Lifelong learning is for institutions too

How do you build institutional readiness and future proof capabilities when budgets are tight?

The UK Higher Education sector faces a time of significant financial challenge with forecasts for the sector ranging from managed decline to lifelong-learning paradigm shift. Student choice and voice at the heart of the system remains the noble goal, but value-for-money concerns loom large. It is not an easy time. How can institutions respond?  

At CoSector we have been reflecting on our work with clients to identify key factors which contribute to an institution’s ability to respond to uncertain futures. We found they were: 

• An ability to scale and flex the digital ecosystem 
• An ability to use data effectively and responsibly to reduce administrative burden, lower barriers to innovation and provide a heightened state of awareness of processes and outcomes 
• An ability to establish and nurture communities of practice around innovation supported by cross-institutional teams 
• An ability to build in inclusivity and responsiveness to individual circumstances
  

Scale & flex 

The pandemic revealed significant variety in HE institutions’ abilities to scale and flex digital ecosystems to support fully online teaching. Some were able to use institutional data to set up online classes automatically, others relied on academics to create classes manually. Some were better able than others to detect students who were struggling and target support. Some were able to harness cloud elasticity to scale up resources to match unprecedented levels of demand, whereas others discovered limitations in their infrastructure components.   

Effective use of data 

Institutions that were in the strongest position to respond were using definitive data to drive automated and personalised business process, such as assessment handling. Unlocking data to flow freely to configure downstream systems freed academics to focus on students and research rather than setting up technology and provided real-time insights on the effectiveness of policy interventions such as enhanced extensions  

Communities of practice 

However, just getting the technology and data right are insufficient on their own. Institutions that were successful adapted by establishing communities of practice to support innovation and sharing of effective practice – these human networks were critical for establishing and evolving new ways of working, and typically involved support from virtual teams brought together from across the institution 

Inclusivity and responsiveness 

The pandemic provided a stark reminder of pre-existing inequalities – all students and staff were in the same storm, but many experienced it in very different boats. The ability to build in inclusivity and be responsive to individual circumstances is crucially important to future readiness. This can be as much about being flexible and inclusive with functionality and the design of learning experiences and assessment as it is about ensuring technologies, such as interactive video or online assessment, are accessible and personalised. 

Abilities in practice 

Many of these abilities can be found in leading institutions’ responses to Generative Artificial Intelligence (Gen-AI). Take, for example, the University of Edinburgh which is leveraging internal AI research expertise to pursue a multi-horizon approach to address immediate and longer-term issues. It has created the Edinburgh Language Model to provide free-at-the-point-of-use access to several Gen-AI models and established a central AI communications hub and community of practice to maximise learning from pilot initiatives.  

We can also look to Anglia Ruskin University (ARU)’s award-winning end-to-end assessment management initiative.  ARU developed a data-driven implementation of the Jisc Assessment Lifecycle model, pioneered by Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU), integrating its SITS Student Records System (SRS) with its Canvas Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) extended through custom tools for setup, marking, moderation and dashboards, with a community of practice supported by toolkits, webinars and drop-ins. The innovation made significant and documented savings in staff time and resulted in tangible improvements in key performance indicators, such as student experience scores and league table rankings. 

A recent open statement, signed by directors of sector bodies including Jisc, UCISA, APUC and BUFDOG, highlights the unprecedented financial challenges faced by institutions and calls for continued close collaboration to anticipate institutional needs and incorporate them in cost-effective solutions. 

CoSector University of London is committed to this approach and provides digital learning and research solutions to over 100 HE, FE and private and professional learning institutions, serving over 1 million learners. In its unique position of and for the sector, it remains committed to sharing insights to help institutions target resources most effectively and being a genuine partner, not just a supplier, to its customers in these challenging times.