There is no going back to the way higher education was before the pandemic. In fact, the last two years as has been an inflection point with regards to technology adoption for higher education.
As a result, university leaders are actively redefining the college and university value proposition, according to a recent report about new IT challenges by EDUCAUSE. College and university administrators are doing this by reshaping their business models and culture to “anticipate and serve the current and emergent needs of learners, communities, and employers.” They are focusing on transforming teaching and learning. This is a seismic shift in how colleges and universities have operated for decades.
“Universities are going to have to become increasingly commercially-minded, agile, and adjust much more to what students want and to what employers and governments are asking from higher education as well,” according to one leader. According to the report the ultimate aim is an institution with a technology-enabled sustainable business model that has redefined “the campus,” operates efficiently and anticipates and addresses major new risks. And most importantly, puts student success at the center.
This new focus on student-centered learning depends on technology and the differentiation that it brings to students. In the face of continual rising costs, many are questioning the real value of a four-year university education, and its impact on lifetime earnings. Using COVID as a catalyst to personalize and transform the learning experience for students so that it sets them up for life and career success is an idea whose time has come.
The top ten IT challenges for higher education are:
- Cyber Everywhere! Are We Prepared? Developing processes and controls, institutional infrastructure, and institutional workforce skills to protect and secure data and supply chain integrity.
- Evolve or Become Extinct: Accelerating digital transformation and improving operational efficiency, agility, and institutional workforce development.
- Learning from COVID-19 to Build a Better Future: Using digitalization and digital transformation to produce technology systems that are more student-centric.
- Digital Faculty for a Digital Future: Ensuring faculty have the digital fluency to provide creative and innovative engagement for students.
- The Digital or Brick-and-Mortar Balancing Game: Creating a blended campus to provide digital and physical work and learning spaces.
- From Digital Scarcity to Digital Abundance: Achieving full digital access for student by investing in connectivity, tools, and skills.
- The Shrinking World of Higher Education or an Expanded Opportunity? Developing a technology-enhanced post-COVID institutional vision and value proposition.
- Weathering the Shift to the Cloud: Creating a cloud and SaaS strategy that reduces costs and maintains control.
- Can We Learn from a Crisis? Creating an actionable disaster preparation plan to capitalize on pandemic-related cultural change and investments.
- Radical Creativity: Helping students prepare for the future by giving them tools and learning spaces that foster creative practices and collaborations.
In order to transform their institutions to reorient learning experiences for students, the report recommends some best practices that will help schools shift their thinking and practice:
Shared vision, shared strategy: departments and divisions must have a shared vision and be willing and able to plan and act collaboratively.
Student success is institutional success: institutions must embrace students as their primary customers. That includes treating access as an institutional responsibility and developing services that are designed with the student in mind; designing equitable teaching and learning that works for all individuals, not just those in the mainstream; and focusing on creativity and innovation in teaching as well as learning.
Institutions need to operate efficiently and manage risks effectively. Be sustainable. Anticipate, prepare for, and manage risks.
For a deep dive into these transformational goals and practices, review the report at EDUCAUSE.