Unity Environmental University has celebrated explosive enrollment growth since it transitioned to a predominantly online institution beginning in 2016. And at a time when many small colleges are struggling with stagnant enrollment and financial challenges, Unity’s strategic pivot to digital learning continues to pay off.

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Online higher education experts applaud the choices Unity administrators have made to transition to online learning, noting that their ability to raise salaries without bumping up tuition reflects a future of financial sustainability.

Ray Schroeder, a senior fellow at UPCEA, the online and professional education association, said that the key to success in higher education today is providing students an affordable, “anytime, anywhere” degree that is closely tied to an industry that will survive the fourth industrial revolution.

“[Unity] has really hit the key points,” said Schroeder, also a blog contributor to Inside Higher Ed. “It’s so affordable … but also, they provide a curriculum that is tightly connected to the environmental industry and that appears to be one that will continue to thrive, even through the advent of artificial intelligence.”

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