Report: Many Higher Ed Institutions Lack Resources to Improve Digital Infrastructure
/The overarching question posed was fundamental in the current environment: Are colleges and universities investing in the digital infrastructure needed to address the changing needs of learners? That was the focus of a nationwide survey of college and university presidents undertaken by the New England Board of Higher Education (NEBHE) in association with the TIAA Institute.
The findings, released last month, raised as much concern as comfort. The adequacy of financial resources to drive digital infrastructure improvement is a critical issue. Among the key insights:
82% of presidents indicate their institutions intend to increase hybrid (both online and on-campus) learning and other support services as a result of the pandemic.
70% of presidents feel confident their institution currently has adequate digital infrastructure to meet the needs of the learners they seek to serve.
41% of respondents indicate having “inadequate” financial resources for undertaking digital infrastructure improvement, and a similar share (44%) perceive their institutions to be inadequately resourced in terms of partnership opportunities.
Only 53% report having adequate governing board expertise to support the transformation of digital infrastructure.
Only 47% acknowledged the importance of regularly investing in research and development (R&D) to innovate their digital infrastructure and the learning enterprise.
Despite those acknowledged concerns, college and university presidents rank improving digital infrastructure as their highest priority for physical capital investment, followed by academic buildings and on-campus housing facilities.
In addition, Presidents see multiple opportunities for innovating through digital technologies on an institution-wide basis, within specific undergraduate programs and non-degree offerings, and within student support services.
They point out that student-related objectives—including the learning experience, retention, and the ability to offer flexible and hybrid learning and non-academic support—are critical drivers for digital infrastructure improvement.
NEBHE surveyed 156 college and university presidents of two- and four-year public, independent nonprofit, and for-profit U.S. institutions. Respondents represented 41 states and all regions of the country. The strongest response was from higher education institutions across New England, with 44 colleges and universities participating in the survey regionwide.
A report accompanying the survey data, “Fast Forward: Forces defining the future of postsecondary learning,” noted that “The pandemic and digitalization combined to accelerate fundamental changes to customer experiences and expectations” across many industries – including higher education. A majority of higher education leaders acknowledge, the report points out, that their institutions have “low to moderate levels of digital maturity and must accelerate efforts to keep up with a continuously changing digital environment.”
The 2021 survey on the digital future of the postsecondary learning enterprise found that 78% of presidents believed that due to the pandemic, their institutions intend to increase hybrid learning and support services.
The report concludes that four forces—digital transformation, the evolution of work, the education technology boom and changing currencies of learning—are pervasive and defining, explaining that “each has been accelerated by the global pandemic in ways that validate their consequential nature to the future of postsecondary learning.”
The survey analysis indicates that “Strategic governance and leadership at the highest levels of the institution will be critical factors in achieving and sustaining the digital learning enterprises needed to respond to a pandemic-changed world and the dynamic needs of learners.”
The survey was conducted online between April and June 2021.
