Episode 052 - Chris Parrish

In this episode, we hear from Christopher Parrish, senior vice president and portfolio general manager at 2U. 2U is what’s sometimes known as an online program management, or OPM, provider. OPM providers are for-profit companies that partner with non-profit universities to develop, launch, and sustain online degree programs, especially graduate and professional programs. In this interview, John Sloop, Vanderbilt’s associate provost for education development and technologies, talks with Chris Parrish from 2U about 2U’s model for online education, why 2U’s standard university partnership is a ten-year commitment, and where Chris Parrish sees online education going in the next decade. John also gets one of the most surprising answers to our closing question we’ve had yet. You’ll find this interview a lively one! Links • Christopher Parrish’s LinkedIn page, https://www.linkedin.com/in/christopher-parrish-047a50a/ • @c_parrish8 on Twitter, https://twitter.com/c_parrish8 • Phil Hill’s spring 2018 overview of the online program management (OPM) landscape, https://mfeldstein.com/online-program-management-market-landscape-s2018/ • Leading Lines Episode 20: Andrew Van Schaack, Catherine Loss, and Paul Speer, http://leadinglinespod.com/episodes/episode-020-andrew-van-schaack-catherine-loss-paul-speer/