Washington, D.C. — Outsourcing of online education to third-party providers, commonly known as online program managers (OPMs), has surged in the higher education sphere. While these partnerships are touted as opportunities to expand access and operational capacity, they often raise critical concerns around institutional control, quality assurance, student outcomes, data privacy, and regulatory compliance.
The U.S. Government Accountability Office reports that many institutions entrust various tasks to OPMs. These tasks can include student recruitment, advertising, admission assistance, student retention, and instruction. However, there is little, if any, oversight of such arrangements, and the U.S. Department of Education has not tracked which institutions are outsourcing to which companies. Consequently, students in numerous online degree programs are left vulnerable to potential risks associated with these contracts.
Join the Center for American Progress for an expert panel discussing the current challenges in monitoring and regulating outsourced online higher education and exploring promising practices and research findings related to quality assurance and equity.
WHO:
Panelists:
Dr. Jenna Chernega, President, Inter Faculty Organization and Professor at Winona State University
Dr. Kevin Kinser, Professor and Head of the Department of Education Policy Studies and a Senior Scientist at the Center for the Study of Higher Education in the College of Education at Pennsylvania State University
Chris Madaio, Senior Adviser, The Institute for College Access and Success
Dr. Amber Villalobos, Fellow, The Century Foundation
Moderator:
Madison Weiss, Senior Policy Analyst, Higher Education, Center for American Progress
WHEN:
Tuesday, September 16, 2025
2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. ET
WHERE:
Online via Zoom.
To join the virtual audience, please RSVP here.
If you have questions for our panel, please submit them on Zoom during the event.
For more information or to speak to an expert, contact Mishka Espey at [email protected].