Panel: Redefining the Student Experience

By Mallory Sprinkle | July 15, 2020 higher education, digital, business growth, COVID-19

Students and Higher Ed Leaders Come Together to Tackle the Challenges of Higher Education

To successfully adapt to a learning environment disrupted by COVID-19, university faculty and students must look to one another.

We recently teamed up with our friends and partners at Pantheon to host a meeting of the minds - a panel featuring both higher education leaders and students. The topic? Digital transformation and the future of the university experience.

Participants included:

Megan Lynch, Class of 2020, Loyola University Maryland
Benjamin Ballah, Class of 2020, University of Maryland Baltimore County
Dionne Curbeam, Deputy Chief Information Officer for IT Development & Innovations, Coppin State University
Greg Walsh, Associate Professor and Director of D.S. in Information and Interaction Design, University of Baltimore
Moderator: James Rutherford, Manager, Strategic Partnerships at Pantheon

Check out the full recording here, as well as the highlights listed below.

Show notes:

6:30: How students’ prior experience with online learning affected and informed their college experience up until this point
9:09: Initial hurdles of transition to digital and changes to the university experience that stood out as effective to students
12:00: Managing the faculty’s anxiety in a time of sudden change and chaos
15:27: New factors affecting how students decide which university to attend
22:14: How disruption creates opportunities for innovation in education
24:10: The challenge of building relationships virtually, and the importance of seeing past the data to view both students and instructors as holistic human beings
31:37: Why faculty should be given the time and autonomy to right-size their instruction model for the group
33:00: The importance of empathy, authenticity, and setting expectations for both students and faculty
36:20: Avoiding digital fatigue
36:48: Creative tools to engage large groups of students
38:12: The importance of perspective and staying positive
41:14: On building school pride while social distancing or remote learning
50:30: Pros and cons of asynchronous classes and tools that foster dynamic, engaging conversations