Cenquest, University of Texas, Monterrey Tech. An independent broker partners with famous name-brand educational institutions to compete based upon a recognized credible promise. In a brand broker model, a broker has an agreement to offer courses designed or delivered from brand name learning providers. Brand Broker models are typically structured with a private company acting as a broker. A mall or aggregator broker is a business model in which individual providers advertise their courses or programs through a broker's information portal - like listing a business in the yellow pages.
Learners can use the information portal to find courses and programs from multiple providers listed.
In its simplest form, a mall broker provides space for listing courses and programs on an information site in return for some form of payment. The information site provides search tools that let learners find courses or programs based upon their interests. Typically searches can be made based on content, provider, or learning format. Learners can then compare courses from different providers through on-line course descriptions. Many mall sites are adding new features to separate themselves from other mall brokers and to entice both learners and providers to regularly visit.