The Urgent Need for Digital Transformation in Public Higher Education

June 23, 2023June 23, 2023 cxomagazine

By Vanessa Kaskiris, Director in Advancement Information Services, University of California, Berkeley & Andrew West, Director Enterprise Applications & Digital Solutions, Prairie View A&M University

Public higher education institutions face a crucial need for digital transformation. Can they level up to meet the demands for genuine student success, robust Data Management, and savvy AI?

Vanessa Kaskiris Intro

I am a Director in Advancement Information Services & Operations at University of California, Berkeley. During my career, I scaled automation tools across 10,000+ endpoints for UC Berkeley, implemented our Student Information System (SIS) in PeopleSoft Campus Solutions, stood up a data lake and custom award-winning cloud platform for Student Success and Learning Analytics, and, most recently, oversaw an IT operations team running Ellucian Advance and Salesforce to support the campus campaign that successfully raised an unprecedented $6 billion a full calendar year early. UC Berkeley is large and unsentimental and it could be considered a tough place to be a technology leader; however, I do believe in the mission of public higher education and show up as an ethical leader in service to the institution.

Andrew West Intro

I am the Director of Enterprise Applications at Prairie View A&M University, a long-established Texas public institution and part of the Texas A&M University System. Located 40 miles northwest of Houston, Prairie View’s average student population is 8,940. Throughout my career I have guided service-oriented IT teams in K-12, corporate, and higher ed contexts, oftentimes initiating digital transformations. I have 25 years of experience delivering mission-critical and game-changing tech projects that surpass the $10 million budget mark. As the Director of Enterprise Applications, I am responsible for our universities largest technology system, integrating platforms and driving innovation through digital cloud-hosted solutions to encourage growth and efficiency where my current focus is the Ellucian Banner 9 upgrade project and implementing a Data Lake solution.

Discussion Questions

Question 1: What technology trends in public higher education are you most excited about?

a. Andrew: I am excited about the trends in digital transformation, specifically the integration of data analytics and artificial intelligence (AI), and their potential to revolutionize both instruction and IT operations within higher education institutions. This article explores the reasons behind my enthusiasm and the profound impact these advancements can have on the educational landscape.

Enhancing Instruction with Data Analytics:
Data analytics has the power to transform the way we understand and improve student learning outcomes. Institutions can gain valuable insights into student performance, engagement, and progress by collecting and analyzing vast amounts of data. With this information, educators can personalize learning experiences, identify at-risk students, and provide timely interventions to ensure student success.
Data-driven decision-making continues beyond the classroom level. Administrators and faculty can leverage data analytics to refine curriculum development, optimize resource allocation, and measure the effectiveness of instructional strategies. This evidence-based approach empowers institutions to continuously improve teaching methods and adapt to the changing needs of students.

AI-Driven Support Systems:
Artificial intelligence is another game-changer in higher education. AI-powered support systems can streamline administrative tasks, freeing up valuable time for faculty and staff to focus on student engagement and teaching. Chatbots and virtual assistants can provide instant support to students, answering frequently asked questions, providing guidance on course selection, and offering personalized recommendations.

Moreover, AI algorithms can help institutions manage vast amounts of data more efficiently. From student enrollment to financial aid processing, AI can automate routine tasks, reducing administrative burden and minimizing errors. This increases operational efficiency and allows staff members to allocate their time and expertise to more meaningful initiatives.

Improved Student Success and Retention: One of the most significant benefits of digital transformation in higher education is its potential to enhance student success and retention rates. By leveraging data analytics and AI, institutions can identify early warning signs of student struggles or disengagement, allowing for proactive intervention and support. Predictive analytics models can forecast student performance and identify factors that contribute to student attrition, enabling institutions to implement targeted interventions and personalized support systems.

