The burgeoning sharing economy has transformed markets such as transportation and lodging through services like Uber and Airbnb. Can it also transform higher education? The demand is certainly there: The rising cost of college, which has long outpaced inflation, makes it inaccessible to many. Meanwhile, colleges regularly lose millions in potential revenue due to excess capacity— “unfilled classroom seats” that can result from shifting demands for certain types of courses, declining enrollment, and other factors.
Anyone’s Learning Experience (or ALEX), winner of the 2016 Harvard Public Sector Innovation Award*, will leverage this excess by filling those seats with working professionals who lack college degrees and can increase their earnings through individual, in-person courses. This new online marketplace, which is preparing for a pilot launch this summer, will partner with colleges and employers to connect employees to courses that complement their line of work. “In a...