November 30, 2021
Inside Higher Ed report spotlights Equitable Access and “The Doer Effect” among efforts to expand student supports & rethink instruction practices to support student success on college campuses
RALEIGH, NC –VitalSource® sponsored a new report released by Inside Higher Ed that examines how COVID-19 disruptions on college campuses may have affected student learning and explores strategies to help students get back on track in the wake of the pandemic.
“At VitalSource, we aren’t just interested in talking about the problems facing higher education students. We want to be part of the solution,” said Kent Freeman, CEO of VitalSource. “This Inside Higher Ed report confirms that, while there’s been a lot of discussion in K-12 circles about learning loss, there’s been much less discussion about the learning losses that are undoubtedly affecting postsecondary students just as significantly – this warrants serious attention.”
The Inside Higher Ed report, entitled “Back on Track: Helping Students Recover from COVID-19 Learning Disruption,” states that the ramifications of the COVID-19 pandemic on higher education students is difficult to quantify and has not been studied in-depth, but “it is clear that many students, particularly students of color and those from lower-income backgrounds, have been hit hard.”
Freeman continued, “This report is our way of pushing the issue and attempting to accelerate the national conversation on how we can better support higher education students, while also underscoring our company’s mission to deliver affordable, accessible learning experiences for ALL students.”
Click here to download “Back on Track: Helping Students Recover from COVID-19 Learning Disruption.”
The report spotlights several strategies underway at postsecondary institutions that are designed to help enhance support for students, remove barriers to learning, and encourage higher academic achievements. Notably, the report includes a case study on Equitable Access, a program underway at University of California, Davis that leverages VitalSource technology to help reduce inequity among students by eliminating textbook access issues while also ensuring costs are predictable for all undergraduate students. Learn more about Equitable Access here and the program’s 2021 IMS Learning Impact Award.
Additionally, Inside Higher Ed examines the rapid transition to digital learning tools during COVID, and assesses how the switch to remote instruction maybe permanently reshape how faculty embrace and leverage technology in the classroom – whether in-person or virtual. According to research from Every Learner Everywhere, adoption of digital courseware at two-year institutions increased from 29% in 2019 to 45% in 2021, and similar trends were also seen at four-year colleges.
The report also includes insights from VitalSource Director of Research and Development Dr. Benny Johnson, PhD, on ways digital courseware can support student learning. “Not only are faculty members able to track student data and progress, students have the opportunity to practice applying what they have learned in class or in remote self-study with low-stakes exercises, such as questions where students are asked to fill in the blanks,” the report states.
Sponsorship of the Inside Higher Ed report comes as part of VitalSource’s commitment to accelerating the student learning experience, investing in learning science research, and improving access to affordable course materials.
For more information about VitalSource’s Learning Science Research, click here. Information about VitalSource is available at get.vitalsource.com.
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About VitalSource
VitalSource Technologies, LLC is the leading education technology solutions provider committed to helping partners create, deliver, and distribute affordable, accessible, and impactful learning experiences worldwide. As a recognized innovator in the digital course materials market, VitalSource is best known for partnering with more than 1,000 publishers and resellers to deliver extraordinary learning experiences to millions of active users globally—and today we’re also powering new, cutting-edge technologies designed to optimize teaching and learning for maximum results. Learn more at https://get.vitalsource.com and follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram.