Technology has played a pivotal role in enhancing the student journey, from recruitment to beyond graduation. As institutions navigate and undergo transformations, it’s critical for them to understand how the strategic integration of technology helps enrich the educational experience. In this interview, Yousif Asfour discusses how technology is changing higher ed, what students demand of their institutions and the role CIOs play in all of this.
The EvoLLLution (Evo): How do you see technology transforming the student experience in higher ed?
Yousif Asfour (YA): Technology has a lot of play in the student experience, and there are two key pieces to it. While other institutions may frown upon it, students have to be treated as customers. Technology can play a huge part in helping treat students as clients by driving the user experience and improving the student journey from recruitment to beyond graduation.
We can also utilize technology to transform the way we teach, using it to personalize teaching, enhance student engagement and adapt teaching according to individual student needs. The pandemic also pushed us to leverage technology to enable teaching in remote and hybrid environments. In essence, proper use of technology can make education more accessible, adaptive, collaborative and engaging.
Evo: What strategic priorities should institutions focus on to meet these digital-native learners’ demands?
YA: It’s critical to invest in infrastructure. Start with the basics—your network—and move into things like audio and video technology, then add layers on top. A digital infrastructure is key to serving the modern learner, then you start looking at various applications based on the programs and offerings you want to have.
These digital natives are driving us toward an eCommerce world and, whether we like it or not, comparing us to big companies like Amazon and Duolingo. There are expectations we have to meet with the digitally native generation, and to get there we not only need the right infrastructure but also data. We need to use CRM and data analytics tools to better understand students’ various needs and preferences such as their preferred method of payment.
We also must ensure the student experience is accessible to everyone. Digital accessibility is more important than ever. First, we have to make sure students can access technology. Are they visually impaired, or do they have any learning challenges? The second component is addressing the digital divide. We have to ensure everyone has access to the right technology and resources that come with it.
Evo: What are some challenges higher ed institutions face when it comes to technology and delivering on the student experience?
YA: Higher ed institutions are particularly conservative, but this digital transformation and the technology transforming the student experience require us to rapidly change the way we teach and how we treat students. A common challenge with digital transformation is getting faculty and deans on board with thinking in terms of the customer journey and business requirements. That’s a big change, but we need to take advantage of technology to achieve the changing educational goals we have.
We also need to change how and what we teach. We have to move beyond critical thinking toward learning how to ask questions and validate information. And technology and expectations partly drive what we need to teach.
In all of this, institutions must change the way they teach, what they teach, the way they advise and how they treat students throughout their journey in order to thrive. Asking faculty to change the way they teach and interact with students is very challenging, especially at institutions where traditions are very important, where the faculty are the subject matter experts, and where IT is perceived as a service provider.
Evo: What are some best practices to overcome these obstacles?
YA: Any technology or digital transformation must be treated as a business process redesign initiative. In a book I coauthored, From Geek to Lead, we highlight how IT is not about technology but about using technology to solve real-world problems. This process fundamentally requires implementing change management best practices. The trick is to engage with key stakeholders, so they feel empowered but avoid getting stuck in analysis paralysis. You have to find the balance.
The other aspect is to focus on unifying your platforms and integrating instead of building custom systems. You must be able to adapt your systems quickly, and that requires you to focus your efforts on configuration and intergradation instead of development. Training the end-user community also goes hand in hand. Faculty need to understand the online space and how to develop online programs.
In summary, best practices include focusing on change management, integrated systems, training and ongoing operations.
Evo: How can CIOs balance the need for innovation with the necessity of maintaining strong cybersecurity and data privacy standards?
YA: It may sound quite controversial, but I’ve always struggled with the need to have a dedicated security team. I believe that if you follow best practices in IT development and operations, you’ll be secure by definition. With that in mind, you have to balance these best practices with additional monitoring and alerting to make that happen. Focusing on off-the-shelf platforms instead of building your own will help reduce a lot of risks. Ensure the vendors you partner with follow best practices and have secure systems.
Going back to the training aspect, it’s also important to develop a culture of awareness. Universities are open spaces, and everyone wants to do everything. But that creates vulnerabilities, and they can become targets for phishing and spoofing. So, putting best practices in place helps ensure your security.
Evo: How do you see technology continuing to shape the delivery of education?
YA: We live in an era of hyper change. Not only is change the thing that is most constant, but change is happening faster. We have AI, cloud services and AR—and now there’s quantum computing. We don’t know what’s ahead, so higher ed must become agile to stay relevant. That means higher ed needs to adapt its policies and processes to become adaptable in adopting these new technologies into the ways they operate, teach and interact with students.
We must also be aware of market needs—what employers are looking for and what the students need—to adapt our programs and how we deliver them.
Evo: Is there anything you’d like to add?
YA: A few years ago, as cloud technology was beginning to emerge, it became clear that anyone at the institution could buy software from anywhere. It struck me then that to stay relevant the IT department had to transform itself from being a service provider to becoming a transformational partner in education. We had to transform IT from being the ones who fix computers to the ones sitting at the table with the academics. It meant transforming the infrastructure to make it more adaptable and transforming staff from technicians to consultants. I strongly believe that transforming the institution starts with transforming IT.
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