Strategic Higher Education Information Technology (IT) Presented at the Summer Symposium 2013 Jerry DeSanto, Ed.D. VP For Planning and CIO, University of Scranton August 15, 2013

Context What role can IT play in helping address these pressures? Colleges and Universities under tremendous pressure to: Enhance Quality Enhance Access Reduce Costs What role can IT play in helping address these pressures?

IT Strategic Opportunities Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) Cloud/Virtual Services Big Data/ Business Intelligence Business Process Improvement Flipping the Classroom Business 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 Data centers, storage, applications (SaaS), managed processes Speed to implementation superior Lower up front costs. Longer term cost savings are less likely. Potential staff savings. Security issues still loom

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 could both save money and improve customer services CRM systems (many cloud based) are being implemented at many institutions This 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 Instructor Engagement Instructor/Peer Learning Assessments Graded Pay Tuition/Fees $$$ Credit/Credential Earned High Completion Rate Part of Accredited Offerings by Specific Institution Enormous Class Sizes Instructor(s) Monitoring (with help) Collaborative Learning Self/Peer Assessments dominate No or Very Low Cost $$$ Credit/Credential—very few examples to date Very Low Completion Rate (< 10%) Generally not Part of Accredited Degree Program

MOOC Advantages Distributed Global Learning for the Masses Access at No 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?

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 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: How would you characterize your institution’s On-line/MOOC strategy? Are you concerned that if your institution does not move quickly enough in this realm you will lose competitive positioning? If you were responsible for crafting your institution’s On-line/MOOC strategy what would it be? Are you comfortable that it will align with your institution’s mission and identity?