Over the past few years, online learning in higher education has gone through a period of disruptive change. Not only did the pandemic trigger a massive shift from in-person classes to online, but it also brought new models of hybrid learning to the forefront. And micro-credentials, programs certifying specific competencies that can stand alone or be applied toward a larger degree, have gained momentum as learners have needed to reskill and compete in an evolving workforce. To explore these trends and more, we spoke with Dr. Betty Vandenbosch, chief content officer at Coursera, about the state of online education, the future of the traditional four-year degree, and what universities should be doing to keep up with alternative credential pathways.
Now in its 25th year, Internet2 serves the higher education community with many important programs. NET+ is one we know well. Here, CT asks Internet2 NET+ leadership for some reflections and an update as NET+ reaches its own 10-year anniversary.
As students return to school this fall, colleges and universities must optimize campus environments while decreasing operational costs. Here are planning and funding strategies for making safe, connected and energy-efficient campuses a reality.
Now, while we are not yet free from the COVID-19 pandemic, many institutions and technology market leaders are looking at the next big questions: What's in the future? Which of the changes we make during the pandemic should move with us into the future?
A team from Indiana University set out to expand the scope of pedagogical research by creating ManyClasses, a model for studying how students learn not just in a single classroom, but in a variety of different classes across multiple universities. We speak with researchers Emily Fyfe and Ben Motz about how ManyClasses works, the challenges of using a learning management system to conduct research, what they learned from the first ManyClasses experiment, and more.
People and processes should be at the center of any student success effort. Here's how IT leaders can help steer technology decisions, implement culture change and move the needle on mission-driven goals.
While hybrid learning environments show great potential in higher education, there are still pedagogical and technical challenges to overcome. Here are key guidelines for moving forward, based on research in the field.
Finding the perfect student relationship management system implementation, or SRM, is getting more important for today's higher education institutions, but, it seems, that's not getting any easier to achieve.
In 2015, California State University launched Graduation Initiative 2025, an ambitious plan to increase graduation rates and eliminate equity gaps in degree completion across the system’s 23 campuses. Then halfway through that work, COVID hit — and all those student supports and services had to shift online. We find out how CSU kept students on track despite the challenges of the pandemic, the technologies and infrastructure that were needed to support students remotely, and what will remain in place going forward.
Despite all the enthusiasm and hopefulness surrounding the social media applications of the first decade of the 21st century, we now find ourselves looking back on dreams that, for the most part, didn't deliver. Gardner Campbell asks whether we can make better choices moving forward.
