Common Metre: What to Expect
Our Purpose: Understanding the Alternative Education Industry
As of mid-2021, Udemy, the online course platform, offers more than 155,000 distinct courses. Thinkific, the Canadian course authoring platform for consultants and freelancers, went public this Spring, after revenue climbed from 6 million in 2018 to 21 million in 2020 (USD). In 2015, there were only four partnerships between universities and private sector bootcamps. By 2020, there were 47 - led by Triology, now a part of 2U. Total bootcamp enrolment in the US and Canada rose from 2,178 in 2013 to 24,975 in 2020. Organisations like Credly are helping to build the infrastructure to support and validate new types of credentials offered by alternative education providers.
Common Metre exists to decipher the alternative education space.
Our decision to focus on the alternative education industry is not random.
We think it will grow. And that it should.
A varied and competitive education market that offers education opportunities that are both different from and beyond what is possible from traditional colleges and universities will enhance the value of education for adults.
Lower prices. Better quality. More convenient. Narrowly defined -- all, possible.
(Another) Newsletter
Each week Common Metre provides analysis designed
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to support decision-makers in the alternative education industry. Questions informing our publications, include:
What are the factors driving the growth of alternatives to higher education?
How are changes to the economics of media changing the cost structure of learning?
Where are the best opportunities for education entrepreneurs in this quickly evolving industry?
What strategies have proven to deliver better value for adult learners?
How has traditional higher education responded to the rise of the alternative education industry? Which aspects of the alt-edu market might it appropriate?
What are the business models generating reduced costs or higher instructional quality?
Who are the people and organisations forging new strategies in alternative education?
Upcoming Topics
How Students Assess Value (And the Flattening of Hierarchies)
Education as Media
The Role of Charisma for On-Screen Talent
Design Matters. Aesthetics and Digital Content
What Can’t Our Competitors Do? Choosing the Right Strategy
Incumbents vs the Barbarians: The S-Curve in Digital Education
(Economies of) Scale in Mass Media vs Scale in Digital Education
Content Marketing and the Alternative Education Industry
Defining Pace and Sequence in Digital Learning
Partnerships, Competitors, and Rates of Growth
Measuring and Reporting on Student Performance
Freemium in Digital Education