eArmyU marks PwC's first move to providing outsourcing of the virtual U

Internet Strategies for Education Markets: The Heller Report, August, 2001

The contract to run eArmyU has expanded the reach of the Learning Solutions Group (LSG) of PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) from corporate training to a virtual university. It is a direction that the consulting firm plans to push forward.

The Army conceptualized eArmyU in the spring of 2000 as part of their effort to recruit and retain young people wanting a college degree and to create better-educated and more technology-savvy soldiers. It allows soldiers to earn a degree anytime, anywhere via the laptop provided with the program. When eArmyU - technically the name of the online portal for accessing Army University Access Online (AUAO) but essentially synonymous with AUAO--is fully implemented, soldier-students will have access to over 100 degree programs and 2,000 courses from 30 colleges and universities across the US. There are certificate programs and associate, bachelors and masters degrees offered. All participating educational institutions are members of the Army's Service Opportunity Colleges, SOC.

With the Army outsourcing this education initiative entirely, PwC has selected vendors for learning management systems, infrastructure and learning support. Now they are responsible for ensuring the systems interoperate smoothly. Additionally, PwC has arranged credit sharing between institutions with online courses in the program.

Most significantly, PwC must create a solution that can scale. PwC was awarded the eArmyU contract in December of 2000 and the virtual U opened for business one month later in January of 2001. Demand is high. Indeed, soldiers reportedly waited in the rain for a chance at the initial sign up. Currently 4,000 soldiers at three eligible sites (Fort Benning, Fort Hood and Fort Campbell) are taking classes. That number is expected to grow to 15,000 by the end of 2001 and, with the addition of eight new sites, to 80,000 by 2005.

PwC has brought together a number of vendors. Education content providers are free to use the course platform of their choice, but PwC lists Blackboard, Inc. as the preferred platform. Saba provides course management and PeopleSoft student administration. Vendors within the "Learning Support" category including tutoring from SMARTHINKING, textbooks from the BKGroup and MBS Direct, an online library from UGA Galileo Library, skills assessment from Brainbench/EMT and advisory services from Michigan Virtual U. Vendors within the "Infrastructure Support" category include Compaq for laptops and printers, Fiberlink for the ISP, Precision Response Corporation for help desk services, Intel Online Services for managed hosting, LESCO for logistics and on-site support and Stalker for email services.

PwC now has what they define as "a complete solution," but the web site does allow for potential new partners to approach them for either educational programs or technology, hardware and supplementary service.

PwC Learning Solutions Group and the Virtual U

The Learning Solutions Group managing eArmyU was formed in name less than half a year ago through the combination of PwC's Centre for Performance Improvement and the Higher Education Practices division. Nicole Gardner, global leader for LSG, explains that the practice and area of expertise was formed six years ago, when PwC became the first of the "Big Five" consulting firms to dedicate professionals around the world to designing and deploying learning solutions. The formation of LSG also refocused the company on e-Learning and dropped other back-office consulting for educational organizations.

LSG's services are grouped into three areas:

* Business Transformation Learning Services - this area will be focused on emerging transformational services, which leverage learning as a catalyst for change.

* E-Learning Services - this includes learning systems integration and implementation services, building customized e-Content, e-Learning diagnostics, and B2E learning solutions.

* E-Learning Exchanges - this initiative will expand and extend the eArmyU education exchange to the public and corporate sectors and explore the new world of operating and running an e-Learning outsourced business.

Gardner regards eArmyU as a seminal event because it is a private virtual university, and PwC has demonstrated that such a model can be assembled and deployed. Other large employers such as the auto industry, she explains, have needs similar to the military. They need to recruit people out of high school and they need to train those people. Gardner hopes to create interest in learning institutions sponsored by industry consortia. She also expects the corporate university, a rapidly growing institution, to become interested in outsourcing e-Learning.

Vendors are chosen based on customer need. PwC does have strategic partnerships with Alliance, Saba, Docent, KnowledgePlanet, Centra, M2S and Inside Objects. These partnerships call for investing heavily in understanding products, training PwC professionals on those products, going to market together and agreeing to serve clients together. Even so, these are not exclusive relationships. Gardner, in fact, points out that LSG has implemented 7 different learning managements system technologies in the past 18 months.