The student appetite for online study in 2022 remains strong, with course diversity high on the agenda

Despite a sea of uncertainty as the world continues to tackle changing work conditions, listening to what students want remains key for any Higher Education provider.

In a bid to support students with the choice they’re seeking, and to provide universities with guidance on how they can best to meet this need, we have produced our annual Marketplace Landscape Report – providing insights for universities about what programs students want more of and where the opportunities are for new programs.

What do these opportunities mean for universities?

Industry research suggests that students increasingly want to explore and compare multiple providers as part of their decision making.

Additionally, last year approximately 16% of new student enrolments via the OUA marketplace came from new programs.

Both these trends explain why our marketplace continues to see an upward trend of new programs, units and learning options being introduced, which are developed in response to the increasing demands of students. These learning options are both formal and informal in nature, and now include bootcamps, short courses and microcredentials.

According to David Cummings, Head of Partnerships at Open Universities Australia: “With 60% of Australian universities on the OUA marketplace and offering more than 600 programs, the opportunities for both students and universities will scale.

The annual Marketplace Landscape Report is seen as a useful tool in helping universities see where they can have the most impact by meeting the demand from students.”

What’s getting students excited in 2022?

Whether it’s Government driven demand, lifestyle related interests or being part of the next frontier of professional credentials, students have a varied interest in what they want to see more of from Higher Education providers online in 2022:

• Natural and Physical Sciences: It’s no secret that enabling Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics, Innovation and Entrepreneurship (STEMIE) capabilities are at the core of the Government’s national science agenda. And students appear to be responding to this.
• Information Technology: Search volumes related to information technology programs are just below those for education – a perennially strong category on OUA’s marketplace in terms of student enrolments?– which indicates how strong demand is for these types of degrees.
• Engineering and Related Technologies: Demand for engineering is wanting as there are very few engineering programs currently available on the OUA marketplace but increasing interest.
• Architecture and Building: According to a recent report by Good Education Media[1], job searches for the term ‘architect’ grew dramatically in 2021, especially in the eastern seaboard states of Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland.
• Agriculture, Environmental and Related Studies: When compared to popular Broad Fields of Education (BFOE) such as Society and Culture or Health, searches on OUA’s marketplace indicate lower demand for this area of study.
• Health: Even without the influence of Job Ready Growth (JRG) funding, health has shown consistent growth in the past five years with demand for health programs on OUA’s marketplace strong. Perhaps not unsurprising given the current climate, roles such as medical practitioner, nurse, physiotherapist and paramedic appeared in the top 10 job searches in most states of Australia (Good Education Media, 2021). OUA’s search data indicates there is high demand for some of the programs currently not on offer including Midwifery, Speech Pathology, Optometry, Sonography and Radiology.
• Education: Since the introduction of Higher Education Relief Package (HERP) funding in 2020, undergraduate certificate programs in education are popular programs for attracting new students. That trend continued in 2021. With only four undergraduate degrees on offer, additional programs at this level would be beneficial for students seeking more choice.
• Management and Commerce: Business is a strong portfolio on the OUA marketplace with over 100 programs on offer across postgraduate and undergraduate levels. Enrolment volume across Business and Management is still high and OUA’s search data indicates business programs are still desirable.
• Society and Culture: Despite a CSP fee increase in 2021, some of the fastest growing areas of demand on OUA’s marketplace are psychology, human services and counselling. Given the unsatisfied demand for psychology and associated services driven by the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, OUA expects the need for these programs to remain strong in 2022 and beyond.
• Law and Criminology: Criminology programs continue to perform strongly with year-on-year enrolment growth. Further new programs in Law and Justice, Counter Terrorism and Environment would be well placed to satisfy demand and capture growing enrolment numbers in these areas.
• Creative Arts: OUA’s marketplace currently has limited opportunities for students wanting degrees in Journalism, Public Relations, and Indigenous Studies.

With close to a dozen fields of education identified as areas of growth in 2022, the opportunities for universities wanting to harness this evolving student demand are endless.

According to Cummings: “As students demand choice and increasingly turn to the OUA marketplace to explore those choices, the more courses we need from our University Partners to put in front of them! The marketplace also provides a platform for our partners to extend their reach to the fastest growing student audience nationally.”

For the full OUA 2022 Marketplace Landscape Report, you can download it by visiting www.open.edu.au/marketplace-reportwww.open.

[1] Australia’s COVID Changed Aspiration’s, The impact of COVID-19 on career searches 2018-2021. Good Education Media and Twig Marketing, September 2021.