The Pulse of Higher Ed

The current environment for online higher education is defined by what the 2026 Landscape of Higher Education Report calls a decade of “structural change,” making the job of a Chief Online Learning Officer (COLO) complex and intensely stressful. COLOs are not operating in a vacuum; they must manage a landscape of operational complexity. The Benchmarking Online Enterprises (BOnES) Report paints a picture of decentralized chaos, characterized by overlapping administrative units, confusing internal budget models, and persistent staffing constraints.

In this environment, COLOs don’t merely need new software features; they require operational clarity and scalable capacity. They need partners who can act as “fixers” of broken internal processes. The biggest opportunity for corporate partners in 2026 is helping COLOs and their institutions streamline, scale, and professionalize the entire online enterprise, turning operational friction into a competitive advantage.

Navigate the Decentralized Maze

The Pain Point: Higher education is functionally decentralized. The BOnES Report highlights that a significant majority of online units are academically decentralized. This fragmentation means purchasing decisions are siloed, data is disjointed, and a centralized office often lacks the authority to enforce standardized best practices. This operational maze leads to redundant spending and inefficiency.

The Solution: Partners must evolve beyond a single-point-of-contact sales strategy. Your sales team needs to be equipped to navigate “nested” units and demonstrate value at both the centralized COLO level and the decentralized departmental level. Pitch enterprise solutions that can unify fragmented data and processes across different colleges or schools within a single institution, bringing centralized visibility to decentralized operations.

The “Staffing Supplement” Model

The Pain Point: Staffing remains a major operational headache for COLOs. The BOnES Report shows a wide variance in full-time staffing, with many “nested” units struggling with higher student-to-staff ratios compared to their “standalone” counterparts. Units are under immense pressure to grow enrollment without a corresponding increase in their personnel budget.

The Solution: Position your services as “scalable capacity.” Instead of selling a tool, sell a flexible, variable workforce that an institution cannot afford to hire full-time. The outsourcing market is mature for key functions: instructional design (27% outsourced), marketing (86% outsourced), and recruitment (73% outsourced). Pitch your firm as the on-demand solution for high-quality, professional services that alleviate the COLO’s biggest staffing constraint.

The Data & Intelligence Gap

The Pain Point: Many institutions are flying blind when it comes to measuring true operational efficiency. The need for greater visibility is so acute that the BOnES Report introduced new Key Performance Indicators, such as Revenue per FTE and program portfolio size, specifically because COLOs often lack the internal intelligence to benchmark their own performance.

The Solution: Corporate partners should be the data experts. If your platform provides analytics, lean into a consultative approach. Help COLOs interpret and benchmark their performance against the high-level metrics found in the BOnES Report (e.g., student support costs, marketing spending). Sell “intelligence” (that is, actionable insights that drive decision-making) rather than just selling generic “reporting” features.

AI Governance & Implementation

The Pain Point: AI is an operational imperative, but institutions are paralyzed by governance risk. The BOnES Report indicates that while AI authority is shared by almost half of all units, a significant minority still operates with no formal process or policy in place. COLOs need to innovate but are terrified of compliance and policy pitfalls.

The Solution: Offer “safe” innovation. Partners need to integrate compliance and governance into their product and service offering. Sell tools with built-in privacy protection, security, and proven ease of implementation. Position your firm not just as a vendor selling an AI tool, but as the strategic partner who can help the institution draft its AI roadmap, mitigating risk while enabling competitive acceleration.

Financial Sustainability Consulting

The Pain Point: The Landscape Report highlights the “financial fragility” facing many institutions. This pressure is immediately transferred to the online enterprise, with the BOnES Report showing that over half of online units are explicitly tasked with generating revenue to cover overall institutional shortfalls.

The Solution: Align your pricing models and messaging with the COLO’s anxiety over financial sustainability. Move beyond simply discussing “enrollment.” Speak the language of “margin,” “contribution,” and “cost avoidance.” Be flexible with financial models; the BOnES Report noted a growth in fee-for-service models and a stabilization of revenue-share structures. Your pitch should demonstrate that you are a financial accelerator, not just an operational cost.

Conclusion

In 2026, operational excellence is the new competitive advantage for online learning. COLOs are tasked with professionalizing and scaling their enterprises under extreme financial and administrative pressure. Corporate partners who succeed will be those who recognize this internal complexity and pivot their value proposition from “nice-to-have features” to essential operational transformation. Review your sales deck to show COLOs, in concrete terms, how you will make their jobs easier, their operations leaner, and their financial contributions clearer.

 

Dave Jarrat serves as a Senior Fellow for UPCEA and as a Strategic Advisor to a broad range of higher education institutions and organizations, including the University of Cambridge, Edquity and Scholarships360. He is a social impact executive focused on improving educational opportunities and outcomes for historically underrepresented populations.