Internet Learning Volume 3, Number 2, Fall 2014 | Page 27

Internet Learning
Table 4. Leading Online Education Degree Providers
Notes:
• DeVry University may be on this list but they do not provide data that leads to a good
estimate of online degree headcount.
• The student count is for students enrolled in online degree programs.
• Sources of data include SEC filings for publicly-traded companies, analyst reports of
financial filings, university-supplied fact sheets, media reports, and APUS estimates.
It is important to note that four institutions
on the list gained market share in the
past year: Liberty, Grand Canyon, Southern
New Hampshire, and Western Governors
(WGU), and all of them except Grand Canyon
are non-profits. They have all successfully
leveraged a distinct strategy that emphasizes
their strengths.
• Liberty has capitalized on its faith-based
brand generated from the legacy of the
late nationally recognized minister, televangelist,
and political commentator
Dr. Jerry Falwell, Sr., as well as its television
programming to promote the institution.
• Grand Canyon also uses its faith-based
roots along with strong regional marketing,
an emphasis on building campus
community for onsite and online students
around athletics and the arts, a focus
on regional high-growth industries,
and a unique reinforcing strategy where
they use their high-quality academics
onsite foundation (minimum onsite admissions
GPA requirement of 3.0 and
average onsite student GPA of 3.5) to
drive full-pay online enrollments, which
in turn subsidize the tuition of the onsite
students (tuition discounts over 50%)
enabling Grand Canyon to compete for
top onsite students.
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