The “Future of Higher Education” Launch Forum on April 3 was a success with more than 80 faculty and staff members in attendance. The large majority of the respondents agreed or strongly agreed that the event:

• contributed toward a campus culture of communication and collaboration
• constructively provided ideas and perspectives to the university’s strategic planning committees
• shared out-of-the box creativity-sparking methods that could be applied to work and life
• inspired a different kind of professional development and growth among participants

Event Coordinators’ Next Steps

• The Data – The day after the Launch Forum we processed the data. Vice Provost Chris White, Sarah Pariseau from Graduate Academic Affairs, and Megan Mozina from Student Access, Success, & Diversity Initiatives went through every sticky note, separated the “signals” from the “trends,” and categorized the signals into thematic groupings. These thematic groupings will inform future activities, analysis, and strategic planning. View the results of the “signal smash-ups.” Additional photos of the Launch Forum event are here.

• Google Group – We created a listserv group for those who are interested in this topic. Click here to join, or sign in to Google Groups with your Illinois Tech account and search for “Future of Higher Ed Interest Group.”
• Next Forums – Since this is an evolving, exploratory process, we waited until after the Launch Forum to determine the direction of subsequent forums. Each will feature a different approach to help us think strategically, creatively, and revolutionarily about the future of higher education.

Your Next Steps

• Evaluation – We appreciate all those who completed evaluations at the end of the event. If you did not complete one or if you have additional anonymous feedback to provide, please complete this short online evaluation.
• Attend the Next Forum – Whether or not you attended the first forum, we hope you will join us at the second on Wednesday, April 25 from 12:15–1:45 p.m. in Hermann Hall Expo. What we did in Forum #1 complements but is not a prerequisite for the process we will use in Forum #2. You are encouraged to bring your lunch to this Brown Bag event; beverages and desserts will be provided. Planning to attend? Express interest here. 

The Launch Forum was just the beginning. We look forward to continuing this journey with the Illinois Tech community. 

In collaboration,

“Future of Higher Ed” Lead Exploration Team

Britt Burton Freeman
Chris White
Frank Lane
Jacqueline Anderson
Liz Friedman
Megan Mozina
Renee Albrecht-Mallinger
Sarah Pariseau

This “Future of Higher Education” forum series is co-sponsored by Academic Affairs, the Staff Advisory Council, and the University Faculty Council.

Contact Megan Mozina (mmozina@iit.edu) with questions.