Digital Engagement Strategy in Higher Education - Part 2

We recently brought together a group of leaders driving higher education transformation for a digital roundtable discussion on how they deliver a seamless experience for their staff and students – Part 1

The second part of the debate aims to discuss the following:

Are universities ready to provide blended learning and what does it need to look like to meet the needs of employers, staff and students?

Begin by evaluating last year, see what worked and what didn’t, then consider where blended will fit in the future. Think about how and what students have learnt and upon what they’ve been assessed. The Education Secretary has announced a GCSE assessment review for next year, so universities need to consider how future students will filter through in the coming years. It’s certainly going to be the case that we will need to make more effort with the transition. Universities are more or less ready, but it will depend on their priorities. Is the strategy to get everyone back on campus? Others will be looking to a blended future. Whichever, it will be about having a clear learning process and communicating it to students; letting them know you’re listening and having a clear and transparent feedback loop. One panelist thought that we aren’t 100% there, though we need to be ready soon; the grace period in which students and staff have been accommodating is over. There is going to be a big learning curve over the next two or three years.

View from Independent Research

Research¹ suggests that while there has been transformation at scale and speed in higher education institutions, it’s also the case that the online migration of learning, teaching and assessment (LTA) has shone a light on much of the deficiencies of the sector and revealed what needs to change in universities in terms of how they digitally transform, and to what end. It remains to be seen to what extent academics see transformation projects as an opportunity? In short, the paradigm shift needs to be articulated fully to all stakeholders. What is needed is an approach to technology that will bridge the gap between the physical experience of a classroom and the online environment via innovative solutions that are based upon the environment in which universities find themselves.

Regarding the student lifecycle, it is the case that last year allowed for the implementation and improvement of models and systems that have been in the pipeline for some time. Online enrollment and induction should offer the social and pastoral opportunities that the physical version affords, as well as equipping students for learning while reducing the amount of red tape and quotidian material with which students don’t always want to engage.

Ofqual research² released in July 2021 states that “for most students, their learning has suffered to at least some degree. Teacher estimations indicate that while a small proportion of students made learning gains, most students have learning losses, and sometimes this was severe. The literature indicates that the extended periods of remote learning are likely to account for most of the learning loss.” The challenge, therefore, is to ensure quality improves as we move to a blended learning model. This will require innovation across the board, and a focus upon clear and transparent communication.

We are in a period of unprecedented change

The Times Highers’ first Digital Universities Week⁴ took place in May. There were four key takeaways:

Harnessing technology to support graduate employability and the student journey
How to support faculty to maintain quality control in online learning
Building digital trust and protecting your institution from cyber threats
How university could look like for the class of 2030

It is clear that we are in a period of unprecedented change, so all stakeholders in higher education will need to work together to make sure that the crisis of the last 18 months leads to better outcomes for all.

In terms of staff working in both physical and digital environments, as we grapple with the challenges 18 months on, the question of how to combine different working models remains apposite. A discussion that set out to discuss how you become more mobile, more flexible, better prepared, and better placed to attract, support and retain your students and staff through the challenges and opportunities ahead developed into one in which a seamless experience, transparent communications and meeting the needs of all stakeholders in a challenging environment were seen as key to success.

It became clear that a number of issues have been brought to the fore during the 18 months: integrating systems; the levels of readiness of staff and students for a blended environment; recreating a collective experience after a period of isolation; all in the context of an environment that’s difficult to predict. The key takeaways are:

Work towards a seamless journey from the first contact to graduation
Be transparent and communicate with all your stakeholders
Get your staff trained to where they need to be as soon as possible
Think about how the assessment will fit new learning models
Simplify and standardise

Who were the leaders that took part in our digital roundtable?

BPP University	Staffordshire University
Buckinghamshire New University	University of Bristol
Durham University	University of East London
Imperial College London	University of Leicester
Lancaster University	University of Limerick
Nottingham Trent University	The University of the West of England
Queen Mary, University of London	The University of the West of Scotland
University of Westminster	University of West London

Further Information

Please feel free to reach out to our Head of Education and Research – Nick Gibson – [email protected]

References