On Dec. 17, Brown announced plans to expand its online master’s programs in the hopes of reducing its $46 million structural budget deficit. The University hopes to raise its number of online learners to 2,000 students within the next five years, according to the announcement.
An increase in master’s programs would allow the University to “diversify our revenue base and profile, which is important for financial health,” Sarah Latham, the executive vice president for finance and administration, wrote in an email to The Herald.
Shankar Prasad, the dean of the School of Professional Studies, wrote in an email to The Herald that the University has two strategies for online learner growth: The first is to launch online versions of programs that already exist in-person. The second is to launch new online programs in areas where the University holds academic strength.
The University currently offers online programs in which students can earn an Executive Master’s in Business Administration, a Master’s in Public Health and a Master’s in Healthcare Leadership, among others.
The University is examining market trends to “ensure these new programs will graduate students who will be gainfully employed and have an impact in their fields,” Prasad wrote. Historical enrollment statistics and the performance of peer programs will also be considered while designing the programs.
Prasad added that the University has already made “important investments to ensure that online students receive high levels of academic and student support, which are a hallmark of a Brown education.” These include live sessions with faculty and academic advisors who track student performance to prevent burnout, Prasad said.
Brown collaborated with the Center for Master’s Student Excellence and the Graduate Council to ensure online students will feel integrated within the larger Brown community, Prasad wrote.
The online learners will be taught by both existing and new faculty members brought on specifically to teach online learners, Prasad wrote. The University has been working with the Sheridan Center for Teaching and Learning to facilitate “extensive training to help faculty teach effectively across multiple modalities,” he added.
Francesca Beaudoin, a professor of epidemiology and emergency medicine and the academic dean of the School of Public Health, said the expansion of online programs will help reach different student groups than their in-person counterparts. These include “doctors, lawyers, teachers (and) other working professionals looking to make a career pivot,” she wrote in an email to The Herald.
“Students in our online programs want to feel like they are part of our community,” she added. “It is up to us to find better ways to integrate online learners.”
Prasad believes that the University’s decision to expand online learning parallels similar moves at peer institutions. “Our investments are completely in line with best practices to create maximum flexibility for a diverse body of learners,” he wrote.
He added that online programs help “ensure that working professionals, parents, international students who cannot move to Providence for 1-2 years all have access to a Brown education.”
For Latham, “it is important to ensure we are growing masters programs that leverage Brown’s unique mission and areas of academic excellence.”
Roma Shah is a senior staff writer covering University Hall and higher education. She's a freshman from Morgan Hill, CA and studies Neuroscience. In her free time, she can be found doing puzzles, hiking or curled up with a book.
