EHL digital transformation case study

Most advocates of e-learning in higher education explicitly or implicitly link e-learning to the need for institutional transformation through new approaches to teaching and learning and new organizational models. The pressing digital transformation question is, how will we manage and plan the critical challenge of change management and the need to consider how organizational change is conceptualized.

Whether a clear project plan with different stages of development and implementation or a more generic rationale for digital transformation is needed really depends on the scale and stage of the digital transformation. Higher education institutions typically move through five different stages as they introduce and ultimately integrate e-learning as a strategic plan:

• Lone Rangers,
• Encouragement,
• Chaos, Planning,
• & Sustainability.

It is of utmost importance for an institute to understand, on various organizational levels, at which of these five “maturity stages” they are. The more advanced the stage the more institutional support and integration in the overall management is essential; conversely, in very early stages of eLearning development, efforts of individual faculty and the initiates on operational level will do. “Simple” early digital activities in learning should not be overly controlled or managed, rather they should be left as a phase of discovery where new ideas can be piloted and learned from, with a view to promoting the possibility of strategic change.

5 questions that need to be addressed at the end of the 3rd stage (Chaos)

• Do we have a compelling vision for eLearning and does our vision direct new and better learning outcomes, greater flexibility for students, and increased cost-efficiencies or a better positioning in the market?
• Do we have our vision for flexibility aligned with a strategic plan that recognizes the importance of digital transformation and do we have concrete prerequisites for the implementation of eLearning?
• Is this vision and institutional strategy for digital transformation shared and supported by all members of the executive team? Above all, is the support long-term, beyond the terms of the current executive (since it will take many years to fully implement a digital learning strategy and the ongoing changes in technology require constant planning and managing)?
• Is our digital transformation integrated with overall educational planning? Particularly with the academic program quality, budgeting and financial planning? Is it embedded in our student support infrastructure, and in the marketing and sales / enrollment / intake strategy?
• Are our teachers and staff directly involved in the visioning and strategic processes for this digital transformation? Is there full transparency of what is expected from everyone?

One of the first steps to make progress in planning the digital ambition is to measure the institutional digital transformation “readiness”. Key readiness measurements are: costs and funding, IT infrastructure, organizational culture, faculty readiness, learner readiness, planning & organizational structure. Discover them in our toolkit.

For new and existing learning centers around the world looking to enhance their academic quality and business performance, EHL Education Experts provide consulting service ranging from opportunity analysis, curriculum design to hiring and training faculty.

Discover our Solutions for Education