Reputation, brand, and prestige continue to offer a significant advantage to this group of universities. However, collectively, these institutions have yet to fully capitalise on the advantages they hold in online distance education.

There may come a time when it is not a lack of money that precipitates a slide into decline, but a lack of understanding your audience and changing what you do as a result.

This recent data release underscores once again that the domestic market for online education is still the largest and has experienced the most significant growth in recent years.

One of the great benefits of digital technologies and the internet is the global reach they provide. However, the emergence of digital services taxes means that tax implications are not solely determined by UK tax rules.

The development of online provision is ultimately a good investment for universities, but not for short-term financial returns.

My most up-to-date research indicates that there are now nearly 600 online degree programmes under the umbrella of an OPM or other online education company partnership.

Adults will also need opportunities to develop skills and knowledge to meet current and future needs… more accessible alternatives to traditional university-based education will be needed if aims around the workforce are to be met.

The last quarter has been full of interesting news, announcements, and developments from various companies operating in online education and several UK universities.

We are still in a phase of increasing market entries from UK universities and dynamism in the space. Ultimately, what has been and continues to be seen points to substantial transformation of the online distance education landscape in the coming years, bringing both opportunities and challenges for UK universities and their partners.

Over the years, online distance learning has become less and less the exclusive domain of a small number of universities…we are entering a new chapter, one that might over time lead to a changing of the landscape.

Product developments within existing technologies used by universities will be one of the main ways in which AI will continue to impact UK higher education. …What’s interesting is that they are largely targeted at educators, not students.

In many ways, this dataset continues a general trend in respect to online students at UK universities, which is steadily increasing numbers. While that is the picture as a whole, since 2019/20 some UK universities have grown international online student numbers significantly, highlighting growth potential.

It has been fascinating to observe 2U’s growing footprint in UK higher education against the backdrop of very transparent and widely publicised financial turmoil.

Ultimately, I think sometimes the sector doesn’t have a thoroughly convincing purpose behind some of the desires around blended learning, or what this is really about, which is the greater use of digital technologies within the on-campus model.

No one out there is saying what we really need is to add some more years to degree courses and make them longer. All the movement has been toward shorter courses and programmes.

What is evident in the UK context is that THE have not consulted with the growing number of senior online education professionals and leaders when developing this ranking.

My first reflection on this piece is that the discussion actually revolves around blended learning or some form of digitally facilitated learning, rather than fully online distance courses that lack any in-person component.

Developments in the last quarter do little to solidify the idea of a post-OPM reality, certainly not in the UK.

There is certainly some distance to travel in terms of learning design having a deep impact in UK higher education, but signs of more diverse and sophisticated approaches suggest strategies also need to follow suit.

The worry in the current climate is that universities are more susceptible to being seduced by alluring targets and projections that aren’t grounded in reality.