"There have been a number of newsworthy developments in UK higher education as a whole which, although not directly influencing online education, have broader impacts. Alongside this, there has also been a range of online learning developments of note"

Are you studying for a doctorate at a UK university via a programme that is wholly or mostly online? If so, please take part in an anonymous, 10 min survey about the impacts of online doctoral study on wellbeing and share the link lancasteruni.eu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_....

"it’s really positive to see some dedicated research on online learners being put out in the UK..it has the potential to support a better understanding of online learning, and support institutions more directly with messages they are trying to get across."

Overall, UK universities need to raise their game significantly when it comes to using their websites as product marketing and recruitment tools, but shorter forms of provision are often where I witness the most neglect and the most egregious examples.

"With a growing number of UK universities entering or considering online education as part of their diversification strategy, now is a timely moment to reflect on the current state of the OPM market and the key players operating in UK higher education."

"When this government manages to snap out of what feels like an extended political version of The Play That Goes Wrong, it would be wise to give more serious consideration to the role online learning can play in its agenda." www.neilmosley.com/blog/2025-q3... #onlinelearning #onlineeducation

"While some EdTech companies position their advantage as offering a prompt-free interface that doesn't rely on prompting skills, this also needs to be underpinned by confidence that the company has a nuanced & sophisticated understanding of learning and teaching."

"one wonders what the impact would be if UK students had greater options and more explicit and deliberate flexibility within a campus anchored undergraduate degree"

"as things stand, disaggregation of online degree provision is happening largely at PGT level, and given the current online student market and the exclusionary nature of the LLE for online education, I would not expect this to change anytime soon"

“UK higher education sometimes feels as though it’s trying to work out how to make horses go faster, rather than exploring more counterintuitive, behaviourally informed research methods to improve and innovate the experience.” A very interesting read

"There is a certain orthodoxy in how the sector builds a case for doing something new or different, and it tends to be overly reliant on user (student) research focused on asking people what they want."

"What has been evident this quarter is a more concentrated focus on developing propositions and courses that align with the prevailing narrative of recent years, education as a utility for professional development and skills, particularly in short forms."

"Universities face various questions when starting to develop a portfolio of online courses and degrees. One key decision … is whether to establish a separate online arm with dedicated functions and responsibility for new degrees and, potentially, legacy ones."

"For Coursera, the challenge is one of credibility, not just growing learner numbers, but proving that its courses and credentials translate into meaningful skills and workplace impact."

"With the summer behind us, it’s time to look back at some key developments in the last quarter in UK higher education, and online education in particular..there has been no shortage of relevant and noteworthy developments over the past quarter" www.neilmosley.com/blog/2025-q3...

"A challenge..is the extent to which EdTech companies and their products can genuinely offer distinct benefits over general-purpose generative AI tools for many of the functions they are developing."

"It would be obvious to point to the Lifelong Learning Entitlement (LLE)..as a stimulus..but it would be easy to overstate its impact...The funding is focused on disaggregated UG provision, which has minimal presence in the UK HE lifelong learning landscape."

"AI features are reshaping established EdTech products used by universities, while a wide array of consumer AI technologies are being adopted personally by students and staff alike."

"Coursera is moving toward a competency-based education model in which the unit of organisation is not a degree title like “data science” but the job role itself. Skills, knowledge, and assessments are mapped directly to the realities of that role."

A very timely post from @neilmosley.bsky.social on online Uni's, reaffirming what I've been saying about the need to consider online fully (and properly) and not try and shoehorn it into an existing structure & workload: www.neilmosley.com/blog/separat...

" while the choices universities face in operationalising their online course portfolios may lead them down different paths, given projected needs, developing to better serve a mature student audience, motivated by professional dev., would be a wise investment."

"The shift towards a portfolio focused on careers and employment presents a fundamental challenge for universities, both in being desirable partners that can align with this shift and in facing the competition Coursera presents as an alternative study destination."

"Some university short course webpages are among the best examples you’ll find anywhere of pages most likely to achieve a 100% bounce rate — countless examples lack the basics students need: pricing, start dates, time commitment, duration and eligibility criteria."

What could be better than learning about The Beatles online from the University of Liverpool... #onlinelearning #onlineeducation #highereducation buff.ly/3pzbPyO?

"Given everything happening in UK HE, and the increasingly competitive nature of the online education market, the international TNE online market is only going to become more important." www.neilmosley.com/blog/interna... #onlinelearning #onlineeducation #highereducation

"Universities face various questions when starting to develop a portfolio of online courses and degrees. One key decision … is whether to establish a separate online arm with dedicated functions and responsibility for new degrees and, potentially, legacy ones."

