Sharp changes in student behaviors, priorities and expectations in recent months have forced higher education institutions to think differently. If the pandemic has taught us anything, it’s that there is a tremendous opportunity to embrace new models and approaches in digital teaching and learning to engage students. As colleges and universities now rise to the challenge, and work to create a more sustainable and robust model, it’s worth evaluating what is worth keeping and what can be applied more widely — from assessing instructional priorities and online curriculum models to defining what authentic engagement looks like in a zoom session, and the value of peer connections.
Not surprisingly, the challenges that the field of education has faced this year have been well documented. The question is — what new approaches can we turn to? How can educators embrace experimentation and reinvention? What will it take to motivate and retain students?
Looking ahead, three themes stand out to guide how institutions may want to consider the use of digital teaching and learning tools and technologies to navigate this new landscape:
Student experience will be your most valuable investment
Growing competition for students will spur greater focus on student experiences, satisfaction and professional success. This will require an intentional, continuous effort to question assumptions, and create new ways to infuse value, choices and flexibility in educational offerings.
“It starts at the top of the organization” said Wendy Colby, CEO of AccelerEd, an education technology and services company focused on higher ed. “Leaders must fundamentally rethink the way in which instruction is delivered — moving beyond the notion that teaching is about covering content and managing the classroom. Student-centered learning is becoming a catalyst for developing the knowledge, skills and dispositions most relevant to student needs and aspirations. We can leverage technology in ways that allow for self-directed student progress, whether it culminates in a new skill, a degree or a micro-credential.”
Educators have an opportunity to improve upon the ad hoc zoom classrooms launched during the pandemic in order to navigate to new and better virtual instruction. Among the changes Colby sees on the horizon are increased emphasis on high-quality online environments that make it more intuitive for students to navigate coursework, and strengthen relationships with peers, mentors and faculty.
The availability of online data, she suggests, will help make these experiences more efficient, engaging and scalable.
Improved student engagement comes not only from technology shifts, but from strong relationships with faculty and the broader learning community. Many faculty have understandably been overwhelmed by their relocation into hybrid or remote environments, without adequate preparation. To that end, forward-thinking institutions, focused on increasing efficiency, will leverage digital teaching and learning tools and technologies that ease staff load, and streamline administrative functions. Dashboards, learning analytics, student support and collaboration mechanisms will increasingly become vital to building better virtual classrooms.
“Just as important, faculty need professional development opportunities so they’re well equipped to redesign courses and interactions with students in this new virtual or hybrid world,” Colby added. “Student and faculty engagement and connections are as important to the learning design as the content itself.”
Experimentation as a gateway for competitive advantage
To make innovation possible, it’s crucial to make room for ongoing experimentation and future-focused conversations, and to also examine barriers such as outdated policies, dated infrastructure and misalignment with changing student demographics and behaviors.
In Colby’s experience, that work starts by partnering with academic and business leaders to assess the current state, review what’s possible and set the priorities. “For instance, it may involve taking a hard look at traditional degree programs and exploring how broader work-based experiences can be integrated or stacked into these degrees,” Colby said. “Or it may entail an examination of the overall program portfolio inside the institution to ensure it meets the demand signals in market and has a sustainable ROI.”
Once the strategy is set, it paves the way for devising and iterating on a coherent, student-centered model that integrates the appropriate learning tools to drive the desired outcomes and support student success.
Evolving from transactional to transformational
It’s encouraging to see that many high-performing colleges and universities are aiming to deliver learning in more meaningful and scalable ways. While they may not be entirely clear on the value of the digital teaching and learning tools and technologies they have, they are gaining an appreciation for what it takes to redesign for a future state.
“Technology offers powerful capabilities that institutions are starting to pay attention to,” said Colby, “whether it is connecting to real world projects and people, developing a professional portfolio, or building new learning pathways.” She added that the investments institutions make should be closely aligned to helping students master skills, broaden their networks and support their life goals and careers.
“It’s important to stay in tune with student expectations, as consumers of education, and find ways to meet those expectations through all phases of the student and career journey,” she noted.
Where to start? Start with how you measure success. How are your programs performing today? What do your enrollment trends tell you? Do students persist in your courses? How do they rate your courses? Are you driving the retention you desire?
“There’s a lot you can measure today,” Colby said. “Talk to your students and faculty. Take the time to develop a dashboard so that you can better understand the health of your university, which will, in turn, help you to determine the best areas for transformation and prioritization.”
