June/July 2010

Hear What Our Academic Partners are Saying About Their Online Learning Success

By providing the entire scope of online services, Compass helps institutions achieve success – well beyond industry norms – in six main areas. One of those areas is enrollment quantity and quality. Our goal is not to attract more students to a program, but to recruit responsibly. It is to attract more of the right students in order to meet mutually agreed-upon enrollment goals. Hear the story of one of our partners, Eastern Kentucky University, as they discuss the success they’ve had in enrollments and how Compass has helped them along the way.

The Virtues of Persistence and Partnership

There is an often-quoted saying that “If you build it, they will come.”  Eastern Kentucky University (EKU) built it, and almost nobody came. This “stall” phenomenon in online education is becoming more the norm than the exception.  Markets are crowded, banner ads fill virtual space, and more and more schools are growing online. But like any market, those who deliver what they say, those who are informed about the market, and those who pay attention to detail will be successful, no matter how many schools join in. Such was and is the case with Eastern Kentucky University’s College of Justice and Safety.  They initially fell short, Compass Knowledge Group helped them adjust, and now they are very successful.

After EKU launched the online Loss Prevention and Safety program in 2006, they had only 6 or 7 students. In there second intake, they had a disappointing 14.  You have to understand the consequences of this.  There were tremendous hopes, and a lot of eyes on them.  The President had used them in her speeches; they were the beacons.  So, EKU had a sit-down meeting with their partners at Compass Knowledge Group to evaluate what was going on. The Compass team came prepared with reams of research they had done on curriculum and the marketplace views of the program. Together they analyzed the data and came to the conclusion that the curriculum and the program title did not fit. They were not retail safety as the title implied, but rather emergency management, homeland security, and occupational safety. Compass strongly recommended EKU change the name of the program, segment concentrations, and implement a new marketing strategy. In that one day, Compass helped identify why things weren’t working and developed an action plan for improvement. And, it worked.

Enrollments have far exceeded expectations.  While the experiment is still ongoing, the results are evident; the online program has quadrupled in size. They’re emerging, not just nationally, but internationally, while still in the growth phase.  “Our partnership with Compass frees us up so our faculty can focus on great academics and our Compass team takes care of students’ logistical issues. They also bring us lots of academically qualified students that can do the work,” said Tim Matthews, Director of Distance Learning.  “At the end of the day, the desire is to find students that are a good-fit for the online safety, security, and emergency management program. That makes us all successful.”

Compass Knowledge Group

Who We Are
We partner with prominent, non-profit institutions to help them build successful online academic programs. We were the first and continue to be the premier services provider in this industry. Our success is based upon a history of predictable performance that far exceeds industry standards.

What We Do
Marketplace & Institutional Assessment
Program Marketing
Student Recruitment
Retention & Student Support
Online Course Development & Faculty Support
Online Technologies
Financial Investment