THE HIGHER ED REDESIGN INITIATIVE des HiED thinking ign design thinking for higher education innovation 2013-2014 Pilot Program Summary June 5th, 2014 Higher Ed Redesign Initiative 2 About Higher Ed Redesign Initiative Timeline & Events Acknowledgments Project Partners Planning Team Design Associates & Teams 2013-2014 Workshops Summary Contents Facilitation of the October 2013, January & March 2014 design thinking workshops and development of this report was by Design Thinking @ College of Design: Virajita Singh Senior Research Fellow, Adjunct Assistant Professor, College of Design Gauri Kelkar Graduate Research Assistant, Design Thinking @ College of Design Kamana Dhakhwa Graduate Research Assistant, Design Thinking @ College of Design 03 04 05 06 07 08 11 Higher Ed Redesign Initiative 3 About Higher Ed Redesign Initiative In his January 2012 State of the Union Address, President Barack Obama suggested that college and universities must be more nimble and cost effective in preparing a diverse, knowledge-driven society for work and civic participation. The president’s remarks echo the sentiments of many others who have asserted that transformational change is necessary in the United States to ensure high quality, accessible, and affordable higher education for future generations. Employing Design Thinking to Create the Future of Higher Education in the U.S. In this spirit, the Jandris Center for Innovative Higher Education in the University of Minnesota’s College of Education and Human Development (CEHD), the Midwestern Higher Education Compact (MHEC), and the University of Minnesota’s College of Design (CDes) collaborated in a Higher Ed Redesign Initiative to transform higher education to better meet the needs of citizens, states, and society. The project was informed by “design thinking for social innovation,” wherein design principles and tools were used to address complex problems. Students and families were defined as primary users; college and university faculty and administrators were considered secondary users while policymakers, employers, and members of the broader community were considered tertiary users. This project was inspired by the Associates Program that was convened by the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education between 2000 and 2011. Design Associates were selected from emerging and established leaders across public and private sectors including policymakers, researchers, designers, instructors, artists, policy analysts, business leaders, foundation officers, and advocates, with the goal of facilitating transformational change in higher education. A kick-off event in October 2012, hosted at the University of Minnesota helped to identify interest and test ideas of prototype design action with local participants. What is The Pilot Program? In 2013-2014 the Design Associates Program brought together a cohort of participants to address a specific design challenge by meeting over three weekends (October 11-13 in 2013, January 24-26, and March 28-30 in 2014). Consistent with the design thinking approach, Design Associates engaged in a co-creative process--together with students and other higher education users to create new delivery and service models as well as innovative solutions, actionable plans, and prototypes aimed to improve educational outcomes and address persistent challenges in higher education. Intended Outcomes Development of innovative strategies to address persistent problems in higher education: new prototypes for experimentation and testing in state-wide contexts A national shift to position students and families as the salient stakeholders in redesigning a system of higher education in the U.S. Cultural change in challenging higher education leaders and policymakers to think creatively about persistent problems in higher education from a user’s perspective Expanded toolbox: Associates and users will learn the design process that they can incorporate into their own institutions/ systems Opportunities for engaged research, teaching and practice around design thinking in higher education Higher Ed Redesign Initiative 4 Timeline & Events Higher Ed Redesign Initiative 5 Acknowledgments This project was made possible by funding and in-kind contributions by the Midwestern Higher Education Compact, University of Minnesota’s College of Education and Human Development, and the College of Design. We believe this effort is the beginning of many cross-sector collaborations and outcomes in higher education innovation in our region. We would like to thank our Planning Team and Design Associates for