It seems kind of obvious, especially since COVID, that using Technology as a means to provide timely and relevant information would be listed as an essential principle for effectively serving adult and non-traditional learners.  VWCC and other institutions of higher learning continue to adapt to this new environment.  Faculty development courses assist with online instruction. The web page offers a student readiness survey to assesses online learning skills.  An online student orientation course is available to support student success in the online environment.  Faculty and staff use software such as Navigate and Single Stop to ensure students receive holistic services necessary to promote retention and academic success.  The Hall Associates Career Center has a full range of online services available 24/7 to students and alumni and offers access to College Central to help students connect with employers.  All of these are wonderful, valuable resources, but the great thing about technology is that as it expands so do the possibilities.

In his article When IT No Longer Remains Anonymous- For All the Right Reasons, Southern New Hampshire University president Paul LeBlanc breaks down technology into three categories:

• Technology that allows us to do what we have been doing, but do it better
• Technology that allows us to do what we have been doing, but do it less expensively
• Technology that allows us to reinvent what we do

Which of these categories does VWCC fit in?  Where do we want to fit?  Do we want to keep offering the same things just in an updated format?  Do we want to offer the same things just more economically? Do we want to be innovative and reimagine who and how we can serve more effectively?  Our answers to these questions will help determine the future of this institution.  New technologies are appearing every day. Our student body has increasingly limited time and resources and a need for alternative learning times and formats.  Can technology help determine our trajectory, or will we use it as a means to support what we’re already doing?

Here’s another great article on four waves of technology linked to access and success. Catching the Waves: Technology and the Community College.