In response to the COVID-19 crisis, universities and colleges have pivoted to protect students everywhere and ensure learning continues. They’ve transformed the education experience, moving millions of students and educators online. There are very few industries that have reacted as quickly and as effectively despite huge logistical and technological challenges.
At Salesforce.org, we’ve had the privilege of partnering with many higher education as they’ve undergone a digital transformation in order to better support and reach students. In the wake of this crisis, members of our education community have shared that they’ve been able to accomplish in three weeks what they had planned to do in two years.
I recently had the honor of speaking with Paul LeBlanc, president of Southern New Hampshire University and a visionary in how learning can happen anywhere and anytime. With more than 3,000 on-campus students, 90,000 online students, and 100,000 alumni, SNHU is democratizing higher education to make it equitable and affordable for all.
Over the past few weeks, Paul has been sharing best practices for virtual learning to help the higher education community adapt to this new environment.
How has SNHU always embraced virtual learning? How do you train your teachers and your students to embrace it?
It’s funny, we had to be dragged into it. In the mid-nineties, the U.S. Navy said we needed to offer distance education to its sailors (we were a “preferred provider” with sites on naval bases) because every time they were put on a ship, they effectively had to drop out and stop their studies with us. So we were in the space early on and learned how to do it well.
Honestly, online education was not as good ten years ago as it is today. That makes sense. But now we have robust tools and technologies and a lot of years of experience, and the best online programs are as good as or better than their traditional face-to-face counterparts. Our students typically work, have families, and are trying to make education fit into their busy lives. They readily embrace online learning because it is convenient, and then they discover that it is powerful and effective and they are won over. Around 95% of our graduates say they were “satisfied” or “very satisfied” with their experience and would recommend our programs to friends and co-workers. For faculty coming to online teaching for the first time, we have a robust training program that includes using the tools, effective online pedagogy, how to create “presence” online, and more. As we live our lives increasingly in virtual spaces, this challenge has lessened across the board.
Do you think some students are better at virtual learning than others? How do you reframe virtual learning to be for all?
Those who do best with it are those who need online [learning] because it works best in the context of their lives. Many traditional-age students go to campus for so much more than their education. They want community, campus life, and the whole coming-of-age experience that campuses offer. So online [learning] is not so important for them, though they almost always take some online courses. Now, the global pandemic will [cause] most traditional-age students [to] shift to online [learning], and it will be a big adjustment. Not because they are less disposed to do it well, but because it’s not what they signed up for, and their experience will be quite mixed given how quickly many schools have had to make the shift.
At least for the short to medium term, everyone — both teachers and students — needs to get a lot better at online learning. Students will not have issues from a technology perspective. These are “digital natives” after all. It will be more about discipline and finding ways to provide them with the structured accountability that comes with being in the same physical space as their teachers and peers. Adult learners tend to be really self-driven and focused. Their time is limited, they have urgency (they want this degree [in order] to better their lives and take better care of their families), and they tend to be really task oriented. Traditional-age students often need more direction, monitoring, and accountability. This will be the current challenge for the field. That said, I think they will readily adapt.
In the wake of the current crisis, what do other schools need to know as they shift away from classroom learning?
Phew. There is a lot to know to do online [teaching] really well. In some ways, those getting started should keep it simple and focus on getting through the end of the academic year as best they can. Students are scared and distracted (who isn’t?), so distinctly human qualities of empathy and support matter more than being adept with the technology, though technology can help.
It’s better to use video conferencing than a mere phone call when talking to a student, for example. Faculty will need to be in constant touch, but [they should] also remember that students need more care than more work right now. Schools should try to establish robust support systems as soon as possible — get advising, tutoring, and help-desk functions up and running — and [make these systems available] into the evening, when young people are more likely to be doing work. We’ve made our faculty training materials available to all who want them by listing them here: faculty training materials.
If colleges and universities continue with online learning in the long term, they will need to build a very purposeful tech stack that includes a good learning management system (they likely have one in limited use already), a robust system to support advising, and a suite of other supporting tools. Then the really hard work begins: rethinking course design for online delivery and scale. So there is a LOT to consider. But in the immediate crisis, taking good care of students is the starting point.
This is a defining moment for students who are entering college, graduating, or deciding their futures right now. What is your advice to them?
The most valuable skills you can have — whether navigating a public health crisis or a career, or charting the course of your life — are what some call enduring skills. These are distinctly human skills like empathy, emotional intelligence, creativity, comfort with difference (think diversity, culture, religion, and more), working in teams, and critical thinking. The world moves far too fast to bet everything on guessing what job or career or even school will best ensure your long-term prosperity. Bet on yourself instead and develop your enduring skills, and know there is no one right pathway or perfect trajectory in life or work, or anything really. There is your pathway, and it will have lots of twists and turns and every one of them is an opportunity to learn. Indeed, most of the best learning comes the hard way, often from our stumbles. Those are the occasions when enduring skills are often learned. Those are the occasions when your enduring skills allow you to shift, get off the mat, adjust, and move on and thrive.
Discover the key trends and opportunities shaping the higher education landscape in the first edition of the Connected Student Report by Salesforce.org.