The obstacle can be the way: Leadership lessons learned through the COVID-19 crisis and beyond

The COVID-19 pandemic brought about unprecedented accelerated change in higher education and called for widespread agility, compassion, exploration, and flexibility at many of our institutions.  The challenges that our institutions have faced in the past 18 months (and continue to face) are well-documented, and leaders are being called upon to innovate and implement creative solutions to solve complex problems.  In this session, we invite you to join administrators (Chief Academic Officer, Chief Operation Officer, Vice President, Dean) with diverse roles from different institutions as they reflect on key online education leadership challenges and lessons learned due to the impact of COVID-19.  Assessment information, research data, and national trends will be shared throughout the session.  Although these lessons were particularly applicable during the pandemic, they remain relevant going forward for anyone working in higher education.

Challenges addressed (and lessons learned) by the presenters will include the following:

• At an unparalleled pace, how our institutions (and leaders) coordinated and developed the building of efficient, robust, and sustainable online learning infrastructures that provided students and faculty simple and centralized access to each institution’s remote education offerings. 
• How we optimized resources such as budget, technology, and personnel at a time when resources were dramatically limited. 
• Strategies for purposefully addressing the personal health, safety, and wellbeing of our students, faculty, and staff during a crisis.
• Ways in which we collaborated and managed relationships with a range of audiences, including faculty, staff, administrators, and external vendors to expedite initiation and smooth operation of online teaching and learning opportunities.
• Strategies for using technology to build community and foster engagement among online students, faculty, and staff.
• Finding ways to control what we can control on behalf of our students through policy updates, exceptions, and connection to resources within the student’s community.
• Ways to elevate the role of online faculty and their preparedness to effectively support and retain students during a crisis.
• Unique perspectives and varied lessons learned working remotely over the past year and current thinking about the future of work, i.e., how are each of our organizations thinking about the return to face-face to work, considering more flexible long term work models, etc.

Please join us for this engaging discussion as we share innovations, stories, and lessons learned!

Level of Participation

This session will be structured to be highly interactive and engaging.  After brief introductions, each presenter will share lessons learned, best practices, and key obstacles that were overcome at their respective institutions.  Attendees will be encouraged to ask questions and share their own expertise and experiences throughout the presentation.  Discussion and session takeaways will include critical questions and future considerations institutions should take heed as imperative to their evolution in a post pandemic world.  The presenters will be intentional to create time and space in this session for Q&A, as well as active discussion on how our lessons learned can inform evolving teaching, learning, and leadership.

Session Goals

Individuals attending this session will be able to:

1. Explain how senior online learning leaders re-examined key decision-making processes in order to enhance collaboration and outcomes for students, faculty, and staff.
2. Share strategies for utilizing technology to foster community and engagement in the online modality.
3. Learn about technology support solutions that resulted in positive outcomes for students and faculty.
4. Describe specific innovations and innovative ways of leading in the online environment during times of crisis.