Small steps and silver linings
Despite the pressure institutions might feel, after a year of living through a pandemic, it’s important to remember that there are some silver linings. The experiences that many institutions gained in the past year offer clues into what is possible. There is a great opportunity now to diversify — to improve academic engagement, community building, collaborations, supportive networks and job-ready skills.
“It’s an exciting time for institutions to explore how they might reach their full potential,” Colby said. “Imagine what a more engaged, student-centric experience can look like — as we open the doors to more experimentation, as we apply technology in the right ways, and as we build bridges between learning and careers.”
COVID-19 has made it clear to higher education institutions that it’s time to take an innovative approach to the way things have always been done. But in the midst of fluctuating infection rates, campus closures and a shift to virtual deployment, it’s not always been clear where they should start — and there’s clearly no shortage of areas ripe for innovation.
For many institutions, the logical path forward is a return to the central mission of higher education: supporting student success. It’s by looking at the new higher education experience from the perspective of the student, and identifying the most important milestones for change.
“Getting the tools and platforms and experiences right is complex, especially when many institutions have legacy environments,” said Wendy Colby, CEO of AccelerEd, an education technology and services company focused on higher education. “It requires a real shift in the way we design experiences and how we iterate forward from current state. The good news is there are many models to draw from and an incredible amount of innovation already taking place.”
Here are three sources of innovation institutions can pursue based on the most important stakeholders in higher education — students.
1. Student access to content
The most pressing priority institutions face in classroom innovation is making sure students who want to continue their higher education path have the access they need to do so. While restrictions to campus life required institutions to get creative in coordinating that access, many succeeded. Widespread innovation has popularized several opportunities, such as the following:
- New learning modalities, with institutions pioneering or expanding online instruction programs with an eye for portable records and comprehensive learning profiles as well as accessibility and assistive tools.
- Temporary grade adjustments, such as swapping out GPA and letter grades for pass/fail grades.
- Updated credentialing, like micro-credentials that focus on specific competencies within in-demand industries or fields of work.
- Unprecedented financing, marked by interest in income-share agreements between universities and students to ease the burden of student loans.
These shifts have allowed students to get what they need when they need it, despite the uncertainty and limited on-campus access that has marked the past year.
“In my experience working with hundreds of universities, few are starting at square one when it comes to instructional content,” Colby said. “It’s a matter of curating and organizing content in the right way, and surrounding that content with engaging learning experiences that promote understanding, critical thinking, skill building, collaboration and retention.”
2. Student access to faculty
For 164 university representatives surveyed by AccelerEd and Higher Ed Dive’s studioID, the most important priority when shifting from education-as-usual to the pandemic protocol was faculty training and management. And that makes sense — the pandemic completely altered the landscape for many traditional universities accustomed to operating in a physical classroom setting with some digital augmentation. It meant faculty had to learn new ways of engaging with students, which also involved learning how to best deploy tools and technologies to bring learning alive.
“For those who have experience in online education, there’s a recognition that you can’t just lift and shift the traditional modality and expect the same results,” said Colby. “Online education is an art too — objectives matter, expertise in the discipline matters, quality instruction matters, faculty matters. But the way in which you communicate and reinforce learning concepts and keep the learning fresh requires the ability to design purposefully for online. We have an opportunity to partner with faculty and empower them to advance learning in these new modalities — what is sure to be our next normal.”
3. Student access to collaboration and connection
The pandemic has forced institutions to take a closer look at how they build community in remote virtual settings. For many institutions, this has inspired discussion on areas where a student’s education experiences and personal wellbeing and equity intersect. It has also put increased focus on how to facilitate or mirror the rich and interactive relationships students develop during a traditional academic experience.
While many students look forward to seeing their friends and instructors on campus and in the classroom again, there is value that has come from digital collaboration too.
“I expect we will see a rise in how chat and other collaboration tools will support both formal and informal communication,” said Colby. “We’re finding that students use chat in the same way it is used in other social connections. It’s an opportunity to engage less formally. It communicates approachability; you can share a link or send an emoji to brighten someone’s day. The key is in how to incorporate it as a valuable instructional tool with intention.”
Innovative student experiences are shaped from the ground up
In many ways, COVID-19 has amplified and accelerated the need for new learning capabilities, giving higher education institutions the opportunity to create new models that extend access to powerful student experiences. While old barriers still impede progress, we are seeing successful implementations and experimentations — from paper-based grades or transcripts reimagined as comprehensive learner records relevant to the world of work, or artificial intelligence (AI) to provide learning guidance and support.
