In a recent piece on Forbes, Paul LeBlanc examined the current challenges facing colleges and universities, which are “scrambling to finish the academic year online, fretting over next fall’s enrollment, and struggling with cash flow challenges.”
LeBlanc serves as President of Southern New Hampshire University, one of the largest universities in the U.S. with 180,000 learners, mostly online. He went on to describe the terrifying scenario in which “the coronavirus persists into late summer and campuses are not permitted to reopen next fall. If the Class of 2024 is forced to start its college career from home and an online, the impact will be cataclysmic.”
This period undoubtedly presents an array of unexpected challenges for university leadership and faculty. It is therefore more critical than ever to look for opportunities to collaborate and learn from the innovative ideas of others who have experience in change management and using ed-tech tools to bring their courses and schools online.
This week, Verbit is hosting a virtual summit, EduALL: Making Higher Education Work for All Learners, to bring together the higher-ed community and facilitate these important best practice discussions. 15 higher-ed experts will help guide those attending, which range from professionals in university leadership positions and those who fulfill more specific roles in IT, disability accommodations and instructional design, on actionable solutions to account for varying student needs and the COVID-19 pandemic.
The event will conclude with a keynote session, The Future of Ed-Tech, led by higher-ed consultant Katie Blot. Blot has over 25 years of experience in the education industry, both in the private and public sector. She served as the Chief Strategy & Portfolio Officer at Blackboard for 10 years.
Blot helps organizations whose mission is to help people access and benefit from education. She advises companies and institutions in strategic planning, product strategy and roadmaps, go-to-market planning and strategic initiative implementation.
The Future of Ed-Tech is a topic which is likely timelier than ever with the quick shift of all offline schools to online settings due to the current crisis. Blot will explore key technologies which can continue to fuel the student experience and meet accessibility needs. She’ll also share what she envisions next for the higher-ed sector and provide predictions that higher-ed professionals can likely benefit from hearing.
RSVP here to join this complimentary event on Wednesday, April 1st.
Additional speakers come from institutions such as George Mason University, Virginia Tech, University of Kentucky and CSU. We’ll also host sessions with video platform experts who are helping universities make the transition to online, including professionals from YuJa, Mediasite and Kaltura. You can read more about the summit here.