Content, a Disruptive Idea & Structural Advantage
The Babson Survey Research Group recently sampled 2,800 colleges and universities in the U.S. Their report (2013) indicates that 7.1 million students are currently enrolled in at least one on-line course. The year-over-year enrollment growth rate in on-line learning courses in higher education in the U.S. is 7.1 percent.
According to the business strategy and market research firm Global Industry Analysts, Inc., the e-learning industry is poised to garner $105 billion in revenue in 2015. Mergers, acquisitions and equity investments in the on-line learning sector are torrid. In 2014, Google Capital invested $40 million in Renaissance Learning of Wisconsin (K-12). This month, European media powerhouse Bertelsmann announced the purchase of North Carolina based Relias Learning for $540 million.
Analysts indicate that on-line learning companies must possess three essential capabilities to be successful: “content, a disruptive idea and a structural advantage.” Enter Redmond’s Current Conceptions, Inc.
Dr. Phil Senger, president of Current Conceptions, Inc. which moved to Redmond this year from Pullman, Washington, received his B.S. in zoology from North Carolina State University. His graduate and doctoral work earned an M.S. and Ph.D in reproductive physiology from Virginia Polytechnic Institute. After his doctoral work, Dr. Senger became a professor of animal science at Washington State University teaching reproductive physiology and animal physiology. He is widely published and his textbook, Pathways to Pregnancy and Parturition has been deemed the “gold standard” in reproductive science – relied upon as the primary textbook by over 150 universities across the globe.
Dr. Angela Oki, vice president of Current Conceptions, earned a B.S. in environmental field biology from Lewis-Clark State College, a M.S. in reproductive toxicology from the University of Illinois and a Ph.D. in reproductive physiology from Washington State University. During her doctoral work, Dr. Oki was a pioneer in integrating the new discoveries about how humans learn most efficiently from the field of cognitive psychology – with the challenges of teaching students reproductive science.
Content and a disruptive idea: Current Conceptions, Inc. possesses both. The internationally acclaimed textbook authored by Dr. Senger, Pathways to Pregnancy and Parturition, serves as the foundation for ongoing content development.
The disruptive idea? Dr. Oki’s expertise in incorporating the research validated principles of time compressed animated delivery (TCAD) into the content is heralded as a truly unique approach to both:
a. increasing the efficiency of learning reproductive science and
b. accelerating the process of acquiring higher order thinking skills in university students.
How does Dr. Oki accomplish this? By integrating delicately scripted narration with animated, graphical and photographic specimens (some in 3D) into the content.
The structural advantage that Current Conceptions, Inc. possesses is a unique, private-public partnership with the College of Veterinary Medicine (CVM) at Auburn University. Auburn’s CVM is ranked among the top 15 in the world. The Auburn University Curriculum Committee has approved the Current Conceptions on-line course (Reproductive Science and Health) for academic credit, certification and continuing education credit.
The partnership also includes the objective of licensing the on-line course by academic programs across the globe. According to Calvin Johnson, dean of Auburn’s College of Veterinary Medicine, “The partnership between the Auburn University College of Veterinary Medicine and CCI to distribute Reproductive Science and Health through a high quality, on-line course offering is a wonderful example of the synergism that can be achieved when experts in academia and the private sector collaborate. This course will set the bar for on-line education in reproductive science.”
The course is scheduled to go live in January 2015.
Dr. Oki points out, “Our delivery platform provides some exciting opportunities. We can modify the instructional design at any time to improve learning. We are able to track how students navigate the course in each content section. We can identify problem areas for immediate improvement. We can upgrade content, instructional design and delivery to enhance student learning in each of our 16 content modules.”
Dr. Senger adds, “The driving force behind this course is our desire as educators to bring reliable information pertaining to reproductive biology to the widest possible audience. Our vision is to expand our platform with offerings in the fields of bioscience, micro-biology, nutrition, food safety and accelerating a better understanding of human health.”
Why Redmond? According to Phil Senger, “An entrepreneurial spirit is pretty much nonexistent in Pullman, Washington. Central Oregon is ALIVE in this regard! As an example, CCI has been in business for over 15 years and we never once had a visitation from economic development people or University administrators in Pullman. We were not in Redmond more than two weeks when Jon Stark of REDI came to our office asking what he could do to help us proceed. That has developed into positive relationships on multiple fronts and the interaction continues to grow. In short, regardless of the fact that we are very small and have a very unusual business model, we are exceptionally happy that we moved to Central Oregon.”
Current Conceptions, Inc.
Location: 525 SW Umatilla Avenue, Ste. 200, Redmond, OR 97756
Website: www.currentconceptions.com
Telephone: 541-526-5803
Principles: Dr. Phil Senger, Dr. Angela Oki
No. Employees: 2
Year Established: 2011
Product/Service: Specializes in on-line curriculum development and global distribution to academic programs at the university level in the field of reproductive physiology.
Hot News: A private-public partnership with Auburn University’s College of Veterinary Medicine.
Outlook for Growth: Content – A Disruptive Idea – A Structural Advantage — Stay Tuned.