Additionally, integrating AI-powered adaptive learning platforms can customize educational experiences based on individual student needs. By tailoring content, pacing, and assessments to students’ proficiency levels, these platforms can maximize learning outcomes and ensure that students stay engaged throughout their educational journey.

b. Vanessa: So much is happening in this space! Every campus bravely embraced their Learning Management System (LMS) during COVID-19 and stretched it to the limits. We saw an uptick in demand for just in time chatbots to support hybrid classroom technology in real-time. Significantly, with the rise of hybrid and remote instruction, standardized digital grading rubric tools a la Gradescope were in high demand, especially for the very large STEM classes offered to lower division undergraduates as prerequisites. The academic advising space also experienced tremendous strain in supporting the academic success of its large student populations. Having already built a cohort-based platform for these subject matter experts, I can proudly acknowledge that more students who were potentially struggling and at risk were identified and supported by their advisors, who now had real-time analytics, than ever before on the campus. University of California, Berkeley is the oldest UC, so its grip on traditional instructional styles is very ingrained in its philosophical fabric. I witnessed faculty and graduate student instructors attempting to support meeting students where they were in the moment, think Zoom sessions with 250+ students and all manner of personal struggles to participate, maintain their GPAs, and be successful students.

I’m personally invested in being a part of modernizing the architecture and tech stack for our public higher education institutions and unharnessing the power of effective and actionable analytics. It’s been said that Data Warehouses and Business Intelligence dashboards are where data goes to die, which is a bold statement, but our dependency on more traditional data storage and access is not serving us as we need to be served; we are missing an immense opportunity. There are legitimate arguments against moving away from these structures – student data security and privacy policies are evolving as we speak – and I am optimistic that we can move past inertia and acknowledge the benefits that cloud, computing, and real-time analytics can provide. Public higher education moves slowly, more slowly than the government. Learning, embracing, and adopting modern technology frameworks and disciplines such as DevOps and MLOps are intrinsic to our long term success. Every central IT department would benefit from having an experienced Chief Data Scientist who partners closely with the Chief Architect or Chief Technology Officer on the road mapping of a future low tech debt state that is nimble and has exploratory capacity for the institution. Support for these efforts ideally comes from the very top and quick proof of concept cycles from 1-3 months are encouraged and supported. As someone who managed a Technical Project Management Office in higher education, you can acknowledge the risk and potential benefits and manage for quick wins.

Question 2: What can you share about technology initiatives that did not go as planned?

a.Vanessa: The campus unsuccessfully tried to implement a Student Information System (SIS) multiple times. By the time that we had the necessary momentum and support, Workday was in beta and PeopleSoft Campus Solutions was the most tried and true solution, despite feeling very 1997. We went with PeopleSoft and, to make the transition more seamless and friendly for our users, we added a custom and modern UI layer called CalCentral. I am proud to have successfully project managed core elements of both CalCentral and the PeopleSoft implementation – it was the most ambitious, aggressive, and complex technical implementation in the history of the campus. The obvious tradeoff was that we were behind as soon as we implemented it, as it was an enterprise solution that required significant resources to maintain. The additional UI layer, albeit a modern architecture, also required a completely different type of technical expertise and support. The SIS implementation solved the problem of literally hundreds of shadow and unsupported systems and it created a single source of truth for student information but it was also an extremely painful process for individual contributors across the campus trying to do their best work and learn a new system at the same time. The toolset that we provided required significant training and support for our constituents. In terms of Lessons Learned, I’d offer the following:

Manage trust, credibility, and compassion with great care. If you don’t and these areas become damaged, especially as it relates to new technology, your ability to deliver anything new down the road will be much more difficult.
Enterprise technology implementations are lengthy, costly, typically waterfall, with high staff fatigue and burnout. You are not being set up for success if you or your sponsors think otherwise – approach these transformational projects with honesty and input on measurable outcomes.
As much as is reasonably possible, move away from functional silos across the campus where leadership is fiercely protective of their staff and budgets. As public institutions, we have much more to gain by working together in a healthy culture that recognizes the contributions of each functional area and offers professional opportunities and stretch assignments to keep our staff engaged and anticipating a future that they can see themselves being a part of.

