Schlissel announces plan to grow academic innovation
Saying it is time for academic innovation at the University of
Michigan to take a step forward, President Mark Schlissel has announced a plan
to support new models for education and provide learning experiences that are
global, engaged and lifelong.
The commitment of $10 million a year over five years will allow
the university to advance its work in curricular innovation, educational data
and research and educational technology, Schlissel said.
During his annual Leadership Breakfast on Oct. 3, Schlissel also
announced the Center for Academic Innovation and the appointment of James
DeVaney as the center’s founding executive director.
“We can transform the educational experience and provide access to Michigan excellence for literally millions of learners,” he said. “I am confident in the years ahead that even more of our faculty will collaborate with the center, and will further establish U-M’s leadership in shaping the future of learning — and the future of higher education itself.”
In 2014, what was first called the Office of Digital Education and
Innovation was established to help faculty explore creative ways to use
technology and digital programs.
The office’s name changed to Academic
Innovation in 2016, at which time it was named a presidential initiative. It
grew rapidly at that time with more than 5 million online enrollments in more
than 100 courses — including three new MicroMasters programs.
U-M also launched its Teach-Out Series that
academic year. Teach-outs are short, online learning opportunities that, like
the teach-ins of the 1960s that launched at U-M, are focused on emerging
topics.
MicroMasters are programs that allow students
to take online courses that could lead to an invitation to complete a
residential degree upon admission through the normal process.
Today, the Center for Academic Innovation has more than 160 massive open online courses and teach-outs on three online platforms: Coursera, edX and FutureLearn. It has more than 8 million enrollments from 190 countries.
A portfolio of digital tools that were either
nurtured or developed at the center by student fellows and faculty innovators
touch thousands of students on U-M’s campus and other institutions around the
world. More than 92 percent of U-M undergraduates have used at least one of the
tools.
“We share our work broadly with other institutions and bring
innovators in to further our expertise,” Schlissel said. “In other
words, the center fully aligns with the public mission of U-M. I believe our
potential is virtually unlimited as a result.”
Michigan has been a national leader in online
learning, hosting other institutions with the Teach-Out Academy, Gameful
Learning Summer Institute and Data Showcase, exchanging learning models, new
pedagogy and R&D practices with partners at other higher education
institutions.
The center has incorporated into its vision three values that will
guide its work: extend academic excellence, expand public purpose, and end
educational privilege.
The president described innovations like Gradecraft and Viewpoint,
which allow personalized learning and take into account students’ diverse
backgrounds and unique learning styles.
Many of U-M’s MOOCs allow learners to gain certification that can
bolster current work or lead to new career paths.
The hybrid design of a number of programs help remove barriers of
access for learners at different stages of life and in their careers, allowing
them to take courses online before coming to campus to finish their degrees, in
some cases.
DeVaney, who is also associate vice provost for academic innovation,
said the president’s investment will allow Academic Innovation to continue to
build upon the success of experimentation and the creation of a culture of
innovation.
“More than 200 faculty innovators, 100 student fellows and
dozens of like-minded institutions have already joined our team in a
multidimensional effort to reimagine higher education and the future of
learning,” DeVaney said.
“Now, with President Schlissel’s commitment to establish a
new center, we are able to support even more opportunities at the intersection
of academic excellence and public purpose and to engage new partners across a
nationwide academic innovation network in ending educational privilege.”
In the past two weeks, the center announced the partnership with
online platform FutureLearn and an extended reality initiative.
The United Kingdom-based FutureLearn partnership begins with the launch of three courses: Programming for Everybody: Getting Started with Python, Sleep Deprivation: Habits, Solutions and Strategies and Successful Negotiation: Essential Strategies and Skills.
The XR initiative recently announced by Provost Martin Philbert
seeks to advance the university’s work in extended reality — which encompasses
virtual, augmented and mixed reality technologies. A dedicated space for XR
exploration will be in the Duderstadt Center on North Campus.
This fall, the center launched the Academic Innovation at Michigan
Event Series for faculty and staff to explore issues at the intersections of
teaching and learning, technology, and diversity, equity and inclusion.
In addition, the first classes began for two online master’s
degrees — one in public health and the other in applied data science. The
latter, in the School of Information, has a robust enrollment of 150 students
representing 15 countries, including 9 percent underrepresented minorities
and two U.S. veterans. Applied data science is one of the fastest growing
careers, and demand is high for trained professionals.