Growth of online third-party partnerships: Maintaining quality assurance

Background/context. Australian universities increasingly work in partnership with EdTech companies (aka Online Program Management [OPM]) to offer online courses. As universities continue to establish partnerships with a focus on growth and revenue, it is critical that robust quality assurance systems are in place to ensure the quality of online third-party delivery. To date, no study has been undertaken in Australia on the size and scale of OPM partnerships (Shah & Lim, 2021). Likewise, there is no research on the issues and challenges facing universities in relation to OPM partnership course delivery. The study is timely and relevant due to the growth of OPM in Australia. An article in the University World News provides a quick snapshot on the rise of EdTech higher education providers who are partnering with universities (Field, 2021). The initiative/practice. In third-party delivery, there are risks related to sharing of curriculum and assessments, re-development of learning resources and assessments for online pedagogy, staffing and remuneration, resourcing and infrastructure, and adequacy of learning support required by students. In late 2021, the Australian Government released the Australian Strategy for International Education 2021-2030. The strategy encourages universities to offer online offshore education (Australian Government, 2021). Methods of evaluative data collection and analysis. Due to absence of publicly available national data on third-party arrangements, content analysis of each Australian university’s website was conducted with a focus on finding information on OPM partnerships. Apart from examining the size and scale of OPM partnerships in Australia, the study also considers risks associated with third-party delivery. Evidence of outcomes and effectiveness. The analysis suggests that 33 of the 42 Australian universities offer more than 850 courses in online third-party arrangements. The study examines issues around quality that needs to be considered before partnerships are established. The preliminary findings are useful to inform policy and practice on quality assurance of OPM in Australia and enable further research.