This content was previously published by Blackboard, now part of Anthology. Product and/or solution names may have changed.

You may know BbWorld as one of the largest EdTech conferences in the world, but it’s so much more than that. We’re assembling educational leaders from all corners of the globe to network, share best practices, and discuss the future of education, including a focus on the key challenges facing higher education today like student support, engagement, and retention. In fact, we have entire learning themes dedicated to these areas, filled with great content from institutional and industry leaders.

Across these student success-focused themes, you’ll hear how one university completely shifted their first-year orientation experience online and another developed a targeted messaging strategy to remove barriers to student success. Discover how to use storytelling with data to create interventions that impact organizational change and hear first-hand from students on the “best and worst” of remote learning during the pandemic and what they expect going forward, plus much more.

If you’re an academic leader focused on growing enrollment and improving the student experience, here are a few sessions you won’t want to miss:

Taking Control of Your Online Future: Leaders in Online Education Share Lessons from the Journey | Wednesday, July 14 at 1:50pm EDT

While the pandemic caused a sudden pivot to remote learning, developing sustainable online programs is a journey that takes careful planning and strategy—and a journey worth pursuing to better serve students, remain competitive in the market, and open opportunities for new revenue streams. Research from the CHLOE report indicates that 86% of Chief Online Officers in higher education report the pandemic has elevated the priority of online learning programs at their institutions, with 68% believing this will lead to an expansion of permanent online degree programs. In this session, we’ll hear from a panel of leading institutions, including Baylor University, University of Texas El Paso, and USC Price, as they share insights from their journeys in developing online programs. Learn how they planned and executed along the path to online growth, overcame obstacles, ended relationships with higher education OPM companies, developed strategies to better serve their diverse populations, and more. From shifting partnership strategies to setting the stage for future growth, you'll walk away from this session with a better understanding of how to take control of your online future.

Driving Effective Enrollment Support for Learners Over 25 in a National Enrollment Decline | Wednesday, July 14 at 9:40am EDT

Adults over 25 account for over 33% of students enrolled in postsecondary schools in the U.S., making it critical for higher education to engage in effective enrollment strategies for this growing population. Adult learners often balance families and careers along with school. This diverse group of learners is selective, practical, and results-oriented, demanding flexibility and convenience from their academic institutions in the same way they expect it from companies like Amazon. First-time students over 25 face unique obstacles as they navigate Financial Aid, program selection, and outcome objectives—often without a person with higher education experience available to guide them through the process. All these factors set up potential hurdles towards active registration. Now a year and a half into the pandemic, adult learners continue to feel the impact on employment stability, family care needs, and overall decision making. Proper guidance is critical towards navigating a successful enrollment effort.

To overcome the challenges of recruiting these non-traditional students, Kentucky Community & Technical College System partnered with Blackboard to reinvent the student experience with a virtual support model. Learn how KCTCS increased adult application conversion rates and provides a positive student experience at scale. 

Remove Barriers and Improve Student Outcomes: An Analysis of Student & Institutional Perspectives | Wednesday, July 14 at 12:10 pm EDT

What the world experienced due to COVID-19 presented an ecosystem of challenges—but it also brought new opportunities for higher education—including opening a channel for virtual support that didn’t exist for many before the pandemic. To better understand this opportunity, we need to look at both the student and institutional perspective on student support services. This session will explore two studies offering differing perspectives on student support: Blackboard’s survey of a diverse population of over 2,100 students and Tyton Partner’s longitudinal survey—Driving Toward a Degree (D2D), funded by the Gates Foundation—that targeted institutional stakeholders. These two complementary studies provide compelling and actionable insights that highlight the value of financial aid, advising, and mental health support on students’ ability to persist. Explore the commonalities and discrepancies between these two perspectives to understand lessons-learned from the pandemic and identify areas where support services can remove barriers and improve student outcomes.

Check out these sessions and the many more as part of the Recruiting & Retaining Learners and Optimizing the Student Experience themes at BbWorld21. This year, BbWorld is completely online and free to join, so register today to experience the future of learning!

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