Big news in UK higher education this morning with the news that University of Greenwich and University of Kent are set to merge - would not be surprised to see more of this in the next 12 months - www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

“Lifelong learning feels as though it’s becoming less peripheral. A number of universities are investing in new institutes, short course platforms, and flexible offerings, but the real challenge is whether they can make it sustainable.”

Great to see more conferences on online education springing up in the UK - this Friday 12 September it's the inaugural CROPSNet Conference on the topic of "Driving Progress in Online Postgraduate Taught Education". It's a free, hybrid (in-person & online) conference www.cropsnet.org/cropsnet-con...

"Postgraduate students are so much more than an extension of the undergraduate community. They are purposeful, motivated and diverse and form a vital component of the academic community." wonkhe.com/blogs/have-w... #onlinelearning #onlineeducation #highereducation

"crafting a great online learning experience entails a wide range of considerations...there are always new things to learn and consider, and challenges to overcome...and...valuable insights out there on different aspects of the online learning experience."

"There’s no simple answer to the question of when, where and whether you should use video and what form it should take. But there are plenty of things that can inform the judgement that’s needed for video or that can help you to avoid some common pitfalls." www.neilmosley.com/blog/five-ti...

"We’re now blessed to have a breadth of research and insight available on a swathe of areas related to learning from metacognition to motivation and from feedback literacy to forgetting. (But) How well and deeply is that understood by educators and learning designers?"

"Different habits need to be developed and different routines need to be created to support online teaching, where there are different ways of interacting and communicating with students and them having access to educators."

"Budgets are now tighter and the need for income generation greater, coinciding with increased appetite to develop new, shorter forms of online provision. Universities need to go into this with their eyes open and set themselves up for success."

"While the current financial challenges might suggest a period of stasis, I see plenty of dynamism in the sector, driven by the existential nature of the challenge some universities face and the shifting sands of government priorities for higher education."

"What’s clear is that even though there is a greater sense of prioritisation for forms of provision under the lifelong and flexible learning umbrella, universities still have some distance to travel in developing successful & sustainable operations to support it."

NEW ARTICLE "Although universities can rightly claim to have been involved in the lifelong learning space for some time...what I’ve been seeing recently seems different..Lifelong learning feels as though it’s become less peripheral and more prioritised."

"While the current financial challenges might suggest a period of stasis, I see plenty of dynamism in the sector, driven by the existential nature of the challenge some universities face and the shifting sands of government priorities for higher education."

"Given everything happening in UK HE, and the increasingly competitive nature of the online education market, the international TNE online market is only going to become more important." www.neilmosley.com/blog/interna... #onlinelearning #onlineeducation #highereducation #intled

"This quarter has also seen some interesting developments in the world of online education, continuing the longer-standing trends of universities entering the online master’s degree market and deepening and developing their online learning portfolios"

"The role of assessment emerged as a significant driver of dropout. Many participants shared frustrations that their preparation did not align with what was tested. Participants also described course materials as unengaging, irrelevant, and misaligned with exams"

"One of the main reasons both franchise & OPM partnerships exist is that universities want to generate income by reaching a different..audience. Some of these..are..born out of unwillingness to seriously invest in..efforts to reach these audiences."

"This data underscores how international online students form a significant part of the overall UK HE online education landscape...& given the increasingly competitive online education market, the international online market is only going to become more important."

"We are at an interesting juncture in online learning within UK higher education. The need for diversification is driving greater interest in online learning and..This is increasing the appetite for partnerships"

"Budgets are now tighter and the need for income generation greater, coinciding with increased appetite to develop new, shorter forms of online provision. Universities need to go into this with their eyes open and set themselves up for success."

I'm really looking forward to taking part in one of the best UK online education conferences out there...the Online Learning Summit take place in Leeds on 10 and 11 July. You can check out the conference details and register to attend in-person or online here uoldigital.net/OLS

"the research emphasizes that engagement in online courses extends beyond simple participation; it encompasses cognitive, behavioral, and emotional dimensions that are interconnected and essential for fostering deep learning and sustained motivation."

"Reaching international students has always required..a heavy reliance on partnerships, and OPM partnerships are one part of that. However, the extent to which all these companies have a track record of scaling international online student recruitment is an important consideration."

"The 2023/24 data shows a 5% increase in uk-based online PGT students..and this continues to be the strongest market segment, with consistent growth since 2019/20."