TALKING

We are moving into an era of a six-decade-long learning cycle as opposed to four years .

Dr . Judy Olian , President , Quinnipiac University , said : “ We are moving into an era of a six-decade-long learning cycle as opposed to four years . At Quinnipiac , students range in age from 19 – 68 and online learning was the norm even pre-pandemic . For us to think that people have to come in physically to do these things is just dreaming .”

Olian was one of four panelists on US News and World Report ’ s recent webinar , ‘ How Virtual Learning is Enabling Lifelong Skill-Building ’. Panelists from top online universities – Quinnipiac , University of Florida and California Virtual Campus – offered best practices for transitioning campuses from a four-year model to a lifelong learning model .

FIVE BEST PRACTICES FOR TRANSITIONING TO A LIFELONG LEARNING MODEL :

Rethink the traditional student

Partner with employers for upskilling

Career readiness doesn ’ t just apply to an undergrad ’ s first job , it also includes adult learners upskilling and reskilling to compete in an ever-changing market .

Olian urged institutions to reach outside the walls of higher education to determine what the labor market ’ s learning demands are . “ Look outwards instead of inwards to define course and certificate offerings ,” she said .

Panelists offered examples of how their institutions are partnering with employers to reskill and upskill the workforce :

• Quinnipiac University ’ s new partnership with Hartford HealthCare builds college-to-career pipelines and encourages lifelong learning for current employees .

• University of Florida ’ s new partnership with Amazon covers tuition and fees for one of 25 UF bachelor ’ s degrees via UF Online .

• California Virtual Campus developed 80 fully online Career and Technical Education ( CTE ) programs .

The university experience is no longer reserved for the four-year residential student . Learners of all ages , stages and locations need continual skill-building to navigate a modern workplace . Online learning – for both on- and off-campus students – enables that .

Marina Aminy , Executive Director of California Virtual Campus , said online learning helped her institution expand its reach exponentially . Its innovative CVC exchange , powered by Canvas LMS , is a crossenrollment tool allowing California Community College students to enroll on any online course at another campus .

“ It takes students from having 1 – 2 choices for courses to having 100,000 ,” said Aminy .

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