Challenges in higher education today call for a more learner-centric approach

The Challenges

Cost: Tuition increases hover between 2.9% per year for public four-year universities and 3.7% for private non-profit institutions. Rising tuition has not yielded rising revenues for institutions of higher learning. Rising tuition has translated to higher student debt, yet the perception that a college degree will yield a higher paying job is in doubt.

Workforce Needs: The mismatch between potential employer expectations and universities producing the future workforce has been well documented. A consensus exists that measurement and evaluation can help inform how well an institution is making its impact; however, there is still work to be done to further close the gap between education and skills acquisition geared to future employment.

Retention & Success Rate: It is difficult for institutions to keep up with the drive for innovation and change at every level of post-secondary education. In particular, Higher Ed faces challenges in retaining students, particularly those whose families can't support their students and have insufficient knowledge of financial aid opportunities. At the community college level, and even in four-year institutions, some students may enter with deficiencies in basic skills, and easily fall behind.

The Solution

We must reach a state of seamless, integrated experiences for learners and their needs and preferences must be considered so that education can become more "learner-centric."

Learner's needs, preferences and the demands on their time are constantly evolving which is, in turn, fueling disruption and uncertainty within the industry. At Blackboard we've created a new vision for learning; one that's centered on the learner and evolves as quickly as they do. Our New Learning Experience is an approach that fosters better engagement, interaction and quality learning through the delivery of leading-edge technology, services and data capabilities.

Independent market research firm, Wainhouse Research, conducted a study on this approach in the white paper titled, "Making the Shift to Learner-Centric Education." Download this white paper today to learn how a more learner-centric approach can help your institution address the challenges you face today.