Presentation given to the AMOSSHE Winter Conference on 8 Feb 2018, looking at the technological developments in higher ed teaching and student support now and in the future
1. We’ve enhanced the Estate –
now what?
Peter Tinson
Executive Director
UCISA
2. In the beginning…
Ambitious building projects
“To improve the student experience”
To address underinvestment in the Estate
To improve appeal to prospective students
To improve capacity
3. Investment in other areas
Move of commodity items to the Cloud
Apps
Use of social media
Learner analytics
Augmented reality
Utilisation of personal devices
4. Success?
Partially….
Lack of investment
Lack of sponsorship/support
Lack of understanding of student needs
Too little, too late…
Resources failing to keep up with growth
5. Now and the future
“Vice-chancellors go on about iconic buildings, but students are looking for a campus that is cared for
and feels homely, not whizzo starchitecture” – PA Consulting
“[Continued investment] is likely to be driven by the need to provide an outstanding environment to
ensure continued recruitment of students…no doubt linked to student expectations as tuition fees
have risen” - AUDE
6. Student expectations
Increased as a result of increased fees
Mismatch with institutional expectations
Easy to use services
Tailored, personalised
10. Pedagogic changes
Off campus access to resources
Connected cities
Online?
Support issues
Cost of production
Digital capabilities of staff
Off campus
11. Moving with the times
Innovation units
Rapid development – fail fast
Engagement with students
Where are the problems?
What would improve your experience?
Students as developers
12. More analytics
Use for student well being
Guided module selection?
Guided pathways?
Analysis of the curriculum?
13. Artificial intelligence
Student support
Automation of administrative tasks
Enhanced recruitment
Personalised learning environments
14. Internet of things
Location aware services
Better management of the estate
Intelligent campus
16. Digital capabilities
Preparing for university
Graduate – employment skills gap
Staff skills deficiencies
Lack of willing
Lack of agility
Poor availability
17. Digital strategies
Motivations for new technologies:
Improving services to students
Increasing workforce productivity
Do you need a digital strategy?
When is it business as usual?
18. What’s needed
Culture of continual improvement
Understanding of data and its value
Recognition of a changing environment
People are key to success
Skills and development
Resourcing support
The advent of 9k fees led to a flurry of building projects.
Improve capacity in preparation (in England) for the student number cap being removed
IT departments found themselves under pressure to deliver new services – but with little of the apparent new wealth coming their way…
Move of commodity items (email initially) to the cloud – reasons varied – partly to free up internal resource to use elsewhere in line with the institutional mission but also (in part) to mirror the environments students. Now much broader – most have O365 implementations
Apps – the new thing!
Social media – meeting students/applicants on ‘their’ territory
Analytics – drivers predominantly financial, retention, student benefit a secondary consideration
Augmented reality – applications, link from QR codes to prospectus, opening up buildings. Building instructions into posters for induction/local help. Using student devices.
New ways of providing services – built collaborative environments, allowing chat, using iBeacons to provide (push) location dependent information
Seeing a move towards experiential learning – aim is to move away from the theoretical towards the practical.
Emphasis on theory being delivered outside the classroom – backed up by discussions, problem solving during the lecture slot
Greater amount of group work/collaborative working
New environments – virtual and augmented reality – allow “practical” experiences (surgery, welding…)
Needs
Good access to video content (streamed)
Space for group work – not just tailor made facilities but also informal spaces (cafes)
Specialised features