Educational Pathways has reported in the past that online programs related to professional development certifications could be profit centers for online educators.

In the July/August 2003 issue, for instance, I quoted Judith Boettcher, former executive director of the Corporation for Research and Educational Networking, on this topic. Boettcher said "those who provide certification services online can make some money. If people are not making money on that, they ought to be. But it’s hard. It’s easier for people to set aside time and leave their offices for a day or two days or three days, than to find a way to carve out online time in one or two hour segments. However, I still think as people become more accustomed to online learning, and - if you think generationally - as the generation that is now 20 years old gets to be 40 years old, they are going to be much more comfortable going online. So I think those things will come together in the future."

At Boston University’s (BU) Center for Professional Education (CPE), the future has arrived in an online Financial Planning Certificate Program (FPCP) that went fully online in May 2003 and already boasts more than 1,100 students.

The online FPCP is offered in a self-paced (no instructor) learning modality that consists of six technologically sophisticated and academically sound courses that were created through a collaboration between CPE and local Boston company Acadient (see "Acadient and BU: A Partnership that Worked"). Upon successful completion of the online program, students will have fulfilled the education component for a certified financial planner (CFP) certification. Plus, they have the option to receive a certificate in financial planning from Boston University if they pass a proctored exam upon completion. In order to earn the actual CFP certification designation, students must also pass the official CFP certification examination, which is an intense 10-hour examination from the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Inc., a professional regulatory organization.

In line with the earlier statement from Boettcher, the students, at least during the first year of the program, were not carving out their time effectively in order to complete the required courses.

At the end of year one, the retention rate was hovering around 40 percent, says John Ebersole, associate provost and dean for BU’s Division of Extended Education. So, Ebersole took a step to correct this trend by hiring some smart graduate students and training them to be course facilitators. Turns out that was definitely a move in the right direction. "We have seen between a 25 to 30 percent improvement in progress since we have instituted this," he says. "We are not sitting on our fingers and accepting low completion rates. What we have found is that we can make an appreciable difference in the rates of completion and at the same time keep our costs down by using trained facilitators."

How much of a cost savings? Ebersole says he is paying $1,000 per month ($500 each for two graduate students) to have these facilitators monitor student progress and provide a little guidance and support to students who may be dealing with process issues. "We get monthly reports that show how students are progressing, and if we have students who have not moved off of lesson number one, we are in touch with them to find out what we can do to help them."

The two course facilitators do have help. For one, there is a subject-matter tutor that is also assigned to the program to answer content-related questions. The tutor is a paid professional from Keir Educational Resources, a publisher of study materials for preparing for the CFP certification exam. Secondly, the facilitators can post study tips and hints to all the students in the program through an opt-in mass e-mail mechanism.

However, the real progress has been achieved by having course facilitators provide a personalized support system through direct one-on-one email correspondences with slow-moving students. "We send out individualized e-mails to students to tell them how they are doing in relation to their peers in the program. We give them 18 months to complete all six courses, so they need to be proceeding through at about a three-month pace per course. If they are seriously lagging, we offer assistance. We let them know that somebody cares and is paying attention."

Bottom line is that the social presence of a course facilitator has made a significant difference in retention rates.