Online learning has officially overtaken campus enrolments in the US, but here’s the dilemma: most online degrees are still priced the same, or more, than on-campus.

That got me thinking back to my time at Deakin University, when we launched the first online degrees on FutureLearn. We chose to price them at the domestic level, regardless of where in the world the learner was. That decision sparked bigger questions:

• What are we really charging for?

• Do online learners want a digital version of campus life - or a high-quality learning experience?

• Should we separate the student experience from the learner experience when it comes to pricing?

In this week’s article I unpack these ideas, reflect on the difference between student and learner experiences, and why rethinking pricing is one of the biggest opportunities (and challenges) facing higher education today.