Dive Brief:

• New York University has launched a series of instructional videos on social media to pilot content delivery to students at its Shanghai campus, attracting hundreds of thousands of views in just days.
• The school plans to expand the series, working around censorship issues and cultural barriers to potentially offer college degree programs to students in China.
• Shanghai’s middle class is an untapped opportunity for student recruitment from families which can afford NYU tuition.

Dive Insight:

Many colleges and universities have articulation agreements with other nations to exchange students and faculty, but travel, insurance and security concerns can present major issues and negative publicity if things go wrong. Digital content delivery, seemingly, could be a more cost-effective, sustainable system of academic outreach to foreign nations.

If institutions can expand MOOC delivery to international audiences, and can clear academic credentialing as a part of that engagement, schools may see international enrollment explode in just a few short years. Large public flagships and private institutions, obviously, will be ahead of the movement; but mid-size and small colleges could also incorporate the strategy into their own academic development plans.