Universities stand as enduring institutions in society, contributing to the foundation of knowledge, personal growth, and the advancement of communities. Over the years, education has evolved from simple unidirectional learning approaches to dynamic, interactive, and output-based curriculums. Students, with their different backgrounds, profiles, and learning preferences, also face the ever-changing demands of the real world in terms of skills and learning expertise.
In such a dynamic and diverse learning environment, how can colleges and universities keep students engaged and adaptable to a new educational landscape?
For Mapúa University, celebrating its centennial year as an educational institution is all about leveling up the student life on campus. Through the leadership of President and CEO Dodjie Maestrecampo Ph.D., Mapúa University partners with edtech provider Anthology to enhance institutional activities and organizations while keeping students on top of their participation and engagement in campus events.
“We wanted to foster a sense of community and belonging within the university,” Dr. Maestrecampo says. “Blending academic and co-curricular activities is a big challenge, and we need a unified platform that can enhance communication and collaboration across the university.”
Problem with paperwork
Perhaps one of the biggest challenges in running a university is the amount of administrative paperwork and filings that need to be done. In addition to the academic records that must be tracked, administrators also are responsible for documenting and monitoring hundreds of affiliated school activities.
Enter Anthology Engage–a unifying platform that combines technology and personalization into an interactive interface that levels up the student experience.
“Our Student Affairs Office is managing around a hundred student organizations and all these groups are filing multiple activities at once,” Maestrecampo explains. “Since deploying Anthology Engage, we were able to streamline our processes better, making the filing, recording, and evaluations of student activities more efficient and less time-consuming.”
Tracking student participation
Apart from streamlining administrative paperwork and processes, Anthology Engage offers another feature: measuring how well students are participating in different activities and whether they are meeting their goals.
With so many student organizations and their abundance of activities throughout the school year, students could be inundated with notifications, potentially causing them to overlook crucial and pertinent announcements.
Anthology Engage streamlines information dissemination, event invitations, attendance tracking, and feedback collection. It also improves the management of student organizations because events and activities can be categorized based on their nature and objectives.
For example, engineering students who are attending an engineering seminar can easily be notified with events related to their field of study. Similarly, they can also explore other events and activities outside of their course since the platform has categories and interface that is easy to navigate and engage with.
“The platform’s event management capabilities increased our student participation in co-curricular activities,” Maestrecampo adds. “Its data-driven features allow for a more personalized educational experience, catering to the diverse needs of students. This aligns with the university’s goal of providing a holistic and inclusive educational journey, addressing both administrative efficiency and the qualitative aspects of student engagement and growth.”
Engaging beyond the campus
“Anthology Engage personalizes the student experience,” Maestrecampo says. “We recognize that achievements in both academic and extracurriculars are what creates an inclusive and vibrant educational environment. Platforms like this solidifies this sense of shared identity and values among the Mapúa community–which we celebrate on our 100th year.”
Mapua University is also eager to develop a smart campus, integrating the Internet of Things (IoT) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies to update the educational environment and improve campus life. New AI features in their learning management system, Blackboard Learn by Anthology, is helping further support efficiencies across campus.
“The partnership between Anthology and Mapua University, integrating Anthology Engage and Blackboard Learn, is pivotal in fostering a sense of community and belonging within the university. This collaboration forms a unified platform that blends academic and co-curricular activities, thereby enhancing communication and collaboration across the university.”
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