Construct an effective technology-enabled learning environment using a policy blueprint from Lenovo
Creating an effective technology-enabled educational environment requires establishing a new structure at your institution — one that will enable and support the changes needed to improve learning outcomes and increase operational efficiency.
The foundation for this transformation starts with reliable devices and solutions from Lenovo and an effective Policy Blueprint:
1) Funding and Sustainability
Budget technology-enabled learning expenses as fixed costs, not variable ones.
Academic leaders at all types of institutions report the economic downturn has increased demand for technology-enabled courses. For example, two-thirds of U.S. higher education institutions that responded to a Babson Group/Sloan Consortium survey reported increased demand for new online courses. But roughly half of these same institutions suffered budget decreases in recent years.
Nonetheless, a majority of campus IT officers wisely do not believe federal stimulus dollars will “sustain” IT resources on their campuses, according to a survey by the Campus Computing Project. The understanding that short-term funds are not the solution for building a sustainable technology-enabled educational environment is key to effective policy-setting.
2) Security and Privacy
Ensure you have the right security technology in place, and create a strategic plan for managing daily security operations and crises.
Budgeting is top-of-mind on every campus, but it’s still not the No. 1 worry for CIOs and senior campus IT officials. Their biggest priority is network and data security, according to the Campus Computing Project survey. And it’s no wonder: Campuses house a trove of data — from student and faculty financial information to proprietary research related to medicine, biotechnology and national security. About a fifth of institutions surveyed reported theft of computers with sensitive data. The percentage of campuses reporting hacks or attacks on their networks in 2009 was 47.4 percent. Roughly 15 percent of campuses reported major problems with computer viruses and spyware.
Lenovo offers a range of industry-leading security solutions, including the endpoint security, password management, fingerprint identity, encryption and anti-theft technology that can help you create a secure technology-enabled educational program.
3) Code of Conduct and Integrity Standards
Code of conduct rules haven’t changed — students should not plagiarize, steal or cheat — but enforcing these rules on a technology-enabled campus requires new rules and new ways of monitoring student behavior.
Consider incorporating these Code of Conduct best practices:
- Establish a campus-wide policy on academic integrity that articulates faculty and student responsibilities.
- Include ethics instruction within the core curriculum or within degree plans.
- Require student engagement with the academic integrity policy.
- Incorporate academic integrity strategies into professional development and faculty training offerings.
- Provide detailed grading criteria for every assignment at the beginning of a course so students understand how they will be graded.
