By Tim Sheehan
Executive Summary
Universities are on a journey to increase revenue. But all too often, universities using the revenue sharing OPM model feel like they’re adrift and hoping they end up at the right destination. The hallmark of the OPM model is that your partner takes care of everything. From marketing to recruitment to enrollment. And you just take a share of the profits. It’s predictable and safe. The downside? The only way to increase revenue is to increase enrollments.
But that’s not the only way. Instead of floating along a current that pushes and pulls you as it wills, you can take control of your university’s strategy and finances with a fee-for-service (FFS) model. This type of partnership gives you visibility into your marketing and recruiting finances, the ability to more strategically design your marketing initiatives, and power to hold your partners accountable to success markers you define.
The Limits of the OPM Model
The vast majority of universities leaned into the OPM model for one primary reason: they didn’t have the in-house resources to support the scale, flexibility, or capabilities to manage marketing, recruiting, and enrollment processes for their entire organizations. But in trusting one partner to do it all, they gave up more control than they intended.
Limited strategic capabilities in favor of guaranteed returns
Because OPM partners are in near total control of your marketing, recruitment, and enrollment strategies, you aren’t able to strategically map out ways to improve your campaigns. They operate in a black box, leaving you reliant on OPM partners because you’re not seeing how they’re running your campaigns.
Limited visibility for access to technology
Technology, especially in the marketing space, is designed to provide transparency. It’s supposed to give you better insights about your target audiences and data predictability about how your campaigns will run. But when OPM partners own the technology, they also control the means to access it.
Charting a New Course Towards Profitability Over Revenue
The higher education industry has seen some of the most dramatic changes in its history over the last five years. Just because OPM is the way it’s been done, doesn’t mean it’s the best option for your university anymore. Change isn’t just nice anymore; it’s necessary.
University leaders must have greater visibility into their marketing and recruitment efforts. They need to be able to see what’s going on with learners and adjust to the new ways they want to learn. FFS models give you much more control and transparency into how your marketing, recruiting, and enrollment processes operate so you can be more strategic and effective with your spend in those areas. Most notably, it gives you more opportunities to influence your P&Ls, allowing you to make data-backed decisions focused on increasing profitability, not just revenue.
Learning to Lead from the Front
When university leaders are put in control of their marketing, recruitment, and enrollment strategies, they get to decide what they bring in house and how partners supplement their teams. The biggest misconception with FFS is that by gaining control over your strategies, you’re going it alone. That couldn’t be farther from the truth. You can still leverage partners to support, guide, and assist your teams, but now you’re the one calling the shots based on your university’s capacity and operational strengths. And when you partner in this way, you share the responsibility and accountability of solving your university’s specific challenges.
Use Metrics as Landmarks to Keep Your Heading
It’s easy to see why universities have gravitated to the OPM model, but, as the ground beneath your feet continues to shift, you need more and accurate data to make the right decisions for your university.
Data doesn’t just define success or failure of a campaign. It helps you predict oncoming storms faster, plan more effective routes to your end goals, and better guide your learners to their ultimate destinations. A good start? Understanding the numbers behind your marketing campaigns.
Identifying Partners That Will Follow Your Lead
Enrollments are shrinking. More than 50% of graduate students and 25% of undergraduate learners are learning entirely online. One of the hardest decisions you have to make is how to effectively do right by your learners and your faculty. And you can’t do that if you don’t have all the data. In our current age of technology, we have the tools to provide better transparency, accountability, and trust. The partners who willingly support your goals and share your challenges will make sure you have all you need to make the best decisions for your university.
Get in touch to start the conversation about how a partnership can help your program thrive.
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