson. She said the program cost about $755,000 to launch and brought in between $1.5 million and $2 million in net revenue in its first year, but declined to provide a more specific figure. And she estimates it will be at least five years before the program can fund scholarships. "The college wants to ensure that eSpelman operations are self-sustaining and operating at scale before decisions about scholarships amounts are determined. We hope to make this an opportunity soon," Watson said. Right now, eSpelman offers online certificates in seven fields, ranging from project management to cosmetic science. It’s possible to finish an entire certificate program in 16 weeks, and many people have, Watson said. Each class costs $1,800. The program started with 49 students in January 2022 and as of August, around 1,300 have enrolled. Most of those have been women, but around 200 men have also enrolled so far. Since the pandemic, many colleges and universities have moved to online education to help increase their revenue, said Larenda Mielke, senior vice president in the higher education division of consulting firm Kaufman Hall. Even faculty who were initially resistant to teaching online had to shift gears quickly to meet pandemic challenges, and that mindset shift has given online education staying power. But because so many institutions have created online learning programs, it’s currently a “challenging” landscape with a lot of competition, Mielke said. If successful, online programs bring in revenue to fund new programs or scholarships and create access to education for those who may be blocked out of traditional education by barriers of time and distance, added Jason Sussman, managing director at Kaufman Hall. Online programming can help alumni return to their alma maters and encourage loyalty to institutions. “It’s really good for our country … it encourages people to learn throughout their whole lifetime,” Mielke said. “It’s a positive overall.” Though in many ways similar to other colleges’ online programs, eSpelman brings a special women’s and HBCU angle to its education. “The HBCU pedagogy … is built into these programs, the empowerment that [students] get, the confidence-building that they get,” explained Watson. For example, the eSpelman diverse leadership certificate includes courses on the African diaspora and women’s leadership through the lens of the Black Panthers. Its urban education certificate includes courses on multicultural education and advocacy for urban schools. The online cosmetic science program — which focuses on the chemistry of beauty products rather than the practice of cosmetology — includes a focus on “beauty practices in communities of African descent,” according to its website. It’s the only such program at an HBCU and only the third at any college or university nationwide. Asked what distinguishes Spelman's online offerings from others, Watson said, “It has to build from how we design courses from that HBCU pedagogy. … folks see themselves represented in the course content." That said, the courses are open to anyone: men and women, Black and white, young and old, Watson said. All eSpelman instructors are on the faculty at the college. “I could not say that these are Spelman courses if I didn't have Spelman faculty,” Watson said. Spelman partnered with for-profit Collegis Education to help develop its online platform, and with Guild, an online platform that connects employees of companies like Walmart Inc. and Hilton with online education programs. The Guild connections are expected to help people from across the country find eSpelman's offerings. Asked about the cost of the Guild partnership, Watson said partner agreements are confidential. ESpelman has launched a marketing campaign using digital channels like Facebook and Google ads. The ads, for the most part, prominently feature women in positions of authority, Watson said. But one of the most popular ads shows what appears to be a working father caring for his two daughters. From May to July this year, the online ads netted 4,000 requests for additional information about the program, Watson said. So far, eSpelman has not moved into radio or television advertising but Waston said she is considering those channels. Watson and her team plan to continue adding new certificate programs to eSpelman's offerings. She said there is strong interest in a health-related program as well as cybersecurity. She dreams of one day having a lifelong learning building on the Spelman campus, home to eSpelman and other programs for non-traditional students. “Coming to [eSpelman], not only do you leave with the technical skills … you also leave with the confidence and the empowerment and everything that we do for our undergraduate students to prepare them to go out and be the only one in the room that looks like them,” Watson said. SOURCE Atlanta Business Chronicle If you enjoyed this article, Join HBCU CONNECT today for similar content and opportunities via email! |
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