It is now widely accepted that modern organizations need to digitalize to meet their business strategy and universities are no exception. The recent years show that universities and other higher education institutions have consistently been challenged in meeting student expectations and how to effectively deliver their teaching and meet both faculty and student expectations. By investing in online program development, universities can create a distinctive brand identity, maintain financial stability, further their reach, and achieve academic excellence.

Universities can reap various benefits by investing in online program development. Cloud-hosted courses enable students to access course material from anytime and anywhere, and also learn at their own pace, on a device of their choice. Here’s more on Online Learning Programs and Why Every Institution is Going Digital.

Faculty, too are spared the task of creating resources to support their teaching since the online courses can be linked to several external and internal resources, which students can use to advance their knowledge. Online assessment tools also simplify the assessment task, analyze learning outcomes, and provide feedback.

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Here are 10 reasons why every university must invest in online program development.

1. Work from Anywhere, And Anytime:  cloud-based learning management system (LMS), you can allow your students to learn anytime and from anywhere.
This is of particular advantage to students who have duties to balance with their studies. With authorized login credentials, students can log in to the courses and study at their own pace, as long as they meet the assignment and course completion dates.

2. Review Lectures: According to psychologist Jonathan Schooler from the University of California, in a classroom session of 45 minutes, students are likely to lose attention about 5 times, which means that they will miss out on vital points during a lecture.
However, now these lectures can be recorded and uploaded online, enabling students to rewind the audio and video files or read the transcripts that accompany the lecture, to fill in their knowledge gaps. Again, students unable to attend the lecture can catch up with the class. Here’s what we say about Online Education Solutions & the Changing Learning Landscape.

3. Better Classroom Participation: It is commonly observed that not many students are comfortable speaking in public or they have speech anxiety. The online environment is, on the other hand, less intimidating, which enables students to share their thoughts with others, and thus, participate proactively in the discussion

4. Leverage Digital Technology: Mobile learning technology is now ubiquitous, changing the way we work, socialize and learn. Students are today immersed in a digital culture that encompasses smartphones, tablets, and new virtual-reality platforms. Universities are therefore under great pressure to deliver mobile courses to attract new students and fulfill their academic goals.
Online program development helps to create a next-gen digital experience. Besides, by going digital, universities can also unify disparate campus resources and content and deliver through cloud-based technology and new innovative communications. Both faculty and staff benefit from streamlined workflows. Besides, they can also access just-in-time support.

Also Read: 9 Reasons for the Growth of eLearning in Education

5. Expand Geographical Reach: Advancements in technology have redefined paradigms and now instead of students coming to a campus, universities can reach students across geographical boundaries and scale their operations.
Using LMS, they can also convert their lessons into different languages, thus, expanding their reach. Commercial benefits apart, universities can also contribute to the social cause by using online media to reach rural areas where higher education is not easily accessible.

6. Take Education Outside the Bounds of the Classroom: With online courses, teaching is not just restricted to classroom interaction between the instructors and the students. The faculty can leverage a whole wealth of online resources to supplement their lessons.
Besides, online course development also includes features such as links to social media and internal and external communities. This gives both the students and teachers additional avenues for interaction and constructive debates. Thus, students are able to hone their critical thinking rather than simply assimilate information.

Here’s how to Make Future-proof Online Learning Programs and Courses.

7. Personalized Learning: With online courses, universities can personalize their courses in tandem with their audience. Besides, they can also promote student success by providing real-time contextual content, leveraging mobile learning, notifications, alerts and recommendations that help them achieve academic success. Here’s How to Create and Deliver the Best K-12 Learning Solutions

8. Easily Update Courses: Using an LMS, you can easily update your courses in tandem with evolving knowledge and technology. This ensures that your students are always up to date with the latest information and that as a university, you maintain competitive edge. Here are the Best Practices for Effective Online Course Development.

9. Save Costs: Online program development does have its share of initial costs, but the returns are higher in the long run. Students also save money by avoiding many kinds of fees typically associated with university campus-based education such as commuting costs, parking fees, hostel fees lab fees etc.

Besides, online courses are also time saving as students don’t have to travel to the campus every day. Here are 10 Tips to Select the Best Online Course Development Partner

10. Encourage Communication and Collaboration: With online course development, universities can support the learning style of each individual student. Online resources open up avenues for communication and collaboration through features such as video conferencing, web conferencing and collaboration, video capture and storage, social media and information sharing.

Students can learn through peer group learning and individual learning or learning by doing. This approach enables them to take ownership of their learning. Here’s a list of Top Online Learning Development and Delivery Tools  While traditional learning will never go away, universities can invest in online program development to improve the way they impart education. Online courses are designed using a host of digital technologies, which make them more immersive and engaging, and the knowledge gleaned more real-time and contextual.

Universities also save in terms of cost and can scale their operations beyond the boundaries of their campuses.  One of the challenges that students generally face in the classroom is that they find it difficult to talk to the professor at the end of the period. Here’s more on the Importance of Digital Curriculum Development in Higher Education.

Online courses open up several new ways to collaborate and communicate, not just with peers but also with professors. For example, students can post their queries and the professors can hop online even at night and answer them. Online courses, thus, take learning to a new level, enabling universities to fulfil their academic goals, build their distinctive brand identity and achieve financial stability.

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