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OpenLearning partners with UNSW to deliver innovative online Transition Program for international students

Published: 16:34 28 Oct 2020 AEDT

OpenLearning Ltd - OpenLearning partners with UNSW to deliver innovative online Transition Program for international students
OpenLearning is at the forefront of a new wave of online education delivery.

OpenLearning Ltd (ASX:OLL) has signed a five-year agreement with the University of New South Wales (UNSW) Global to design and deliver an online pathway program for international students through the OpenLearning platform.

The company will be responsible for designing and delivering of the program with the guidance from UNSW Global, which will provide its academic expertise and promote the program globally.

OpenLearning expects to receive net revenue of between $6,000 to $9,000 for each student in the program after fees paid to UNSW Global and based on the estimated enrolment fee per student.

The new UNSW Transition Program (online) is set to begin in March 2021 and is designed to provide the same outcomes for international students as UNSW Global’s existing face-to-face Transition Program, which will continue to be delivered on campus.

“New standard for online education”

OpenLearning group CEO and managing director Adam Brimo said: “We’re excited to partner with UNSW Global to set a new standard for online education by reimagining the UNSW Transition Program.

“For the first time, we’re combining OpenLearning’s socially constructive and community-driven approach with a teaching model that integrates small group and personalised coaching, continuous portfolio-based assessment and final interviews instead of exams to create a superior learning experience that will thoroughly prepare students to succeed at Australia’s top universities.”

UNSW global CEO Laurie Pearcey said: “At UNSW, we are passionate about the digital transformation of teaching and learning as well as the power of community and social engagement.

“Our partnership with OpenLearning is based on these shared values, and together we are opening up international learning opportunities to more people around the world.”

Capital raising initiative

To help achieve its partnerships and near-term growth strategy, the company has received binding commitments to raise around $6 million in an institutional placement.

The company will issue about 21.21 million ordinary shares at a price of 28 cents per share to institutional and sophisticated investors.

OpenLearning has received strong demand for the placement from a large number of new and existing, institutional and sophisticated investors receiving bids well in excess of the amount raised.

The placement issue price represents a 5% discount to the previous closing price of 29.5 cents on October 21, 2020.

Brimo said: “We are very pleased with the level of support from our existing investors.

“The placement will enable OpenLearning to pursue a number of immediate growth opportunities that align with our strategy while at the same time executing on the transformative agreements that we’ve signed with UNSW Global and continuing to grow our core platform business.”

Significant new revenue stream

Under the new agreement, UNSW Global will be responsible for marketing the program and providing curriculum, content, quality assurance and certification.

The company will support UNSW Global's marketing activities in addition to carrying out its own marketing initiatives through the OpenLearning platform in a bid to maximise student numbers.

OpenLearning is responsible for managing the student lifecycle from application through to teaching and assessment.

After consistently proving the efficacy of its platform and educational philosophy, the company is confident that it has the expertise and resources to pioneer this new delivery model in collaboration with UNSW Global.

Its ground-breaking online teaching model relies on activity-based learning, personalised coaching and interviews instead of exams.

The company will provide arrangements that will lead to a progressive shift from teacher-led sessions to student-led ones that give students accountability with support.

In addition, an automatically generated online portfolio will allow teachers to monitor students’ progress throughout the program, making it possible to tailor coaching and support to each student.

Expansion of an existing partnership

OpenLearning first partnered with UNSW Global in May of this year to launch the online University English Entry Course.

This new partnership aims to leverage OpenLearning’s innovation in online delivery and UNSW’s academic expertise to create a student-centric learning community.

The company and UNSW believe that an online pathway program is not only well suited to the current market conditions but will continue to appeal to students by saving them time and money.

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