Digital transformation in higher education has a significant impact on student success by enhancing various aspects of the educational experience. Using an enterprise solution like Ready Education can integrate multiple facets of your campus operations creating a more cohesive experience for your students. Here are some key ways in which digital transformation can positively affect student success:

#1. Personalized Student Experience

Digital tools and platforms facilitate a personalized student experience. You can use data analytics and algorithms to tailor communications and activities to individual students. This personalized approach helps students navigate all aspects of their college experience more effectively, helps them build supportive peer-to-peer relationships, and provides targeted support where necessary. When you tailor your communications to each student, they feel supported and not just another face in the crowd at their institution.

See it in action:

"Having a dedicated orientation app and welcome days hub for incoming students sets them up for success."

SARA E. THOMMESEN, Senior Coordinator of Engagement, University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire

#2. Enhanced Access to Resources

Digital platforms provide easy access to a vast array of resources for students. The information that students can look for over the course of their college years can range from answers to on-campus housing to grants or scholarships to updated snapshots of their coursework and graduation requirements. Give your campus everything they need in just one easy to use online portal or mobile app and create a centrally located library of support materials that students know they can access from anywhere.

See it in action

"Students just have to go to one place and then are signposted to everywhere else. This makes it less overwhelming for them too, particularly if they’re just starting their course.” 

LYDIA BLUNDELL, Head of Engagement at the Students Union, University of Huddersfield

#3. Data-Driven Insights

Digital technologies enable the collection and analysis of large amounts of data related to student performance, engagement, and retention. By leveraging data-driven insights, institutions can identify early warning signs of student struggles, intervene proactively, and provide timely support. These insights can help institutions optimize and develop targeted interventions to improve student success rates.

See it in action:

“Tracking and reporting features enable us to analyze overall platform use and pull stats for each individual hub."

CALVIN L. SMITH, JR., Sr. Director, Leadership Engagement & Experiential Development, Johns Hopkins University

#4. Flexible Campus Experiences

Online learning opportunities have allowed students to customize their learning schedules, access materials at their own pace, and balance their education with other commitments. This flexibility reduces barriers to learning and increases access to higher education. However, online students can often feel cut-off from campus life. A digital community space can create the campus experience for online and adult learners, as well as part-time students, and those that commute to and from campus. An online hub gives all students access to what they need anytime they need it, from anywhere in the world, fostering a sense of belonging and increasing student engagement crucial to student success. 

See it in action:

“Prior to implementing Ready, our online community had a very different student experience to the on campus population. Creating a shared experience for all students...helped level the playing field.”

MATT WEITZEL, IT Project Manager, Rocky Mountain College of Art + Design

#5. Career Readiness and Skill Development 

Digital tools and platforms support the development of essential skills required in the digital age. This enhances students' employability and prepares them for the demands of the modern workforce. Keeping students in a digital portal after graduation allows you to continue to support their career development even after they graduate. A digital platform allows alumni to easily connect with one another for crucial career networking opportunities, as well as meet and mentor current and graduating students.

See it in action:

“Digital engagement via IE Connects is vital to the long-term relationship with our growing and diverse alumni community. It enables the university to manage student and alumni engagement with one system while providing a customized and more relevant experience for alumni."

SARA LINDGREN, Deputy Head of Alumni Engagement and Programs, Global Alumni Relations, IE University

Many admins recognize the power of digital transformation in higher education on the success and retention of their students. But they don’t always want to make it a high priority for the school because they’ve been told digital transformation in higher education can be incredibly difficult to manage and eat up budget resources. It’s no surprise then that many college and university presidents are reluctant to begin the process of investing in technology solutions for their campus.

In the recent survey conducted by Inside Higher Ed and Hanover Research, the results noted that “Fewer than half of presidents (43%) indicate that digital transformation in higher education is at least a “high priority” for leaders at their institution. However, most presidents indicate that digital transformation efforts at their institution related to data/student success (83%) and leveraging student data for better learning of retention insights (82%) are of “high priority” or “essential.”” 

The discrepancy between these two responses — knowing that student data is crucial to improving retention and the reluctance to invest in tech solutions that help institutions gather that data –– is problematic.

It’s a challenge we at Ready Education firmly believe can be solved with the right technology solutions –– solutions we have spent hundred of hours developing and testing with industry experts and leaders in higher ed. With more than 715 institutions using our solutions, and more than 7 million students using our platforms, the power of what we’ve built speaks for itself. 

It is our mission as an organization to support student success and we want to be your trusted partner.

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