their participation and contributions. We would also like to thank our interviewees, guest reviewers and guest speakers listed below for their contribution. Linda Baer, Senior Program Consultant, i4Solutions Bridget Burns, Fellow, American Council on Education Kristin Coffman, Business Manager, MHEC Tane Danger, Co-Founder, Host, & Director, Theater of Public Policy (t2p2), Twin Cities David Ernst, Chief Information Officer, College of Education & Human Development, UMN Tom Fisher, Dean, College of Design, UMN Karen Hanson, Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs & Provost, UMN Ellie Hino, Theater of Public Policy (t2p2), Twin Cities Aaron Horn, Associate Director for Policy Research, Midwestern Higher Education Compact (MHEC) Larry Isaak, President, MHEC Ruth Isaak, Senior Director, Office of CEO Alumni Relations, UMN Damian Johnson, Theater of Public Policy (t2p2), Twin Cities Katie Nelson, User Experience Analyst, Best Buy Toby Nord, Professional Director Carlson Ventures Enterprise, Carlson School of Management, UMN Jeff Ochs, Social Entrepreneur Marcus Pope, Director of Partnerships & External Relations, Youthprise Jean Quam, Dean College of Education & Human Development, UMN Nancy Sims, Copyright Librarian, UMN Rajiv Tandon, Education Entrepreneur Steve Wellvang, Co-founder, Educelerate, Twin Cities Higher Ed Redesign Initiative 6 Project Partners Midwestern Higher Education Compact (MHEC) MHEC is a Minneapolis-based non-profit organization that works with policymakers, researchers, and practitioners in a 12-state region to advance opportunity, affordability, productivity, and connectivity in higher education. The organization is committed to supporting alliances among institutions, systems and consortia throughout the Midwest region to achieve practical and mutually beneficial outcomes for higher education. The commission’s goal is to encourage the development of strategies that will enable these groups to form “alliances of alliances” to accomplish advantageous outcomes that cannot be fully realized through independent efforts. The programs initiated through the Midwestern compact have served higher education, and the Commission believes that they will continue to do so, especially given the substantial challenges of change that face our colleges and universities. www.mhec.org/ twitter.com/mhec12 www.facebook.com/mhec12 Jandris Center for Innovative Higher Education, CEHD, Department of Organizational Leadership, Policy and Development (OLPD) J CENTER at the University of Minnesota strives to create an imaginative, dynamic community committed to addressing the most pressing problems facing higher education and society. In doing so, the Center brings together people and groups—locally, nationally, and internationally—to critique and redesign postsecondary policies and practices to meet the needs of a changing world. It focuses on three areas within higher ed based on our unique areas of expertise, acting as the moderators, facilitators, and organizers: Leading Change; Civic Engagement and Teaching & Learning. z.umn.edu/jcenter twitter.com/JCenterUMN www.facebook.com/JCenterUMN Design Thinking @ College of Design Design Thinking is an emerging field applying the tools and processes from the design disciplines (architecture, landscape architecture, interior design, graphic design, product design, apparel design and others) to complex, system-wide problems. Design Thinking @ College of Design is a collaborative that offers design thinking teaching, research and outreach across sectors. It is located at University of Minnesota’s College of Design on the Twin Cities Campus. Our audacious goal is to unleash the creative potential of individuals and organizations across all sectors to innovate in fulfilling their missions. dt.design.umn.edu/ twitter.com/UofMDesignThink www.facebook.com/UofMDesign Higher Ed Redesign Initiative 7 Planning Team David Weerts Associate Professor and Director Jandris Center for Innovative Higher Education College of Education and Human Development Department of Organizational Leadership, Policy and Development University of Minnesota dweerts@umn.edu | 612.625.2289 Chris Rasmussen Vice President for Research and Policy Analysis Midwestern Higher Education Compact (MHEC) chrisr@mhec.org | 612.432.0710 Virajita Singh Sr. Research Fellow/Adjunct Assistant Professor Design Thinking@ College of Design Center for Sustainable Building Research College of Design, University of Minnesota singh023@umn.edu | 612.625.3447 Nichole L. Sorenson Project Manager, Higher Ed Redesign Initiative Graduate Assistant, J