Transcript Document
Strategic Higher Education Information Technology (IT) Presented at the IT Forum Jerry DeSanto, Ed.D. VP For Planning and CIO, University of Scranton September 19, 2013 Context Higher Education industry under tremendous pressure to: Enhance Quality Enhance Access Reduce Costs What role can IT play in helping address these pressures? At Scranton—Presidential Imperative Enrollment Strategic Finance New Program Development IT Strategic Opportunities Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) Cloud/Virtual Services Big Data/ Business Intelligence Business Process Improvement Flipping the Classroom Business Innovation/Transformation On-line Education and MOOCs BYOD Personalization Mobile Requires Robust Network Application Virtualization (licensing issues) Support Could help shift costs Cloud/Virtual Services Numerous possibilities for driving efficiencies Data centers, storage, applications (SaaS), managed processes Speed to implementation superior Lower up front costs. Longer term cost savings are questionable Security issues still operative Big Data/Business Intelligence Institutions sitting on huge repositories of unleveraged data assets What questions need to be answered Data driven decision-making Data as a competitive tool Business Process Improvement (BPI) Despite the wide-spread adoption of ERP systems many institutions still cling to inefficient processes BPI can both save money and improve customer services CRM systems (many cloud based) are being implemented at many institutions, including Scranton Many contend that this area could represent IT’s greatest contribution Flipping the Classroom Moving to Student-Centered Learning New Pedagogical Paradigm Tech-Infused or Enhanced Learning A move away from the traditional lecture Business Transformation through On-line Learning and MOOCs MOOCs (Massive Open On-line Courses) What? Why? Disruption? Revolution or Evolution? History of Non-Traditional Education Correspondence Courses 1960s TV Courses Interactive Video Courses Traditional On-Line Education 2000s MIT Open Courseware Carnegie Mellon Open Learning MOOCs 2010s MOOC Providers Coursera edX Udacity Udemy How do MOOCs Happen? Faculty Create/Author the Course and the Pedagogical Methods used The Course is Engineered on an LMS Platform Hosted Somewhere on the Internet Students Register and Engage Content is Delivered on a Schedule with a Start Date Short Taped Lectures, discussion groups, videos, readings, assessments On-Line vs. MOOCs On-Line MOOCs Small Class Sizes Enormous Class Sizes Instructor Engagement Instructor(s) Monitoring (with help) Instructor/Peer Learning Assessments Graded Pay Tuition/Fees $$$ Collaborative Learning Self/Peer Assessments dominate Credit/Credential Earned No or Very Low Cost $$$ High Completion Rate Credit/Credential—very few examples to date Part of Accredited Offerings by Specific Institution Very Low Completion Rate (< 10%) Generally not Part of Accredited Degree Program MOOC Advantages Distributed Global Learning for the Masses Access at No/Little Cost Casual Intellectual Enrichment Faculty/Institution Prestige Factor— Enhancing Brand and Reach Perhaps a stalking horse for some Rich Data Mining MOOC Challenges Absent Viable Financial Model (who is going to pay for development and infrastructure?) Future Advertising Model? Validity--Given the Low Completion Rates Credentials, Credentials (which schools will recognize successful completion?) Students want credentials!! Can the Credit(s) count toward traditional degree programs? Accreditors?? How do we assess? Latest Developments Partnership between Google and edX------------MOOC.org 120,000 Students sign up for MOOC focused on unleashing student creative talents (Coursera and PSU) Some faculty are withdrawing their MOOC’s out of concern that states will decide to reduce higher education funding Convergence of On-Line Service Enablers LMS Providers such as Blackboard, Desire to Learn, Canvas, Moodle, etc. On-Line Facilitators such as Deltak, Bisk, Pearson, etc. Institutions’ On-Line Service Needs MOOC Providers such as Coursera,Udacity, edX, etc. On-Line Education is Destined to Grow. Most Universities are Struggling with their Overall On-Line Strategy What is Most Likely, is the Continued Evolution of a Hybrid/Blended Model of Education that Utilizes Combinations of Classroom, On-Line, and Experiential/Innovative Learning MOOCs may play a role in this evolution, but are unlikely to permanently change educational paradigms. “One Spice on a Spice Rack..” Brian Voss, AGB Institutions will come to decide how extensively they will embrace the Hybrid/Blended Model and MOOCs based on Mission, Size, Finances, Market Pressures, and Preferences Questions?