Cave Hill Wins International Award for Digital Transformation

Cave Hill gained global recognition for excellence in its IT developments when a leading higher education technology solutions provider presented the campus with a 2021 Ellucian Impact Award.

The campus was honoured by Ellucian for its laudatory use of technologybased solutions and its successful digital transformation initiatives that enabled it to adequately support students during the COVID-19 pandemic. The campus’s top prize included a US$25,000 grant.

The announcement was made during Ellucian Live, the industry’s annual top global technology conference held last April. The Ellucian Impact Awards celebrate visionaries who are inspiring others to push the boundaries of higher education technology and innovation.

Last April, Ellucian recognised six institutions that represent excellence across the categories of student well-being, innovation and digital transformation. Cave Hill Campus won in the digital transformation category.

Other winners included Community College of Baltimore County, University of Southampton (United Kingdom), Ajman University, University of Hartford and New Jersey Institute of Technology.

“It has been inspiring to see how these Ellucian customers are using technology to operate more efficiently, overcome challenges and offer a unique student experience. [The] Impact Award winners truly exemplify what it means to be a transformational, digitally focused and student-centred institution. I’m honored to recognize them for their remarkable efforts and look forward to continued partnership in navigating the future together,” said Laura Ipsen, President and Chief Executive Officer of Ellucian.

“At Cave Hill, we strive to ensure a holistic student experience, and so, student centredness lies at the heart of all that we do to support our students on their academic journey, inclusive of their co-curricular activities and the provision of services for them,” then Campus Principal, Professor Eudine Barriteau, said in acknowledging the award.

“We are aware of the significant role that technology can play in optimising the student experience, so we have embarked on a journey to incorporate technology-driven solutions into every facet of our campus operations. Technology also allows us to be agile enough to meet the development needs of the region in terms of research and programme offerings, as well as enhance access to university education in our region which has one of the lowest ratios of university graduates in the workforce in the western hemisphere.” Aiming to revolutionise its delivery of educational and other services, The UWI, Cave Hill launched its Smart Campus Initiative (SCI) in 2017, seeking to integrate information and communications technology into all aspects of its higher education provisions and related operations.

The university made this strategic investment to enhance the student experience, in addition to providing anytime/anywhere access to services; engaging in data-informed decision making; and increasing both revenue and cost savings. As a result, the university was able to pivot quickly to support its students when the COVID-19 pandemic impacted the island. Student-experience, focused efforts included: working with local internet providers to offer “zerorated” access to students; providing students with laptops and tablets to continue learning uninterrupted; offering its first-ever online new student orientation, which was received favourably by students and which saved the university over US$35,000 at a time when the economy was declining due to falling tourism; integrating apps to track student movement against the spread of COVID-19 (at the time the award application was submitted, the university had no reported COVID cases on campus); offering online services like psychological and career counselling, health insurance support, and disability services; and providing students with an online student success hub to teach study skills and prepare them for academic success. l