So much is possible, and yet navigating through the change is challenging. Innovations and creative partnerships dance around the edges of the higher education space today, yet they also represent what it will take to advance from the outdated education models of the past into an educational landscape and ecosystem that allows for iteration — a truly proactive approach to the student experience not held back by tradition.
“What if student enrollment became as welcoming as the Apple store?” asked Colby. “Or if you invited students into a course in a personalized and dynamic way that mirrors the experience they might have on Amazon? The most innovative institutions are unlocking new value for students and faculty in very intentional and purposeful ways.”
Students have been sent home to pursue their education online, instructors have been asked to translate decades of knowledge into a virtual format and institutions have been working overtime to make the interaction between the two seamless — but have these efforts helped or hindered student success?
COVID-19 has changed everything about how higher education institutions function today, and it will continue to affect operations long into the future. Institutions are doing their best to pivot and adapt to this new landscape, but when it comes to a technology strategy for higher ed, it’s proving difficult to create a long-term plan. According to a survey of 164 university representatives conducted by AccelerEd and Education Dive’s studioID, one out of three respondents (32%) identified technology strategy as an area where success could not be attained without support.
“It’s incredibly important to get the technology strategy right, but it’s difficult to make progress without support and direction,” said Wendy Colby, CEO of AccelerEd.
Here are the three attributes of a technology strategy that higher education institutions must embrace to support student success today and in the future:
1. A successful institutional technology strategy is … proactive
What matters most in higher ed technology strategy success planning is not the day-to-day technology students use to learn, but rather taking a thoughtful approach to how technology can be deployed to enable effective online student learning. In moving swiftly to respond to the COVID-19 crisis, institutions run the risk of taking a short-term approach to technology rather than a proactive one. This leads them to miss out on the opportunity to rethink and reinvigorate how they serve their students.
“The pandemic has had a dramatic impact on the business models of universities that can no longer offer face-to-face classes,” Colby said. “It’s time for the community of education at large to come together to consider solutions that promote quality, engagement, persistence and retention. There’s no going back from this or riding out the storm — we have to own this moment and lead from within our institutions.”
2. A successful institutional technology strategy is … responsive
On-campus teaching isn’t the only change institutions must face. The velocity and significance of the changes occurring in higher education require institutions to reconsider their very purpose. As students reconsider, defer or adjust their approach to pursuing higher education, it creates a space for universities and colleges to be responsive to those new expectations and desires.
“Our models of higher education are shifting, and institutions need to ask the hard questions,” Colby said. “What’s really working, and what do we need to let go of? How can we deliver an authentic experience without the benefits of a full campus environment? The solution must be aligned to the mission and direction of the institution — in the suite of programs, experiences and value offered to students.”
3. A successful institutional technology strategy is … holistic
Many institutions are trying to respond to the crisis one technology at a time or are employing technology for the sake of technology rather than focusing on how it enables a different student experience. Just putting a lecture online, hosting a chat or discussion online or sharing a book online does not create a cohesive and integrated experience.
For technology to be effective, it requires a close examination of the student and faculty experience in a completely different modality. It takes a holistic approach to design for this new medium — building a digital teaching and learning environment that is cohesive, connected, and compelling. The experience should motivate, invite and encourage student learning and collaboration with the right mix of program offerings, services and support, all tailored to the world of online.
For example, 29% of those surveyed were concerned about faculty training and management, 24% about online curriculum development and management, and 20% about student access. A holistic approach considers all of these aspects in the design of the online experience and assesses which technology will best enable the institution to achieve its goals. For many institutions, this also means a change to existing processes that might have been more suited to in-person teaching and learning modalities.
“The challenge can seem daunting to an institution that may not yet be versed in online learning, but that’s why it’s so important to take a phased approach,” Colby said. “When you start with a blueprint for the path forward, you assess your capacity and readiness, and you build toward the right outcome. Without that blueprint, your approach becomes fragmented, reactive and tactical, and many of these core areas and interdependencies are overlooked.”
Technology strategy that supports student success
Higher education institutions must carefully consider how they respond to this new era of hybrid and online learning — not only for today, but for the months and years to come. Honestly assess your operations and readiness for online education and map out your student journey to see how all of the pieces need to connect, taking into account the tools and technologies that can augment and catalyze your digital teaching and learning experience. A holistic approach to your higher ed technology strategy will make all the difference in achieving early wins and sustainable success.
