| | March - 20198By Sidney Fernandes, System Vice President and CIO, University of South FloridaSprinting towards Digital Transformation in Higher EducationWhy has digital transfomation dominated the higher education conversation recently? Can it truly work in the complex ecosystem that is higher education or will it soon be another tired, failed hashtag that will be replaced by a shinier one in the future? Without a clear pathway and execution strategy many organizations will feel the pain of the latter.Why Digital Transformation It is now universally acknowledged that higher education is in the midst of an unprecedented change. These swift moving changes are due to multiple factors: significant changes in the consumer profile; perceived value of higher education to its consumers; power and choices for consumers rapidly cross the traditional boundaries of geography, age and income.Institutions of higher education have begun to understand this change. They are looking to orient their institutionsby taking advantage of the changing landscape and finding themselves new opportunities that will radically transform how they deliver their product to this new group of consumers. Who is this new consumer?According to a report from the National Center for Education and Statistics, the profile of the higher education consumer is changing rapidly. While the traditional 18-24 year old enrollment is projected to grow at 10 percent between 2010 and 2021, the enrollment growth is projected to increase by 20 percent for the 25-34 year-olds and 25 percent for those 35 and older. This varied demographic means that higher education institutions will have to create and deliver products for both Generation Z who will comprise the traditional college age IN MY OPINION
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