Sandburg College Tops in Digital Education
Published: October 25, 2012
Related to: West Central eTeam
GALESBURG, IL - Carl Sandburg College has been named the national champion in the small colleges category of the eighth annual Digital Community Colleges Survey by e.Republic’s Center for Digital Education.
This is the sixth year in a row Sandburg has been named one of the top 10 colleges in its category, which includes schools with less than 5,000 students.
“Carl Sandburg College is thrilled to be recognized as the No. 1 community college in our category for the entire United States. It is truly an honor,” President Dr. Lori Sundberg said. “The kudos for this award goes directly to our outstanding Information Technology Department and our Vice President of Administrative Services and CIO, Samuel Sudhakar.”
Sandburg also received the highest ranking of four Illinois community colleges that were named as winners. Spoon River College placed eighth in the small colleges category, Lake Land College was ninth in the mid-sized colleges category (5,000-10,000 students) and Moraine Valley Community College was ninth among large colleges (10,000 students or more).
"We are obviously proud of the honor of being No. 1 in technology in the nation,” Sudhakar said. “It is gratifying to see that the technologies we have rolled out, that focus on student engagement and success as well as operational efficiency and accountability at Carl Sandburg College have been recognized by the Center for Digital Education.“
Colleges from 26 states participated in the survey, which documents advances made by community colleges in utilizing information technology and recognizes which colleges are providing a high level of service to their faculty, students and communities as a result. Survey questions and criteria examined and scored areas of digital and emerging technologies, such as use of mobile devices and technology integration into curriculum; strategic planning and data management; and delivery models and professional development, including availability of technology tools and training for faculty and students. Colleges were also surveyed on their technology priorities, shared services and cloud computing; infrastructure and networks; and outreach and workforce development.
“This survey gives great insight into the nation’s community colleges’ efforts to advance services to students through new technologies,” said Cathilea Robinett, executive vice president of e.Republic. “The winners in these categories have increased the number of computers and kiosks, automated labor-intensive processes, improved student portals and increased student online services and more.”
The Center for Digital Education is a national research and advisory institute specializing in K-12 and higher education technology trends, policy and funding. The CDE is a division of e.Republic, a national publishing, event and research company focused on smart media for public sector innovation.
(Read the full article here.)