Online program management (OPM) refers to the practice of colleges and universities contracting with external third-party organizations to plan, develop, market, and maintain online degree or certificate programs. The OPM company and the university share the costs and the risks and therefore have a common goal of building successful long-term programs.
It might be tempting to launch an online program without the help of an outside vendor since you are the content and curriculum experts. However, partnering with an online program management company has many benefits. An established OPM can launch your online program faster, more efficiently, and more successfully for several reasons. First and foremost is funding: a good OPM partner will provide the required capital needed to effectively build and launch your program.
Secondly, you will get immediate access to the latest instructional design knowledge and skills, best practices in course building, and state-of-the-art digital marketing to promote and launch your programs. The third reason is a reduced timeline. You won’t need to fight for school resources and can launch the program in a shorter timeline than current capabilities allow. Finally, you will have access to the newest technology. A good OPM partner will provide you with the latest technologies used to find, engage, enroll, and retain more students in your higher education programs.
CAP Law Online is the online program management (OPM) division of Carolina Academic Press located in Durham, North Carolina. The team at CAP Law Online is focused only on law schools. We possess more than 60 years of experience in legal education, instructional design, curriculum development, and OPM marketing, and we have successfully launched new hybrid JD, LLM, and Master’s of Legal Studies programs. Unlike the larger OPM companies, CAP Law Online partners with a select number of schools each year, providing every school with an unmatched level of nimble, personalized service.
Even before a contract is signed, CAP Law will work with schools to analyze the potential market for each individual program, study the competition, and identify additional opportunities for growth. If requested, we will assist with the preparation of materials needed for institution approval of new programs as well as offer advice to navigate higher education accreditation.
CAP Law is working behind the scenes every step of the way to ensure that each program is a success. When we partner with an educational institution, we become an extension of that university, integrating with your brand and tailoring our services specifically while providing our outstanding online program management services. You maintain complete control of the courses, curriculum, and vision for the program, but we are there to support you and your faculty throughout.
Some of the top law schools in the US have partnered with us because we take a comprehensive approach that blends program analysis, research, recruitment, and creative marketing expertise to help the university create value for the right students. We view the OPM model as a partnership not only with the law school and larger university but more specifically with the program director and the faculty. We start by gathering critical information about internal and external stakeholders, program specifics, technology requirements, process workflows, student experience, and department and university variables. Ultimately, this comprehensive overview helps guide our pursuit of sustainable enrollment growth.
Exclusivity by program means that we only represent one program of its kind in a specific geographical region, rather than multiple competing programs. This ensures a singular focus on understanding the program’s audience and their needs, the employment landscape, and job qualifications.
Partnered with your law school, Caplaw shares in the tuition revenue for all new students that enroll in the contracted programs. Fees for this model can either be a percentage of tuition costs or a fixed price per enrollment. Our university-partner fee structure is simple and straightforward.
We also offer à la carte services to match your current business needs. From market research to instructional design to student support, we provide many services that complement your current school capabilities, and we will work with you to fit our services within your budget.
Most of our partnerships use a revenue share model. This model overcomes the challenges of finding new funding for research, technology, and capital improvements while school revenue and state support continue to decline. Caplaw provides most of the capital, infrastructure, and technology and the revenue share model offers a higher level of strategic collaboration and insight. It also encourages both sides of the partnership to place a greater emphasis on student retention, an important part of the financial feasibility and long-term success of the program.
Caplaw Online brings the skills needed to move your programs online. Shrinking resources at most universities have made it difficult to create quality online courses, and we can provide the skills as well as the financial resources. Our partnership models are designed to fit around your needs, whether online, on-campus, or a combination of the two. By incorporating either fully online or blended experiences into your on-campus offerings, you can design learning experiences that prioritize accessibility, flexibility, outcomes, and, ultimately, employment for learners. Whatever unique challenges you face, our tailored partnership models will allow you to adapt to changing learner expectations, budgets, and unexpected situations, such as a global pandemic!