Dive Brief:

• 2U is pivoting away from its traditional boot camps to transition to shorter microcredential programs focused on emerging skills, CFO and interim CEO Matt Norden said in a company post Wednesday.
• 2U’s boot camps offer credentials in technical skills such as coding in 12-week to 24-week programs. The microcredential programs are expected to range from six to 12 weeks, according to a 2U spokesperson
• The company’s first microcredentials will come through a partnership with Columbia University’s engineering school and include professional certificates in Python fundamentals, machine learning and applied fundamentals in artificial intelligence, Norden said in his post.

Dive Insight:

2U originally launched as an online program manager for universities looking to expand their reach through digital degrees. It expanded into the bootcamp business with the 2019 acquisition of Trilogy Education. 

The company bolstered its boot camp business when it bought edX 2021, which helped 2U widen the reach of its offerings. To date, 2U boot camps have produced some 96,000 graduates, and it has partnered with more than 50 universities on the programs, according to Norden. 

But the company’s bet on boot camps went sideways relatively quickly. As demand fell for boot camps and 2U’s OPM services, the debt the company took on to acquire Trilogy and edX weighed heavily, leading 2U ultimately into bankruptcy court in July. The company restructured its debt, reorganized as a private company, and exited Chapter 11 less than two months later.

Explaining the company’s struggles in bankruptcy papers this summer, Norden pointed in part to waning interest in boot camps after 2021.

“Demand for entry-level technology jobs unexpectedly declined as technology companies began shedding employees following a boom in hiring during the pandemic,” Norden said. “Coupled with the rapid and unanticipated adoption of artificial intelligence during the same period, demand for 2U’s coding Boot Camp offerings declined.”

In announcing the company’s transition away from boot camps, Norden on Wednesday cited similar market forces. 

“Demand for entry-level tech roles has decreased while the pool of available, experienced tech talent has expanded,” he said in his post. “Simply put, the long-form, intensive training that boot camps provide no longer aligns with what the market wants and needs.”

2U’s boot camps have also come under fire from some student advocates, as well as graduates, who say the programs were overpriced and that they didn’t realize 2U’s large role in developing them for partner universities. 2U has defended its boot camps as high quality and produced with accountability and input from university clients.  

Norden described the transition away from boot camps as a “pivotal moment for 2U.” 2U’s current boot camps will continue uninterrupted through their terms, the interim chief said. Ultimately, the company will wind down all of its bootcamps. 

Norden described its microcredentials as “shorter, more flexible, and affordable programs that combine live teaching with asynchronous components.” 

The company is still working out, based on research and feedback, instructional hours for the microcredential programs. The goal, according to a 2U spokesperson, is to balance self-paced learning with structured and interactive experiences.

In development now are microcredential programs in coding, data, AI and cybersecurity, Norden said.