These campus musts may seem like no-brainers, but they’re critical for success

technology-campus-hallmarksWith so many technology options available today to help support and promote an institution’s campus culture, students and faculty, it’s not surprising that many IT and campus leaders feel overwhelmed with what they should invest in now and what they should implement later, especially with tight budgets.

But from having a good social media strategy to planning for Big Data collection, there are at least 10 technology hallmarks every campus should plan for immediately, if not implement as soon as possible.

Many of these hallmarks may seem simplistic, but can get caught in the solution shuffle if you’re not careful; for example, providing high-speed wireless broadband that can support multiple devices, or offering continuous IT support to students and faculty.

Some of the other technology hallmarks listed also may seem like frivolous suggestions, such as a targeted social media approach, but are critical for keeping your campus relevant and able to attract prospective students.

(Next page: 10 technology must-haves for campuses)

[Listed in no particular order]

1. High-speed wireless broadband.

According to the Center for Digital Education’s recent “2013 Yearbook: Technology Innovation in Education,” over 80 percent of education institutions surveyed said that wireless broadband was their “top priority for IT investment.”

This is due not only to the recent influx of multiple student- and faculty-owned devices, but also due to the wealth of resources available on the internet that require anytime access, anywhere, as part of modern culture.

2. 24/7 IT support.

Even just 5 years ago, it was still okay to have an IT support desk with set hours during the day for students and faculty who may have trouble figuring out how to connect a router, but with today’s technology-enabled campus, students and faculty need to be able to reach support, or at the very least speak with an emergency contact, anytime.

“We have a very precise system set up when someone needs IT support, and that doesn’t end at 5 p.m.,” said an IT specialist at Georgetown University. “We have 24/7 support for emergencies and much of our staff, just like at a hospital, are on call. That’s not a perk for the campus, it’s a necessity.”

3. The cloud.

83 percent of campuses polled in the 2013 Yearbook are using the cloud or have plans to implement a cloud solution. Not only can the cloud help to accommodate the increase in mobile device dependency, it can help store large amounts of data that’s easily accessible.

The cloud can also: acquire and implement the latest software and application updates; streamline enrollment and admissions processes; and turn to subscriptions that are scalable and provide options, says Edudemic.

4. Digital textbooks.

Numerous studies over the last year have shown that students are tired of paying hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars for printed textbooks for classes. At the same time, basic versions of e-readers are now available for little cost, and multiple websites now offer students e-book shopping made easy.

Planning for digital textbooks means not only boosting mobile device capabilities on campus, but helping faculty learn to implement digital resources into their course.

5. 21st Century PD for faculty and admin.

According to the 2013 Yearbook, 55 percent of surveyed universities planned to invest in professional development.

Besides offering faculty PD on how to develop an online or blended learning course, integrate digital resources, and cater to students tired of all-lectures, campuses should offer PD in multiple delivery methods, as well.

From offering a MOOC on classroom management online solutions, to hosting a PD session on Twitter, campus admin should offer multiple options for PD delivery, just like how faculty should offer students multiple options for learning–there’s no better way to teach something than to model it first!

(Next page: Technologies 6-10)

6. MOOCs.

Whether you love them or hate them, it’s not just big name universities like Harvard or Stanford that offer MOOCs anymore, as even small universities in the middle of Amish country are beginning to offer MOOCs.

From developing your own online learning platform, to using larger platforms like Coursera or edX, offering MOOCs can not only strengthen your campus brand, but provide options for students and faculty looking to further their lifelong learning.

[Read: “3 pros and 3 cons of MOOCs.”]

7. Online course management system.

From sending in-class emails to checking grades, course management systems, like Blackboard, offer faculty and students a fairly intuitive way to manage courses more efficiently.

Benefits to using these systems usually include checking grades online; accessing old assignments, quizzes and surveys; facilitating group work through blogs and wikis; and even developing and maintaining student organizations.

8. Big Data…

Future-proofing universities are beginning to deploy storage solutions to help manage the unstructured data in physical, virtual and cloud environments. More modern storage solutions are also open source for a high learning curve but low cost.

“My priorities are to ensure not only that the department [of meteorology] can store hundreds of terabytes of research data efficiently and securely, but that good performance is maintained as the I/O load from our growing compute cluster increases,” reported Dan Bretherton, high-performance computing manager at the University of Reading, in a press release.

9…security.

No one wants to go through what the University of Maryland recently experienced with multiple data breaches in one month, which is why technology-savvy campuses must take precautions to keep data safe.

These precautions can range from scanning existing databases on the university’s servers to determine where personal information is located and then, depending on the database, destroy the personal information or add more digital security; as well as put cybersecurity systems through a series of penetration tests to highlight security shortcomings.

[Read: “University data breach prompts ‘top-to-bottom’ IT review.”]

10. Social media done well.

“Colleges and universities are using social media more than ever before to connect with alumni, students, prospective students, and their communities. But there’s a big difference between who’s doing it well and who’s just doing it to, well, just keep up in a U.S. News & World Report kind of way,” explains Jill Carlson, marketing manager at Argyle Social for a Social Media Explorer article. “And the universities that are dominating social media seem to have a few things in common.”

Carlson notes that one of the major ways campuses use social media well is by serving up both “cake” and “broccoli,” or balancing the content that is important and good for the school (broccoli) and the content that is fun and delicious (cake). “If you share enough cake, your audience will consume the occasional broccoli,” she advises.

Broccoli often includes news of awards and published research, while cake includes human interest pieces, crowd-sourcing content, and contests.

For more of Carlson’s tips, read here.

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