Center & OLPD HiEd Program University of Minnesota soren604@umn.edu Leah Reinert Graduate Research Assistant Midwestern Higher Education Compact (MHEC) & OLPD HiEd Program leahr@mhec.org Gauri Kelkar Graduate Research Assistant Design Thinking@ College of Design University of Minnesota kelka007@umn.edu Higher Ed Redesign Initiative 8 Design Associates & Teams The 2013-2014 Design Associate cohort has 18 members grouped into three teams, each addressing the posed design challenge. TEAM 1 Workshop 1 only Paul Bauknight Owner The Urban Design Lab paulbauknight@yahoo.com Jean-Paul Bigirindavyi Associate Director The Sanneh Foundation jeanpaul@thesannehfoundation.org Natalie Doud Partner Synaptic Design natalie@synapticdesign.net Kyle Dukart Academic Advisor, Electrical & Computer Engineering College of Science and Engineering, University of Minnesota kdukart@umn.edu Pakou Yang Dean of Social & Behavioral Sciences Health & Physical Education Languages, Communication, & Humanities Century College pvang2@umn.edu Lynnea Atlas-Ingebretson Program Director Charities Review Council Lynnea@smartgivers.org Higher Ed Redesign Initiative 9 Charles “Chip” Altman Director, MBA Program Military Initiative Carlson School of Management, University of Minnesota altma047@umn.edu Design Associates & Teams The 2013-2014 Design Associate cohort has 18 members grouped into three teams, each addressing the posed design challenge. TEAM 2 Victor Cole Community Engagement Coordinator & Academic Internships & Study Abroad Advisor Institute for Community Engagement and Scholarship Metropolitan State University victor.cole@metrostate.edu Wendy Friedmeyer Assistant to the Associate Dean for Research & Graduate Programs College of Liberal Arts, University of Minnesota fried053@umn.edu Todd Harmening System Director for Planning Minnesota State Colleges and Universities todd.harmening@so.mnscu.edu Violeta Hernandez Graduate Student, Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs Fellow, Interdisciplinary Center for the Study of Global Change University of Minnesota herna414@umn.edu Nance Longley Design and Production Manager College of Education and Human Development,University of Minnesota longley@umn.edu Higher Ed Redesign Initiative 10 Design Associates & Teams The 2013-2014 Design Associate cohort has 18 members grouped into three teams, each addressing the posed design challenge. TEAM 3 Jill Heath Manager Corporate Security Target Corporation jill.heath@target.com Beth Janetski Assistant Professor of Theatre University of Wisconsin-Stout jane0036@umn.edu Kate Khaled Engagement & Development Manager Charities Review Council kate@smartgivers.org Leonard Taylor Jr. Associate Program Director Housing and Residential Life University of Minnesota taylorl@umn.edu Workshop 1 only Meredith Fergus Policy Analyst Minnesota Office of Higher Education meredith.fergus@state.mn.us Jason McVay Director of Operations The Compression Institute jpmcvay23@yahoo.com Higher Ed Redesign Initiative 11 2013-2014 Workshops Summary The design challenge How might we help postsecondary education institutions utilize a variety of resources including Open Education Resources (OERs) and community partnerships to: Address achievement gaps and advance equity in higher education participation and outcomes Reduce cost for students and families Improve the overall quality of learning Locus of implementation: Educational Institutions Representative Users: Students both traditional and non-traditional Faculty Policymakers Higher Ed Administrators Introduction The signature program of the Higher Ed Redesign Initiative is the Design Associates Program, in which a cohort of participants addressed a specific design challenge over the course of a 12-month commitment by meeting over three weekends during the academic year. The kick-off event in October 2012, hosted at the University of Minnesota helped to identify interest and test ideas of prototype design action with local participants. Feedback from this event informed the development of the HiEd Initiative and the Design Associates program around design thinking for higher education. In 2013-14 the Design Associates met on October 11-13 in 2013, January 24-26, and March 28-30 in 2014. The design challenge for year 2013-2014 is described below Methodology The design challenge was addressed taking each team through a variety of Design Thinking tools including by Institute for the Study of Knowledge Management in Education’s (ISKME) ‘Action Collab’ method involving four steps: Identify Opportunity, Design, Prototype and Scale & Spread. As the prototypes