Fierce Education recognized IT leaders in higher education who have made an impact in their institutions by responding to the COVID crisis by accelerating change and embracing Education 4.0. They succeeded by improving the use of technology in their institutions, adopting emerging technologies, and deploying innovative solutions to facilitate the access of information to their students as well as providing support for faculty members.
A panel session led by Fierce Education Head of Content Elliot Markowitz, Dr. Mira Lalovic-Hand, Ph.D, Senior Vice President and CIO at Rowan University, and J. Cody Moyer, Associate Dean, Online Learning and Academic Support at Polk State College were recognized as Fierce Technologists for their outstanding work. Each of them explained how they navigated through the Covid storm leading their institutions to emerging stronger and future-ready.
Dr. Lalovic-Hand began by explaining how centralization can drive innovation at a faster pace. Rowan University was one of the few universities that remained open during the entire pandemic, with students coming to campus and faculty teaching on campus. As a state university, it was following all the government guidelines and all safety measures were implemented.
Automating and innovating during a crisis became the only way out. For Dr. Lalovic-Hand, embracing digital transformation, implementing AI and automation was key.
While balancing emergency requests, Rowan University:
- Improved operational efficiency by automating processes for University scheduling, course withdrawals, course placements, departmental charge authorizations, employee tuition waivers
- Developed and executed unique technological solutions to maintain student population including the use of predictive models to target marketing campaigns at potential students and reduce melt
- Embraced Artificial Intelligence (AI) to bolster support offerings
Dr. Lalovic-Hand wanted to take advantage of the movement for change and automate processes as much as possible. “Only automation brings change,”she said. From visual to mobile to computing all had changes. “Keeping close ties with all my managers was key to our success.”
According to Dr. Lalovic-Hand, the three keys to their success included:
- Centralization: Having a centralized team
- Communication: Members of the team had daily communication
- Coordination: Being able to delegate
As a CIO, Dr. Lalovic-Hand places two things high when she thinks of giving advice to other university CIOs:
- Technology has to always be a few steps ahead, so when someone needs something it’s already there
- Know your team
Building on the momentum after having shaped the post-Covid campus with technology, Rowan University is planning on solidifying a data-based culture on campus that informs decision-making and supports student success. In addition, they will continue to automate processes to streamline business operations. After the experience and realizing the importance of embracing 21st century education, Rowan will continue to empower faculty and staff to effectively use digital tools and automated systems.
For his part, J. Cody Moyer, Associate Dean, Online Learning and Academic Support at Polk State College had to first solve a very important problem: How to deliver online education and provide connectivity to their students when Wi-Fi and hot spots were not something common in the area and many of the students did not have access to technology and Wi-Fi.
In order to assure academic integrity for faculty and students, Moyer and his team of three (included himself) developed the following plan of action:
Moyer said that they improved their infrastructure by adding Wi-Fi access in parking lots so that students could come to campus and without leaving their vehicle use their Wi-Fi service. Many of the students did not have Wi-Fi at home, in some cases because they could not afford it, in some others because they were not in an area with Wi-Fi coverage. They also worked with local cities and municipalities to help the students by adding Wi-Fi hot spots in the cities, notifying the students where they could get Wi-Fi.
Polk State College purchased a lot of cameras, headsets, new tablets to support students and faculty, and they increased the capacity for online conferencing to support online learning.
From the student perspective, Polk State University followed this plan of action:
The top four initiatives below were used to navigate the crisis, providing support for learning and assisted in empowering success:
- Academic support hotline
- Remote proctoring
- Student guide to online learning modules
- Learning technology support
The pandemic has shown us that when faced with adversity and a crisis, technology leaders in education show their resourcefulness, in many cases despite having no resources. They have made an extraordinary impact not only in their colleges and universities but also in the life of so many students.
The full session, Recognizing Fierce Technologists, part of Fierce Leaders in Higher Ed 2021, can be accessed on demand here.
For more articles from the Fierce Education Leadership event, see:
Educators Highlight Successful Student Engagement Methods
Higher Education Leaders Showcase Innovation Strategies
Fierce Education Leaders Share Their Strategies for Success