Rapid changes in learner needs driven by new expectations, technology, policy changes, and budget pressures are causing university leaders to adapt a culture of innovation that leverages technology and data.
At a recent panel at the ASU+GSV Summit, educator experts discussed their strategies for deepening their learner-centered approach and how new strategies deepened student engagement. The panel members included UC Irvine Vice Chancellor for Information, Technology & Data and Chief Digital Officer Tom Andriola; Illinois Institute of Technology President Dr. Raj Echambadi; IMD Chief Learning Innovation Officer Sarah Toms; Ocelot CEO Talin Andonians; and Arizona State University Special Advisor to the President Jeff Selingo. The selected quotes below represent the range of the discussion.
The Student Experience
In the past, the higher education experience was designed for the benefit and comfort of the faculty. Now facing many challenges, including technology developments that put students in touch with anyone/anywhere/anytime, institutions understand that for their college to thrive and prosper, they have to build out the student’s experience. The panel agreed that higher education had locked itself into a structure fed by the faculty-controlled four-year degree mentality and needs a culture change.
“It’s about the learning and social interactions that students have throughout their journey,” said Talin Andonians (Ocelot). “The better experience a student has, the more likely they are to enroll and remain, the more likely they are to return for continuing education, and recommend the institution to others.”
“Helping learners reach their potential is why we educate,” said Sarah Toms (IMD). “We are breaking down the walls of how we designed the student experience and move into our own potential as educators. We don’t need the institution in the ways we needed it before.” She continued, “We can now engage learners in ways that will actually develop their potential.”
Tom Andriola (UC Irvine) added perspective on the technology and data changes that can add to the student experience. “Student expectations are changing, and they’re shaped by the world that is designed and personalized around them,” he said. “Instead of our current siloes, we can now capture all these digital interactions as a data stream. Instead of thinking about it as a longitudinal set of interactions with a student, we can now bring our knowledge and capabilities to them.”
Making the Learning Environment More Active & Engaging
“We are at the convergence of technology and pedagogical sciences. There is this area we can tap into and really bring to life for our learners,” said Toms. “We need to provide more opportunities for practice—within 24 hours of a traditional lecture, 80% of that learning is gone unless we allow students to practice.” She continued, “It’s about reinventing ourselves and determining how do we design and assess learner-centered learning that’s tied to the pedagogical sciences and unlocking student potential.”
“We’ve built the measurement around what is easy for us to measure,” said Andriola. “We live in an empowerment-based world now, and we need to understand each unique student in their journey. As institutions, how do we feed information to learners so they can track their own goals and use nudging technologies?”
Raj Echambadi (IL Institute of Technology) said, “Now we have various categories of learners beyond the “traditional” student, and the holy grail is personalization, which is a staggering challenge.” There is a need for faculty to understand new factors such as the enrollment cliff. “It’s a slow process, but we have to engage faculty and they need to understand they are cultural ambassadors on this journey,” he said. “Without their involvement, success will not happen soon.”
Looking Forward
“This is an opportunity to reimagine what degrees look like, and the appropriate role of artificial intelligence,” said Toms. “The work needs both technology and people,” said Andriola. “We figured out that 70% of the questions we get are repetitive and sucked up a person’s time. That’s when we started the chatbot.” He continued, “we have to figure out how to unbundle higher ed because the system has not worked for the 40 million learners who started higher ed but didn’t finish. I think disruptors are going to do a better job of figuring this out than incumbents.”
“Personalization will scale,” said Echambadi. “There are cultural mind shifts we need to have, and we need to focus on structure and listen to the needs of learners and disrupt conventional thinking.”
“How do we understand the personas of a variety of learners? What are their needs?” asked Andonians. “How do we personalize their experiences to come back and partner with institutions that are innovative around non-degree programs and continuing education?”
“Hyper personalization will be supported, and we will democratize access,” said Toms. “We will co-evolve with technology and come back to what it means to be human.”