Academic Support in Higher Education

I have spent a great deal of time reading, studying and analyzing the methods higher education employs in meeting the requirements of students.  If my analysis is correct higher education is failing to meet the needs of a 21^st century student.  The problem appears to be a lack of focused leadership.   Many colleges and universities are investing significant funds in trying to meet the needs of students but the efforts are doomed to failure because everyone seems to imagine the student as they were and do not understand a student in today’s university environment.   Most colleges and universities are continuing to deliver support and instruction using methods that have been available for over 25 years.   

Examples of this might be ignoring that consumerization and mobility have transformed student access to information.   In an era where over 95% of the students own a smartphone and laptop we find computer labs and libraries unchanged.   Further the impact of social networks have revolutionized the way we interact.  Today’s student does not know a time when you could not logon to a network and get to any information worldwide. Universities have failed to capitalize on this technology.   I was at a university graduation where the student speaker was listing the things that impacted her success and one of the top three was Google.

It is time to rethink our student support services.  I do not think funding is the issues, we have committed more than enough funds for student support.  I do think it is a leadership issue, are there Presidents and Provosts that will require their colleges and universities to rethink the student support process.  Future post will address ideas to be debated.

It has been awhile since Translational Technologies has been an active blog.  I have just completed my EdD program with an emphasis in Education Technologies.    My goal is to ensure the blog remains active for the foreseeable future.    As a CTO at a research university I am interested in creating a seamless support system for students.  It became clear in my doctoral program that  many university IT decision makers do not understand the requirements of a mobile world where knowledge is available anywhere at any time.  I have often listened to individuals discuss how faculty have remained aloof to the changes of the past several decades.  I learned as a student this is also true of many IT departments.  It is not uncommon to find university IT departments using the same facilities and academic software designed to support higher education over a decade ago.   I hope to encourage a discussion of what is relevant to today’s student and what ecosystems can be created that encourage a seamless teaching and learning environment.   It is refreshing to be writing a blog again and not spending all my time focused on coursework and research.