Online university offers incentive for student referrals

Online university offers incentive for student referrals

In light of major changes to education funding that are due to take effect in September 2012, Kaplan Open Learning announced a Refer a Friend incentive for new students. The initiative will reward students that refer their peers to the school with Amazon.com vouchers.

"These are the biggest changes to education funding for many years and the cost of investing in a degree course will put many people off," said Kaplan Open Learning's academic director. "Many of our courses are vocational and incredibly valuable for people embarking on new career paths, or wanting to move up the ladder - it would be a crying shame if such people put their education plans back on hold."

Students who start courses in 2011 will be among the last to benefit from government funding. Education experts suggest that those who are already studying prior to September 2012 are likely to be unaffected by the proposed changes.

Recent research from the Sloan Consortium indicates that enrollment in online colleges has increased by 17 percent over the past year.

By Mark Danson