In May 2020, Simmons partnered with 2U, an online education company, in order to create a high-quality virtual learning program during the COVID-19 pandemic. When students returned to campus in September 2022, Simmons switched back to its previous online program: Moodle.

Simmons has partnered with 2U to support the online graduate program since 2014, and added the online undergraduate complete degree program in 2020. 2U recruits online students, provides student services, and oversees the management of the online system. 

According to Meghan Kass, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer of Simmons, Simmons is in a revenue share with 2U, meaning revenue gained from the online programs is distributed between Simmons and 2U. In a press conference with Simmons journalism students, Kass explained that 2U gets paid through a percentage of student revenue; student tuition, and fees and that the percentage of profit adjusts throughout the contract that Simmons has with 2U. The revenue share is how 2U gets compensated for being the online program manager (OPM) for Simmons. 

The partnership with 2U is “exceptionally profitable to the bottom line,” according to Kass. With 2U recruiting more online graduate program students, in turn raising enrollment and student revenue for the university, the partnership has allowed Simmons to make investments in on-campus operations such as financial aid and facilities, said Kass. 

During the COVID-19 pandemic, 2U provided faculty training, support, and equipment to guarantee the quality of online classes. However, once the support for online courses was no longer necessary for on-ground undergraduate and graduate programs, Simmons “naturally moved back to our previous system, Moodle. When we moved away from 2U support for our on-ground programs the payments to them for these services were wound down,” Kass stated in a follow-up email. 

The switch back to Moodle caused confusion for students who felt their peers and professors were not well prepared for the transition. “The transition between platforms was hard, especially on professors,” said Audrey Grant, a student in the 3+1 Masters in Public Policy Program. “Professors need to be trained on how to use either 2U or Moodle… both aren’t user-friendly,” said sophomore Isa Navarro.

According to some students, there is some good to come of the abrupt change. “Moodle is a lot easier; it’s easier to find things, but professors still don’t put grades in,” sophomore Micayla Nann said. “I don’t like either, but Moodle is easier to navigate,” added Lucy Clauson, a sophomore, 

“2U and Moodle are basically the same things. I prefer 2U but Moodle is easier to download in bulk. Moodle now has some great features; you can change the dates of when assignments are due instead of going into different pages,”  said Dr. Martino, Assistant Professor and Acting Assistant Department Chair for the Communications Department.