How did a decision to offer online programs tailored to adult learners turn a business school into a leading growth generator for the university? And what was the public-private partnership that enabled this growth?
Somnath (Som) Bhattacharya, Professor and Dean of the University of Illinois Springfield (UIS) College of Business and Management, sat down with Joe Lynch, Senior Vice President of New University Partnerships at Risepoint, at the AACSB Deans Conference in Las Vegas to tell his story.
Q&A with Som Bhattacharya
Q1: Tell us about UIS. What were the circumstances before you partnered with Risepoint?
Som: UIS is one of three regional universities comprising the University of Illinois System. We are situated in a rural environment close to Springfield, Ill. (population 160,000) and sandwiched between higher education centers on the north in Chicago, and on the south in St. Louis.
About the time we contacted Risepoint, we were contending with falling enrollment, over-reliance on diminishing numbers of students from China, and market saturation with our existing business programs.
It’s a familiar story. We needed to stop the hemorrhage of students and offer more programs but were not in a financial position to make a large upfront investment to do so.
Q2: UIS is not new to online education. What led you to try something different—and launch accelerated online programs?
Som: We had a dedication to knowing more about online learning, to being the best in the field. Although we had a history of being online pioneers, we needed to take a fresh look at doing it better, and more broadly.
And we were hungry for change. It takes that. Not just acknowledging the challenges of your institution under duress but actively looking for out-of-the-box solutions that hopefully permeate the institution, beginning with agreement from the top—the chancellor and the provost. The provost must be engaged. Our success is dependent on these relationships.
Q3: In choosing to reach working adults, what did you learn about what prospective online students look for in a program?
Som: We discovered that working adults, especially those with some college, but not a degree, need pathways to help them break through that glass ceiling. This audience represents an alternative revenue stream, one that many universities haven’t focused on.
“It’s much more than a matter of ROI; it’s part of our responsibility to the public good. We have to do right by all segments of the population that desire higher education—if we aren’t reaching them, we’re not fulfilling our mission. This partnership [with Risepoint] allows us to help nontraditional adult learners advance their interests—to change their career trajectory and their lives.”
Som Bhattacharya
Professor and Dean of the University of Illinois Springfield College of Business
Q4: How did you select the online programs to offer and how are they different from online programs you already had?
Som: Beyond the essentials [programs that are affordable, asynchronous, and workforce-relevant], we are focused on providing a full-value proposition to adult students. We want to find ways to tap into the relationship fully, to foster lifetime learning ongoing throughout their careers. That might mean exploring micro-credentials, providing master’s level certificates as a pathway to a full degree program, and offering other services such as career advisement.
Q5: How did you build support for this idea with faculty, staff, and other shareholders?
Som: It helps to engage and incentivize faculty early in the process. We offered training in Quality Matters, which has improved and strengthened teaching all the way round. We also want to make sure that faculty are rewarded for their participation in improving online instruction. Again, this is more than ROI, it’s also about serving the public good.
Q6: You launched your initial accelerated online program offerings with a General MBA and three concentrations, and a Master of Science Finance, in the second half of fall 2021. What were your initial enrollment targets and what have been the outcomes since then?
Som: We’ve followed a strategic growth plan—adding additional online business programs with each subsequent start beginning in January 2022. We now offer 37 graduate degree and certificate programs encompassing business administration and management, healthcare management, finance, and technology. Our current enrollment for our Spring I 2025 start is 640, with about half of those in the MBA program. That’s more than double our initial enrollment estimate of 300 students within the first three years ending Oct. 2024.
Q7: To summarize, in what ways has this private-public partnership and online initiative helped expand your impact within your institution and community? How can others do the same?
Som: This partnership has helped us provide tangible proof of our value proposition for students. That’s first, to develop a strong culture of student service and meet learner needs with workforce-focused programs. You have to demonstrate strong leadership with purpose supported across the organization. You must also elevate the role of, and rewards for, faculty. And of course, embrace the philosophical and operational changes required to remain relevant.
For more on the UIS success story, read our case study, Reaching underserved populations while increasing resources at UIS.
