Student-First Initiatives: The Institutional Strategy Perspective

Institutional leaders from MSU, Penn State, Rutgers, and the UW-Madison will discuss the strategic and technical implications of simply providing an exceptional student experience versus transforming the institution to cultivate a lifelong learning relationship with students. To be sure, a modern, frictionless experience and richer engagement tools are sine qua non to harnessing technology for a student-first initiative, but it is only one facet of a larger strategy that likely includes actions such reimagining pedagogy and the teaching and learning event, rethinking that IT infrastructure and architecture, discerning between commodity and differentiating functions, engaging departmental partners in new ways, and ultimately building stronger capacity for institutional innovation.

Outcomes: Learn how 4 Big Ten schools are grappling with the challenges of university-wide initiatives centered on creating a student-first environment * Identify the important early decisions that will determine whether initiatives move from pilot to pervasive * Understand how student-first initiatives require a comprehensive IT strategy (student experience technology is just one piece of the larger puzzle)