Dive Brief:
- Education technology software firm 2U, which has helped almost a dozen colleges and universities take degree programs online, posted shrinking losses in the second quarter Thursday and announced two new programs.
- The company will help its longtime partner, University of Southern California, launch an online Master of Science in Nursing program this fall through a newly created department in the School of Social Work.
- While approval is still pending for its programs, NYU is planning to offer the Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development’s first round of online courses in 2016 and early 2017 for graduate programs in speech pathology, counseling and guidance, and occupational therapy.
Dive Insight:
While 2U still hasn’t posted profits, its losses are getting smaller, and 2U CEO and co-founder Chip Paucek expressed pleasure with a “successful” second quarter. The company is getting closer to profitability. In its quarterly earnings report, Paucek said he expected to launch at least half a dozen new programs in 2016. There has been no new word about a previously announced partnership with Yale that got caught up in the accreditation process. Yale students and alumni have spoken out against that partnership, saying an online physician’s assistant program would undercut the profession.