It might seem as if COVID-19 has moved the entire higher education system online — but is the global pandemic really what’s driving a fundamental change in how we learn?
In a study of 164 university representatives conducted by AccelerEd and Education Dive’s studioID, 74% of respondents said that instruction for the 2020-2021 school year would be partly in-person and partly online, and 11% said all instruction would take place online.
But a look at the facts shows that online learning has been on the rise for several years. The most recent report from the Education Department’s National Center for Education Statistics revealed that by the fall semester of 2017, a significant percentage of students had been enrolled exclusively in online learning for years: 49% of students enrolled at private for-profit institutions, 19% of students enrolled at private nonprofit institutions and 11% of students enrolled at public institutions.
The key to success, then, does not lie in adapting instruction to online delivery for the short term — it lies in rethinking and repositioning our entire approach to higher education.
“The COVID-19 crisis is reshaping the way we think about higher education and calling us to reimagine existing traditions and processes,” said Wendy Colby, CEO of AccelerEd, an education technology and services company focused on higher education. “Online learning has just gone through a massive global experiment. This is a great opportunity to chart a new path forward.”
As the pandemic forces us to reset in many ways and catalyze new approaches to effective online learning — particularly in those institutions that may still be in the early journey to online, there are three tenets institutional leaders should keep in mind:
1. Think strategically, not tactically
According to the survey, the top three concerns institutions shared about the current school year are faculty training and management (29%), online curriculum development and management (24%), and student access (20%). But while all of these areas are critically important, it’s far better to start with an overall strategic blueprint that maps out the institution’s roadmap to success and takes into account all of the interconnected aspects of the experience.
“It’s important to take a holistic approach that considers the big picture,” Colby said. “What role does instructional design play in developing the online curriculum? What are the opportunities for interaction, discussion and collaboration? What elements of a physical class, such as a lab, for instance, need to be reexamined or re-envisioned online? These things can seem overwhelming to an institution that is not yet well versed in online education at scale, but they’re important questions to ask in order to create the right approach that is authentic to the institution.”
2. Recognize where you are in your online journey and adapt
The accelerated demand for online education as a result of COVID-19 has increased interest in online programs by an order of magnitude, but not all universities are at the same place in their online journey. Understanding where your institution sits on the spectrum of online maturity is a critical step in figuring out the best path forward.
Consider the following breakdown of institutional maturity when it comes to the higher education online journey:
Level 1
Marked by experimentation, with no clear deployment process or budget assigned to the online learning initiative.Next Steps
Start small. Pilot a few programs and bring in an online expert to help.
Levels 2-3
In the process of building a bridge to online education; the institution has some individual online programs and may be building competency and new revenue sources regarding outsourcing or OPM partner options.Next Steps
Start to map out the build versus partner plan. Where can you shore up the gaps? Often, in this case, the in-house capabilities are still evolving, and the strategy and processes still need to be refined.
Levels 4-5
Institutions are more able to pivot and advance online education; they have a core ecosystem for the design, delivery, scale and enhancement of programs.
Next Steps
Review the data. What programs are performing? Where are the opportunities for growth? Where can you continue to optimize or increase efficiencies? How can you drive speed to market, reinvent the business model, and differentiate your offerings for both degree seekers and credential seekers?
3. Get your technology in order
Another area of concern for higher education administrators is adapting to the demands of effective online learning on existing institutional technology. Survey respondents most often said that the pandemic had affected their technology strategy in three interrelated ways: accelerated changes in technology (15%), increased investment in technology (14%) and more online courses (14%). This adds to the challenge of facilitating online instruction and, consequently, student success.
“Many of our traditional higher education institutions were not set up to deliver education online at scale,” Colby said. “The technology deployed for a traditional classroom is vastly different from what is required for fully online at its best. Institutions need to define their goals for the student experience and tap the support of online and digital learning experts to assist in that early planning phase.”
Start by conducting a readiness audit across multiple spectrums such as technology, infrastructure and online learning to determine how to optimize existing operations, and where to prioritize investments.
Success in the new era of higher education
Successfully navigating the new world of higher education is going to take more than a COVID-19 reaction plan. The pandemic should be viewed as the catalyst that forced the change at a faster rate and created an opportunity to completely reinvent and redesign new models of education and effective online learning. Institutions that choose to embrace this change, open up more access and deliver more value to students will be the ones that find success in the new era of higher education.
