Rice digital enters new stage of development | Rice News | News and Media Relations

Digital discovering at Rice University is entering a new section, underpinned by an improved aim on improvement and innovation.

As electronic and world wide initiatives at Rice have developed by the several years, so has the need for far more concentrated interest and means to assistance equally. To make this shift possible, Rice has break up the two workplaces and will before long announce a new associate provost for electronic discovering and approach, who will acquire and guide an institutionwide strategy for improving online education and learning and electronic innovation in the classroom.

Vice President for International Caroline Levander, who previously led electronic and world-wide approach at Rice, will go on to oversee the world-wide tactic as Rice World expands to deliver unmatched discovering and exploration chances to Rice pupils and school in the United States and overseas. This consists of the Rice World-wide Paris Center, which a short while ago concluded its inaugural summertime series of events, and primary the advancement of a comprehensive world-wide method that will involve Paris, India and locations in Latin America.

Levander has led Rice’s electronic and on-line technique for more than a ten years, and her function to develop and direct the workforce at Rice On the web Finding out has been instrumental to the university’s progress in this space.

“Caroline and the substantial-doing Rice Online Understanding team is identified industrywide for its excellence,” claimed Provost Amy Dittmar, who Rice World and Digital Discovering report to. “They have exhibited a solid dedication to operating hand in hand with school to create productive classes and degrees, and their help will be pivotal to the advancement ahead.”

Above this period of time of time, Rice digital has delivered 4 productive in-dwelling levels and an on the internet summer college. More than 60 online classes were developed and have educated extra than 4 million people today.

“We ended up an early adopter of some very eye-catching platforms, and that has positioned Rice really well as a chief in the purpose of electronic for higher education campuses,” Levander stated. “I’m really proud of the track record we’ve developed for Rice. We’re a compact college, and it’s so simple to get disregarded, but I’ve taken it as a precedence to get out there and make Rice subject.”

Levander’s work with the School Senate was integral in shaping Rice’s electronic instruction policy, which assisted guideline the university through the COVID-19 pandemic and to situation the college to make hugely-ranked on the internet levels.

“The Rice On the internet Studying staff ended up all palms on deck, and the plan truly guided us in quite speedy-paced conclusion building,” she reported. “The team formulated a collection of on-line modules on how to choose a confront-to-experience course and generate a higher-high quality on-line edition of it pretty quickly.”

For the duration of her tenure as vice president for digital, Levander was the key investigator (PI) on awarded grants from the Arnold Basis, Klinsky Basis and Rockefeller Foundation for digital transformation assignments. She was also the co-PI for a $1.9 million grant from the ​​Institute of Museum and Library Companies, in collaboration with Maryland Institute for Know-how in the Humanities, to create a transnational digital on the internet archive — Our Americas Archive Partnership. Her creating and talking concerning electronic training in venues which includes Inside Greater Ed, the Aspen Institute, ASU+GSV, Periods Increased Ed and the EdX World wide Discussion board helped spot Rice at the heart of the dialogue about digital innovation.

“What Caroline did for Rice was make it recognized in the digital place. I believe she really brought Rice to prominence in that location,” mentioned John Mitchell, a professor of laptop sciences at Stanford University who labored intently with Levander on many initiatives involving electronic training by means of the a long time. “She asks individuals concerns. She’s always probing for solutions. She’s very fantastic at connecting folks, leading a dialogue and having men and women to put their feelings alongside one another.”

Dittmar reported she is assured the up coming leader of Rice’s digital initiative will be inheriting a terrific group at an institution that is aware of that it can produce really large-high quality degrees and classes online, many thanks to the insights and perseverance of Levander.

“In retaining with higher schooling developments and setting up on learnings from remote educating throughout the pandemic, Rice has evolved significantly,” Dittmar said. “The use of electronic systems to greatly enhance studying in the classroom, as well as to arrive at extra college students through on the web and hybrid systems, improves the educational mission for present and foreseeable future Rice learners.”