The Value of Thought Partnership

Education Technology Associates (ETA) and their unique student engagement & retention solution, Connected Campus, has received recent national recognition for Innovation and Thought Leadership in Higher Education.

At the exclusive invitation of Washington D.C.-based Education Design Lab, ETA participated in a prototyping and design session on the future of online and competency-based education during the week of June 27 in San Francisco at the Michelson Runway in the headquarters of Twitter. Other participants included long established educational technology providers such as Civitas Learning, Fidelis Education, Coursera and TargetX.

Named by Education Design Lab as a Thought Partner, the collaboration between ETA and the Lab adds to the growing industry recognition of ETA and its product Connected Campus.

“It is great to receive such affirmation and be included alongside recognized industry leaders”, says Kevin Hesler, COO of ETA. “We are a young company but we bring decades of education and software experience to Higher Ed.  Our Connected Campus solution is positioned uniquely, positively impacting the student retention objectives of our partner schools”.

The Prototyping Session, led by the Lab in partnership with Western Governors University, brought together thought leaders to innovate ways to use technology to maintain and improve student engagement where traditional classroom learning has been replaced with competency-based learning.

"Connected Campus was built on the premise that smart, student-facing technology can guide students to stay focused academically while providing meaningful social connections, peer-mentoring opportunities and access to critical resources," says Product Manager Mel Roberts. An immersive virtual campus solution which combines engagement software and integrated advising services, Connected Campus is a cloud-hosted Software-as-a-Service platform that implements quickly and produces exceptional return on investment for each school.

Education Technology Associates was founded in 2015 with the express purpose of transforming impaired student engagement and student retention in Higher Education.  With offices in Carmel, IN and Boca Raton, FL, ETA brings together industry veterans, education thought-leaders, and passionate solution architects, whose past experiences in serving 21^st century students have shaped its commitment and approach to product delivery. For more information on ETA or Connected Campus, contact Mark Chyba at mark.chyba@edtechassociates.com.

Education Design Lab is a Washington D.C.-based firm that uses design thinking to design, test, and implement new education models. Founded by Kathleen deLaski, the Lab helps universities and other interested parties innovate in ways that prepare students for the professional workforce. Kathleen is also the president of The deLaski Family Foundation, a leading Washington area grant-maker in education and the arts. For more information on Education Design Lab, contact the Lab at labinfo@eddesignlab.org. 

Go Beyond the Typical Student Experience with Connected Campus

Education Technology Associates Launches Unique Student Engagement Solution

April 13, 2016

Education Technology Associates (ETA) has announced the release of their unique student engagement and retention solution, Connected Campus. With technology interwoven into our daily lives, the physical campus is no longer sufficient to support and guide the student; a digital campus experience is now a necessary part of the equation. Connected Campus is an immersive virtual campus solution, combining engagement software and integrated digital advising services. Licensed by higher education institutions, Connected Campus provides a cohesive, consolidated interface between the school, its resources, and today's student. Licensed by higher education institutions, Connected Campus provides a cohesive, consolidated interface between the school, its resources, and today's millennial and post-traditional students.       

Distressing statistics about the state of higher education in the U.S. brought Campus Management Corporation founder and former CEO, David Meek, back into the education software industry.  After evaluating the reasons for why ‘most colleges and universities are unable to graduate more than 50% of incoming first year students (ACT Institutional Data File, 2014)’, David knew the time was right for ETA.

  

“I couldn’t stay away,” says David.  “The country is falling behind globally; institutions are losing millions of dollars to attrition; and too many students are wasting time and money with no realized outcome.  When applied smartly, technology can provide a winning solution to all stakeholders – the student, the school, and the country.”

Partnering with Kevin Hesler, former CIO of Harrison College, ETA was launched to aggressively pursue a solution to unify the varied and disjointed technology offerings of an institution.  Bringing together a team of passionate professionals, all with a background in education, ETA developed Connected Campus to directly and positively impact the major causes of student attrition.

Connected Campus combines engagement software and integrated digital advising services while acting as the single student interface to the school and its resources.  Features are organized into three pillars making navigation of the site intuitive. The three pillars, named to convey physical spaces, include:  the Courtyard, the Academic Hall, and the Resource Center.

The Courtyard creates a vibrant community of social connections. Inspired by modern collaboration tools such as Slack, topic-based channels of academic subjects and common interests house discussions between students, faculty, and staff.  The Courtyard creates opportunities for peer and staff mentoring while weaving the student into the fabric of the school community.  In addition to group discussions, direct message capabilities allow one on one conversations to occur.

 

 The Academic Hall directs the student to actively manage both academic and administrative tasks.  The internal “persistence engine” intelligently organizes and personalizes relevant institutional data to advise the student to take action when it is most needed, extending across academic, administrative, and enrichment activities.  The Academic Hall also takes on the role of advisor, serving as a digital workflow monitor to ensure the student maintains momentum throughout the rigors of the term. 

The Resource Center is a repository of comprehensive key resources. It consolidates school directories, FAQs, and documentation into a single location to minimize time spent searching and seeking help, always meeting the need of the student at the right time.

Connected Campus is a cloud-hosted desktop & mobile Software-as-a-Service solution, configured to match the unique persona of each school.  It is priced as an annual subscription fee that varies by enrollment volume. It integrates with today’s leading SIS and LMS platforms to create a unified, comprehensive, consistent student-facing experience. 

      

Education Technology Associates has offices in Carmel, IN and Boca Raton, FL, bringing together industry veterans, education thought-leaders, and passionate solution architects, whose past experiences in serving 21^st century students have shaped its commitment and approach to product delivery. For more information on ETA or Connected Campus, visit ETA’s website or contact Mark Chyba at mark.chyba@edtechassociates.com.