Presented at the IT Forum

Jerry DeSanto, Ed.D.

VP For Planning and CIO, University of Scranton

September 19, 2013

Strategic Higher Education Information Technology (IT)

Higher Education industry under tremendous pressure to:Enhance QualityEnhance AccessReduce Costs

Context

What role can IT play in helping addressthese pressures?

EnrollmentStrategic FinanceNew Program Development

At Scranton—Presidential Imperative

Bring Your Own Device (BYOD)

Cloud/Virtual Services

Big Data/ Business Intelligence

Business Process Improvement

Flipping the Classroom

Business Innovation/TransformationOn-line Education and MOOCs

IT Strategic Opportunities

Personalization

Mobile

Requires Robust Network

Application Virtualization (licensing issues)

Support

Could help shift costs

BYOD

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

Cloud/Virtual Services

Institutions sitting on huge repositories of unleveraged data assets

What questions need to be answered

Data driven decision-making

Data as a competitive tool

Big Data/Business Intelligence

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

Business Process Improvement (BPI)

Moving to Student-Centered Learning

New Pedagogical Paradigm

Tech-Infused or Enhanced Learning

A move away from the traditional lecture

Flipping the Classroom

Business Transformation throughOn-line Learning and MOOCs

MOOCs (Massive Open On-line Courses)

What?Why?Disruption?Revolution orEvolution?

Correspondence Courses 1960sTV CoursesInteractive Video Courses Traditional On-Line Education 2000sMIT Open CoursewareCarnegie Mellon Open LearningMOOCs 2010s

History of Non-Traditional Education

CourseraedXUdacityUdemy

MOOC Providers

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 EngageContent is Delivered on a Schedule with a Start

DateShort Taped Lectures, discussion groups, videos,

readings, assessments

How do MOOCs Happen?

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

On-Line vs. MOOCs

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

On-Line MOOCs

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 Advantages

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?

MOOC Challenges

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

Latest Developments

Convergence of On-Line Service Enablers

Institutions’ On-Line Service Needs

LMS Providers such as Blackboard,Desire to Learn, Canvas, Moodle, etc.

MOOC Providers such as Coursera,Udacity, edX, etc.

On-Line Facilitatorssuch as Deltak, Bisk,Pearson, 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?