b. Andrew: I understand that not all integration or digital transformation projects will go as planned. In such situations, the key is embracing a flexible and adaptable mindset. First and foremost, having a robust project management framework in place is important to allow for agile development and iterative improvements. This enables us to quickly identify and address any issues that arise during the implementation process. Additionally, we maintain open lines of communication with all stakeholders involved, including faculty, staff, and students, to gather feedback and insights. This feedback helps us identify areas of improvement and make necessary adjustments to the digital transformation roadmap. We also prioritize building a team with diverse skill sets and expertise, ensuring that we have the necessary resources to address any challenges that may arise. By remaining flexible, pivoting when needed, and continuously evaluating and refining our digital transformation strategy, we can successfully navigate unexpected obstacles and steer the integration projects toward achieving the desired outcomes in higher education IT.

Question: 3 Closing thoughts to share on Public Higher Education in 2023?

a. Andrew: As we look ahead to the future of IT in public higher education in 2023, several trends are likely to shape the landscape. First and foremost, we can expect a continued focus on digital transformation, driven by the need to provide seamless and accessible technological experiences for students, faculty, and staff. This will involve leveraging emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, and data analytics to enhance instructional delivery, optimize administrative processes, and improve student support systems. Additionally, cybersecurity will remain a top priority, with institutions investing in robust security measures to protect sensitive data and mitigate cyber threats. Moreover, integrating cloud computing and adopting Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) solutions will enable scalability, flexibility, and cost-efficiency in IT operations. Lastly, as higher education becomes increasingly decentralized, IT departments will need to collaborate closely with academic units and administrative departments to ensure alignment and maximize the impact of technology on teaching, learning, and institutional effectiveness. Embracing these trends and staying at the forefront of technological advancements will position public higher education institutions for success in the evolving digital landscape.

b. Vanessa: Most public higher education institutions are in the midst of or about to start huge transformations to be more nimble, responsive to their sponsors and constituents, creative, and strategic about their data governance and management, technical debt, and operational portfolios. Significant targeted resources will continue to be allocated to refining and hardening security and privacy systems across the enterprise. Mature incident and change management approaches by experienced IT professionals will also continue to be embedded in our work. I believe that higher education AI transformation will happen much faster than digital and data transformation. We will be well-served by creating an environment where we can quickly explore real and perceived opportunities and with minimal risk. Public higher education is notoriously underfunded yet serves as the touchpoint for under-represented and historically marginalized student populations poised to catalyze a strong future for their families and create significant generational wealth. There is a tremendous responsibility on our public institutions of higher learning to serve these students and embrace change. To me, it is an exciting and unprecedented time. I’m deeply invested in the success of these institutions as someone who benefited greatly from their knowledge and networks.

Bios
Vanessa Kaskiris is a senior technologist, Director at UC Berkeley, and IT team leader for over 20 years. She is the prior nominated Chair of the UC Women in Tech Committee and the prior Program Advisor at the Center for Information Technology Research in the Interest of Society (CITRIS) at UC Berkeley. Vanessa is Latinx and was previously a successful entrepreneur with a physical learning space addressing the challenges around equity in education. She is a published author and nationally-invited presenter on Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Belonging, and Justice (DEIBJ) best practices. She has a technical Master’s degree from UC Berkeley, is a PMI Agile Certified Practitioner, and has a Six Sigma Green Belt from Berkeley Lab. She has won multiple awards for her work in industry and on both the UC Berkeley and Berkeley Lab campuses.

Andrew West is an esteemed Higher Ed Technology executive and thought leader, and the Director of IT Enterprise Applications at Prairie View A&M University. In this role, West supports undergraduates and graduates, with a special focus on mentoring and broadening the Cyber, Data Analytics, and IT talent pool. Notable appearances of West’s work include the Microsoft Born to Learn EdTech Blog, Innov8Tiv Magazine, Computerworld Magazine, and the Dice careers blog. He was even granted the title of Top 40 Under 40 in Houston and authored “The Modern CEO: Technology Tools, Innovation & Guidebook for Today’s Tech Savvy Leader.” In sum, West has 25+ years of experience leading IT departments in various roles.