Austin, Texas (September 30, 2014) – One hundred university and college chancellors, presidents, provosts and other leaders recently gathered at UT Austin’s AT&T Executive Education and Conference Center for Civitas Learning’s 2ndPioneer Partner Summit. The Summit brings together representatives from a growing partner community of now more than 40 institutions and systems with 577 campuses serving more than 1.45 million students. Representatives from two and four-year, research-focused, access-committed, elite independent and private sector institutions were all in attendance. Leaders shared insights and ideas on using predictive analytics to power student success initiatives aimed at an array of outcomes from improving and expanding learning to increasing and accelerating degree completion.
Civitas Learning, the Austin-based predictive analytics innovator on a mission to help a million more students graduate every year by 2025, hosted the invitation-only event. Attendees were from a diverse array of partner institutions, including: University of Maryland University College, Rio Salado College, American Public University System, Nova Southeastern University, University of Texas at Austin, University of Arizona, Morehouse College, University of Arkansas System, Penn State University, Montgomery County Community College, Valencia College, DeVry University, Jacksonville State University, Los Rios Community College District, Austin Community College, Aliat Universidades, University of Louisiana at Lafayette, University of South Florida, Seton Hill University and many more.
Opening the Summit from the University of Texas at Austin, Julie Schell, director of the OnRamps program in the Center for Teaching and Learning, said, “As you trace innovations throughout our field’s history, our institutions have seen and implemented breakthrough improvement, especially in terms of access. Now we’re all working to ensure that improved access to higher education results in deeper learning and degree completion.”
“Making sense of college and university data – and using it in impactful ways to increase student success – is often difficult but vital work,” said Dr. Mark Milliron, Civitas Learning’s chief learning officer and co-founder. “These institutions are such compelling examples of making the most of data. They not only use it for reporting or accreditation, but they also bring insight from advanced analytics right to students, faculty and advisors in ways that inform and inspire important choices on learning journeys.”
Summit attendees shared early successes and learnings, held conversations to help shape Civitas Learning apps, and dove deep into the kinds of data science strategies that would help them return to their campuses with new fuel to power their own programs and initiatives more successfully. They also were treated to the release of Hoot.Me, a student-focused app that connects student communities to answer questions, increase engagement and help faculty understand where students are struggling. As part of the growing suite of apps that are powered by and inform the Civitas Learning platform– from theIllume™ insights in student pathways platform for institutional leaders, researchers, and planners; to the engaging Degree Map™ course and major planning apps for advisors and students; to the Inspire™ apps that help guide and inform outreach among faculty, advisors, administrators and students– Hoot.Me promises to continue the work of this growing Civitas Learning partner community to bring greater engagement and better data to the frontlines of learning.
“Working with Civitas has been a catalyst at University of Maryland University College (UMCU) for aligning teams, asking hard questions, and trying and testing student success strategies,” said Darren Catalano, vice president of Analytics. “The results have created a culture where we are working together with the understanding that data and predictions are not silver bullets. They can, however, help guide our policy and practice work and successfully support the work of advisors, faculty, and students.”
