UMGC’s Virtual Reality (VR) Pilot: Transforming Higher Education through Immersive Learning
By Michelle Pittman, Portfolio Director, Web and Digital Design, and Michelle Hansen, Collegiate Faculty, Web and Digital Design, School of Cybersecurity and Information Technology, University of Maryland Global Campus
In 2022, the University of Maryland Global Campus (UMGC) joined the Metaverse Project, becoming one of ten higher education institutions to do so. This initiative aims to create a digital twin of the campus, transcending physical and conceptual boundaries. Through this digital twin, UMGC stakeholders, including students, faculty, and staff, can interact and learn regardless of time and location. This initiative reflects the university’s commitment to innovative education and ongoing efforts to improve student engagement.
The Virtual Campus Experience
UMGC’s virtual campus in the Metaverse enables learners worldwide to simultaneously access an immersive digital space. The virtual campus, modeled after UMGC’s headquarters in Adelphi, Maryland, features six branded learning spaces, including a lecture hall, auditorium, student lounge, and art gallery. Additionally, students have access to over 170 different virtual environments, such as historical sites, monuments, planets, conference rooms, and classrooms. This immersive environment connects students globally, fostering collaborative learning and interactive experiences.
The use of virtual reality has also transcended the classroom. It has been incorporated into UMGC’s homecoming and other events on campus. It serves as a place where students, faculty, and staff can interact.
Enhancing Learning Through Virtual Reality
Immersive learning enhances education by deepening understanding and engagement. This approach improves learning outcomes and fosters social cohesion through a heightened sense of presence by aligning immersive environments with educational objectives. It also provides powerful educational opportunities for underserved students.
UMGC’s virtual reality pilot began in part of the Metaverse Project. The VR pilot currently offers courses integrating virtual reality into the curriculum in several disciplines, including criminal justice, astronomy, human resources, extended reality design, and journalism. It focuses on integrating virtual reality immersive environments, allowing students to interact dynamically and engage in a relevant, hands-on way. By leveraging virtual reality, UMGC aims to bridge the gap between traditional online learning and hands-on experiences, which are often difficult to replicate online. The VR pilot explores how VR can enhance understanding, retention, and application of knowledge, particularly in fields where experiential learning is critical.
Beyond serving as a platform for student and faculty interactions via computers and virtual reality headsets, UMGC leverages virtual reality technology to enhance learning through real-world simulations. For instance, students studying human anatomy can examine a 3D model of the human body, including bones, organs, and veins. Criminology students can analyze and interact in virtual crime scenes with evidence such as victims, blood spatters, and fingerprints, while journalism students can conduct interviews in these simulated scenarios. Such experiential learning opportunities present dynamic ways to transform education and student engagement.
Faculty play a crucial role in planning immersive content by integrating sensory-rich elements. This content includes environmental sounds like thunder or crackling fires and visual aspects like dinosaurs or Greek statues sourced from virtual reality platforms like Engage. Faculty can set up these elements before class or introduce them dynamically during lessons. Additional tools like 360-degree videos, panoramic views, sticky notes, and interactive whiteboards enhance the virtual learning experience, making it more engaging and collaborative.
One of the key components of the VR pilot is its accessibility. UMGC, known for serving adult learners and military-affiliated students worldwide, ensures that VR experiences are accessible across various devices, including standalone headsets and web-based applications. This flexibility allows students to engage with the content regardless of their technical setup, making immersive learning more inclusive.
Evaluating the VR Pilot
To assess the success and impact of the VR pilot, UMGC conducted a study comparing VR learners to non-VR learners in the same courses. The analysis focused on student success (course completion and passing rates) and persistence (re-enrollment or graduation). Over four academic terms—Fall 2022, Spring 2023, Summer 2023, and Fall 2023 the re-enrollment rate for VR learners was over 10% higher than for non-VR learners, a statistically significant difference.
To isolate the impact of VR on external student characteristics, a logistic regression analysis was performed on variables such as age, gender, cumulative GPA, and total credits earned. Even after accounting for these factors, students in VR courses had a significantly higher likelihood of re-enrolling for the next term than their non-VR counterparts. A predicted probability analysis further confirmed that students in VR sections were nearly nine percentage points more likely to re-enroll than students in traditional online sections.
Student Feedback and Insights
Student feedback on the VR courses compared to traditional online, hybrid, and overseas classroom formats highlighted several advantages of immersive learning. Students in the VR group were significantly more likely than online and overseas students to feel comfortable contributing to discussions and activities. They also reported feeling more connected to their faculty members and classmates. While differences between hybrid and VR students were not statistically significant, the hybrid group was too small to draw definitive conclusions.
Additionally, nearly all student respondents indicated a substantial likelihood of registering for future VR courses. To further refine the VR experience, students in VR sections answered additional questions about logistical or technical challenges and suggested potential improvements.
Future Opportunities and Challenges
The VR pilot at UMGC has demonstrated promising results, including higher student success rates, improved retention, and stronger connections between students and faculty. However, challenges remain, such as the cost of providing virtual reality headsets to globally dispersed students and ensuring accessibility for all learners. UMGC is gathering data and feedback to refine its approach and determine how to implement virtual reality into the course curriculum at scale. Establishing partnerships with businesses and other higher education institutions to develop cross-institutional VR projects presents future growth opportunities.
The use of virtual reality has also transcended the classroom. It has been incorporated into UMGC’s homecoming and other events on campus. It serves as a place where students, faculty, and staff can interact.
As education transitions into multiple dimensions, virtual reality can revolutionize learning, making education more immersive, interactive, and accessible. By integrating these technologies, UMGC continues to push the boundaries of what is possible in online and immersive education.