This article is cross-posted from edtechtimes.com, where I currently serve as editor-in-chief.
CourseHorse, a New York-based startup connecting learners to local public education courses in NYC and Los Angeles, announces a new feature that provides last-minute discounts for students through yield-management tools for course providers to ensure that their seats are filled.
Co-founder Katie Kapler notes the parallels between the education market and yield management concerns with airlines, hotels, and restaurants. “The education market has lots of similarities, in terms of seats to sell with sell by date,” says Kapler. “[Unfilled seats] become perishable inventory. Until now, we haven’t been able to take advantage of [the tools of] other industries who stand on two legs solely for this.”
CourseHorse is introducing dynamic pricing for courses based on their demand. Using system analytics and market econometrics, course providers will receive a report of classes at risk of having empty seats, and a recommended discount price for the course. If accepted, the discounted price will be pushed live to prospective students through the CourseHorse site.
Also, CourseHorse’s expansion into Los Angeles will officially ramp-up this fall, with increased marketing and outreach efforts in the area. Kapler cites existing class inventory from schools with both New York and LA campuses as a reason for expansion into the Los Angeles market. “In New York, we’ve learned the sweet spot for types of classes and number of classes offered for students,” says Kapler.
For more about CourseHorse, check out EdTech Times’ coverage of CourseHorse’s initial funding, and also our Q&A with co-founder Nihal Parthasarathi.
Read the full press release below:
COURSEHORSE AIMS AT MAXIMIZING CLASSROOM EFFICIENCY FOR EDUCATORS WITH NEW LAST-MINUTE TOOL SET
New York, NY…COURSEHORSE, the leading discovery engine for local education, announced today that it has launched “Last Minute Deals”, the first-ever yield management tool for the education market.
The new last-minute tool suggests to educators which classes they should discount based on upcoming availability, trending user behavior and market seasonality. Discounted classes are then broadcasted to the COURSEHORSE community and a media network including 3M visitors monthly and large publishers like Time Out, NY Mag, Brooklyn Magazine, Serious Eats, NY Press and others.
“Great educators shouldn’t have to struggle to market their classes,” said Katie Kapler, co-founder of CourseHorse. “Class providers – including universities, non-profits, technical training providers and small- scale educators – will now have the ability to price their classes based on demand principles that have defined the airline, hotel, restaurant and other industries for years. ”
Founded in 2011, CourseHorse now features over 25,000 classes in NY and LA from 750 educators, including Columbia University, CUNY, The Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT), The Institute of Culinary Education, General Assembly and hundreds more. Classes range from single session workshops, to semester long courses and cover topics ranging from art, cooking, and tech, to marketing, design and more.
SEE DISCOUNTED CLASSES TODAY: www.CourseHorse.com
About CourseHorse
CourseHorse is the discovery engine for local education. The site makes it easy to find, compare and enroll in thousands of vetted, high-quality classes from leading universities, technical training schools, non-profits and smaller-scale educators. Topics range from art, cooking and language, to technology, design and marketing and range from single-session workshops to semester long courses.
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