Addressing America’s Healthcare Human Resource Shortage: DeVry Inc. CEO Daniel Hamburger (Part 2)

SM: In 1987 when Keller and DeVry merged, were they both on-campus programs?

DH: Yes. It was pre-Internet and both offered their courses on-site. The next big date was 1991. That is when the school system went public. They were the first, and today there are 14 publicly traded school systems. In 1997 DeVry University started its online programs. In 2009 DeVry replaced GM in the S&P 500.

SM: How many students are part of the DeVry network?

DH: Our network now has 110,000 students, which includes DeVry University and 20,000 students at a medical and healthcare group of schools.

SM: Is that a regular medical school to train doctors?

DH: There are three areas. There is a medical and veterinary school, Ross University, which DeVry acquired in 2003. The second is Chamberlain College of Nursing. The third is our medical technician programs which contains 11,000 students at Apollo College and Western Career College. Those are programs like respiratory therapy, surgical technicians, and physical therapy.

SM: What percentage of your students study online?

DH: The large majority study on campus. About 25% of our students are studying online. When I say online I am not just talking about students going to school 100% online. I am talking about students taking a blend of online and in-residence coursework. Our experience as well as industry data demonstrates that students who take a blend of courses are the largest and fastest growing segment.

SM: Among your students, who tends to go for online education?

DH: It is very diverse. I can give you some categories. One is the single parent who is juggling a family and job and want to get ahead. They tell us that the only way they can get their degree is through online programs. That working adult is certainly a big part of it. Another significant group is the military, active duty as well as veterans and retirees.

SM: You have students in Iraq and Afghanistan?

DH: Yes. We also have them in the Gulf on aircraft carriers. They have great Internet access on aircraft carriers. Online has proven to be a way of increasing access to education. Also important, it is a way of improving the quality of education.

SM: In the segments you are describing, who is paying? Are the students paying, or does the military pay?

DH: Both. Students pay and military students use tuition assistance, or the TA program, from the military. Obviously given our accreditation, all of our schools are elilgible for the student loan and grant programs just exactly the same as the public universities and large universities.

SM: You talked about your medical program. What percentage of your student body are taking classes in those programs? I am particularly interested in your nursing program.

DH: We have over 20,000 students in those programs. The nursing is a great example. We have a huge shortage of nurses. The nursing industry believes we will be 1 million nurses short by the end of this coming decade. As a country we are turning away 100,000 qualified applicants every year. It is not that people do not want to be nurses, there are just not enough seats in nursing school. Our mission is to increase capacity and improve quality as well as providing access.

SM: Can you actually teach nursing online?

DH: It turns out you can, just not 100%. We can’t teach you how to draw blood online. There are hybrid programs where some of the lecture-based coursework, the basic science, can be taught online while the clinical work can be done where the student resides and does not have to relocate. We are experimenting with some of those programs.

This segment is part 2 in the series : Addressing America’s Healthcare Human Resource Shortage: DeVry Inc. CEO Daniel Hamburger
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