New ownership model for Online Education Services
In Summary
- Online Education Services is Swinburne Online's parent company
- Joint venture established by Swinburne and SEEK in 2011
- 9,500 students are currently enrolled with Swinburne Online
Swinburne University of Technology and SEEK have agreed to a new ownership structure for Swinburne Online’s parent company, Online Education Services (OES).
The new structure sees SEEK increase its investment in OES from 50 per cent to 80 per cent, with Swinburne retaining 20 per cent ownership.
Swinburne Vice-Chancellor, Professor Linda Kristjanson, says Swinburne Online remains a key part of Swinburne’s portfolio of innovative education offerings.
“Through our joint venture with Online Education Services, Swinburne established itself as a leading provider of online education,” Professor Linda Kristjanson says.
“We have learned a lot about what students need in a digital learning environment, what motivates them and how they learn. These learnings now inform us in our desire to ensure all students have access to digital learning technologies, be they studying on campus, online, or in combination through blended learning.
“Swinburne will continue to invest in new teaching and learning platforms online as well as on-campus, enabling our dedicated academics to provide students with the new, multiple modes of learning they expect.”
Commenting on the transaction, Andrew Bassat, CEO and Co-Founder of SEEK says in just over five years, OES has established itself as a world class provider of online education.
“Online Education Services’ success shows that public and private partnerships can provide great education outcomes that lead to meaningful employment outcomes for Australian students,” Mr Bassat says.
“SEEK is looking forward to continuing its successful partnership with Swinburne University of Technology and hopefully alongside multiple education partners.”
About Swinburne Online
Swinburne Online’s parent company, Online Education Services, was established as a joint venture by Swinburne University and SEEK in 2011.
Some 1,500 students have graduated from Swinburne Online courses, and a further 9,500 are currently enrolled.
Twenty five per cent of current students are from regional or rural Australia, 23 per cent come from low socio-economic backgrounds, and the average student age is 32.