With student debt at an all-time high and low completion rates (a noted problem in higher education, especially for low income students), institutions find themselves actively engaged in conversations around student success as their stakeholders demand better outcomes and accountability. The desire to help students finish their studies in a timely manner has led to the development and use of predictive analytics, redesigned course pathways, and even intrusive advising. New technology systems are making use of analytics to help monitor student progress and alert students to potential issues. These systems are helping develop and measure targeted interventions based on a student’s circumstances. Helping students achieve progress toward degree means supporting and improving the educational experience of each student. This session will discuss how information technology, student services, advising staff, and others can and should work together, with the notion that student success is everybody’s business.Outcomes: Explore the advantages and challenges of various IT tools used to “track” student success and measure the effectiveness of targeted interventions * Discuss the role of nonacademic student data in tracking/enabling student success and the pros and cons of including it as part of a student success analytics plan * Advocate for the role of intrusive advising
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Cloud-based services are becoming a norm for higher education, but transitioning to the cloud presents opportunities and challenges. The ECAR-CLOUD Working Group will share guidance to help institutions prepare to create cloud-ready services, including developing effective IT governance, transforming the IT organization, and migrating from traditional services to the cloud.Outcomes: Understand how to design IT governance to support the adoption of cloud technologies *Identify new roles and skills necessary to integrate cloud services into your environment *Understand how to build cloud migration plans by incorporating technical and organizational processes
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New student orientation is not only one of IT’s first opportunities to forge relationships with students, it’s also one of the best. Learn how you can take UMass Amherst IT’s approach to developing and deploying a media-rich presentation leveraging technology and tenets of gamification for orientation.Outcomes: Identify challenges and opportunities that IT departments face when engaging new students *Understand the benefits of gamification and how it can be used to increase knowledge retention *Develop a framework for an interactive and engaging new student presentation
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California’s three public higher education systems (University of California, California State University, the California Community Colleges) have collaborated in creating an online open educational resources digital library for faculty and students in order to encourage the use of free and affordable digital textbooks. This session will showcase the evaluation materials, the research results, and strategies to easily discover open textbooks.Outcomes: Use several search strategies for locating and reviewing quality digital open educational textbooks *Identify the challenges for implementing digital course materials *Understand the current and growing open textbook ecosystem and its sustainability
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This session will highlight various technologies and strategies in incorporating data and predictive analytics into the institutional culture. Business intelligence is not just getting sophisticated reports but being integrated into the applications that students, faculty, advisors, and staff use daily. Information and analytics should be used to drive processes and provide alerts when interventions are needed.Outcomes: Identify strategies for implementing predictive analytics *Understand the importance of integrating analytics into existing applications used by students, faculty, and advisors *Understand the benefits of leveraging Oracle on premises and cloud solutions
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In 2013, the NC State opened Hunt Library, a new main library building designed with an emphasis on innovative technology spaces instead of book stacks. The project vision was to build a space modeling the library of the future and create cutting-edge learning opportunities for the campus community. This session will explore planning strategies for creating a successful vision that can be applied to any new project and leadership lessons identified by those at various levels in the organization who played key roles in the Hunt Library project. Outcomes: Discover leadership principles that help foster a culture of innovation * Explore pitfalls in planning large technology projects * Identify critical leadership and management techniques for building an effective visionWinner of the 2016 EDUCAUSE Rising Star Award. Award sponsored by Moran Technology Consulting, Gold Partner.
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Is your data reliable, intuitive, interactive, and immediately available to everyone who needs it? This session will explore how Ivy Tech, the nation’s largest singly accredited community college system, coupled cloud-based and open-source platforms with predictive analytics and sustainable data practices to create a cost-effective governed data democracy that’s helping administrators, staff, and faculty access the data they need to drive student success.Outcomes: Understand how cloud-based and open-source platforms might be used to collect institutional data *Diagnose and initiate change in how your institution thinks about, collects, governs, and uses data *Understand the value and difference between “data regimes” (data dictatorship, data aristocracy, data anarchy, data democracy)
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A panel of five women from different institutions and at different points in their careers will weave research, personal stories, and advice to offer effective practices to women who wish to navigate —and succeed in —higher education IT career paths. Panelists will address issues such as recruiting, retaining, and fostering women leaders at various points in the IT pipeline.Outcomes: Recognize the value specific practices, research, and resources provide to women in IT *Identify opportunities to “pay it forward” to support women in IT and across the academy *Formulate actions to overcome barriers to recruitment, retention, and promotion along the IT pipeline
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In 2015, the Institute for Higher Education Policy (IHEP) convened a working group to develop targeted recommendations for improving the national postsecondary data infrastructure. That group created 11 papers designed to inform policy conversations. This panel will present the high-level student success and IT themes emerging from the group’s recommendations.Outcomes: Understand the current state of the national postsecondary data infrastructure * Explore student success and IT themes emerging from the working group’s recommendations * Review recommendations to improve the national postsecondary data infrastructure
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Music Education Learning Environment Device (MELE-D) applies situated learning theory to emerging mobile device technologies, creating a portable learning environment that can follow users throughout their music studies, both in courses and in preservice field experiences. MELE-D provides a common toolset for students to engage in developing content and pedagogical knowledge and in applying that knowledge to music teaching contexts.Outcomes: Learn about a mobile device management solution to support learning, teaching, and curriculum *Discuss strategies and methods for implementing our project at your institution *Identify mobile device management as a way to increase student engagement
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