developed, additional tools were used to refine their purpose, scope and scalability. These tools included: model programs case study, business model canvas, prototype presentation, improvisation exercises and pitch training. Share-out sessions were incorporated throughout the workshop to provide feedback and direction to each team on their prototype. Guests were invited to attend the team’s final presentation of each weekend to further inform their prototype development. Throughout the program guest speakers were sought out based on their expertise were invited to share their experiences related to various aspects of the design challenge. Higher Ed Redesign Initiative 12 2013-2014 Workshops Summary Workshops Workshop 1: Workshop 1 focused on designing prototypes using a variety of design thinking tools informed by the (ISKME) ‘Action Collab’ method. Design teams were introduced to empathetic research and guided through the process of data gathering, design and prototyping solutions. Phase 1 prototypes were developed and presented to invited guests for feedback. Workshop 2 : The main goal for Workshop 2 was to move the prototypes forward by defining the target audience, context in which the prototypes would exist and how they would potentially work in the chosen context. The Design Associates regrouped after Workshop 1 and continued to develop and refine prototypes. Teams also began planning next steps towards scaling up and developing an implementation plan for their ideas. Workshop 3: The focus of Workshop 3 was on finalizing team prototypes and developing a pitch and presentation of prototypes in preparation for their final prototype presentation to the MHEC Executive Committee on June 5, 2014. Using tools that included Story Boards, User Journey maps, the teams continued to refine and develop their prototypes from Workshop 2. These were infused with other methods such as improvisation exercises and specific training in pitch presentation skills in preparation towards the final presentation. Prototypes Team 1: Open Ticket proposed to provide holistic, individualized educational opportunities to help underrepresented groups in education and the workforce achieve their goals through their Open Ticket Compact, Neighborhood U and Super Communities initiative. Team 2: E-dagogy proposed to leverage social and professional capital to develop networks between learners and experts in the industry that ultimately translate into a career for learners Higher Ed Redesign Initiative 13 Team 3: Grade 99 proposed a way for learners to gain foundational, transferable and transformative skills vital to the changing nature of work and professional life by leveraging existing resources such as technology, OERs, community, industry and education partners. The final prototypes will be presented at the MHEC Executive Committee meeting on June 5, 2014 in St.Paul Minnesota. These projects will be available for further development and adoption by public higher education systems, private institutions, non-profit organizations, investors, and entrepreneurs. Evaluation Minnesota Evaluation Studies Institute (MESI) at the University of Minnesota conducted evaluation exercises to generate information about the experiences of associates and overall perceptions of the weekend. This evaluation included a rapid feedback assessment to get feedback from participants to help inform workshop process real time, three-step evaluation process and online survey. Design Associates were awarded a certificate on completion at the end of the Higher Ed Resign Initiative workshop series. Next Steps Our immediate next steps are leading a plenary session about the Higher Ed Redesign Initiative and Design Associates Pilot Program at the SHEEO (State Higher Education Executive Officers Association) Higher Education Policy Conference in Denver, Colorado on August 5-7, 2014. We have also submitted a proposal to the 2014 ASHE Con- ference Public Policy Pre-Conference Forum. Drawing on lessons from the Higher Ed Redesign Initiative, this session is planned to engage the audience on how design thinking may be employed to promote higher education quality, access and affordability. The 2013-2014 pilot demonstrated the potential of a collaborative interdisciplinary approach using design thinking methods to develop ideas and prototypes that change the status quo and meet the needs for a new higher education model. We expect to continue this work with partners and other interested organizations and institutions. 2013-2014 Workshops Summary For the full report please go to: http://dt.design.umn.edu/