Dr. Karen Bull is Hartman’s Education Industry Lead.
Karen is an accomplished and dynamic education executive with experience in designing and leading strategic, high-impact learning by leveraging digital technologies. With expertise in employee development, needs analysis and change management, Karen’s clients benefit from her extensive industry experience as well as her knowledge of current trends and best practices.
We sat down with Karen to get her take on top priorities and opportunities for educational institutions and organizations in 2023.
What is the biggest opportunity facing higher education organizations and institutions?
Colleges and universities are facing unprecedented challenges, including enrollment declines and rising costs. With the right IT strategy, higher education institutions can leverage advanced data analytics to curb enrollment drops and improve operational efficiency. Many schools already have the data they need to solve these issues but don’t know how to operationalize it in order to drive decision making.
How can institutions foster a partnership between IT and academic affairs to drive organizational success?
Often times, faculty and staff become frustrated with IT because they are viewed as a barrier to innovation. By establishing a goverance committee, academic affairs and IT can work together to create a process for faculty and staff to request new technology and software implementation, prioritize large scale projects, and identify a workload threshold for smaller projects that could be completed as IT has downtime. This ensures stakeholders’ needs are being met and that the institution does not waste money on technology solutions that get shelved or expire. Shifting perspectives and emphasizing IT as a strategic partner leading and supporting the institution’s organizational goals will reap long-term benefits for the organization, and most importantly, student learners.
What are the most important strategic priorities for education executives in 2023?
How can the public sector find and retain top talent to be able to deliver truly impactful services to residents? This has always been an issue but has been exacerbated by Covid-19.
What are the most important strategic priorities for government executives in 2023?
• Data-driven decision making and storytelling
• Cybersecurity
• Enrollment
• High-quality instruction that meets student demands
If you’re an education executive, reach out today to talk to Karen about these topics and what the future looks like for your organization. You can also learn more about Hartman’s IT leadership and consulting offerings for the education industry here.