What’s Trending in Digital Learning for Fall 2024

This weekend marks the official end of summer and the beginning of fall. Pumpkin spice is back (everywhere), hopefully everyone is settling into the new semester well, my fantasy football team is already doing poorly, and it’s time for one of my favorite traditions—a back-to-school post on Frontiers!

As we roll into the fall semester and look ahead to 2025, we’re seeing some exciting shifts in higher education. I wanted to get a sense of what’s trending and what’s getting everyone buzzing, so I asked my colleagues to share their thoughts.

Here’s a peek at the trends catching our attention and shaping the future of higher education digital learning. You can count on WCET to keep you updated on these topics and more.

What’s Trending?

Higher ed is constantly evolving; this past year and the new year are no different. Here are some of the key trends we’re seeing:

• Generative AI is Everywhere: AI tools are no longer just for the techies. We’re seeing more instructors adopt AI to create personalized learning experiences, assist with grading, and develop interactive learning tools. Students are using AI for self-directed learning and some editing for their work, and it’s opening up new possibilities in the classroom.
• Meeting Students Where They Are: More and more institutions are offering hybrid courses, flexible scheduling, and increased support for mental health. And equity is top of mind, with a growing emphasis on making learning more inclusive and accessible for all.
• Preparing for Tomorrow’s Workforce: The gap between education and the workforce is closing fast. Institutions are partnering with industries to ensure students learn theory and philosophy while developing the skills they need for an evolving job market.

What’s Sparking Excitement This Fall?

While staying current is essential, it’s not just about what’s trending—it’s about how these changes are transforming digital learning.

To explore this further, I asked some of my team members to share what excites them most as we progress through the fall semester. Thank you to each of them for sharing your thoughts!

Megan Raymond, Senior Director, Membership and Programs, WCET

Fall is in the air in Colorado, and campuses are buzzing! Especially CU with Coach Prime and the traffic that brings with it on game days. There are a few trends I’m watching this year.  

One is, of course, AI. By now, AI is no longer fearsome, and institutions are no longer trying to put it back into Pandora’s box. There is a broad understanding of what AI is, what the definitions mean, and how it can be used for teaching and learning. We are now at a point where the questions we do have about AI are much more complex. Institutions are no longer concerned with AI being a ‘cheating machine’ and are considering issues around data privacy, student privacy, copyright issues, and computing capacity challenges. These are robust challenges. I know our members are thinking about these complexities.  

Cell phone bans during the school day became common at the local middle and high schools this fall. My friends who are teachers are excited about teaching without constantly vying for attention from students engrossed in their mobile devices or tuned out within. This movement seems to be gaining traction across the US, and I’m watching to see if colleges and universities will begin implementing similar bans.  

It’s going to be an interesting academic year for sure! 

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Cheryl Dowd, Senior Director, State Authorization Network & WCET Policy Innovations

The evolution of higher education delivery continues. It is interesting and exciting to watch institutions address and improve access and accessibility to serve learners and help them reach their goals.

• Access: In this post-COVID era, there is an increased demand for distance education, not only for what is often referred to as “non-traditional” learners but also for residential learners. Institutions must evaluate how to best serve learners at their institutions and help them reach their goals with flexibility through in-person, online, and hybrid course options. Clear communication about the modality is a must to ensure that learners understand the expectations related to the learning format.
• Accessibility: There’s growing emphasis on ensuring that distance education is accessible to all students, including those with disabilities, through better use of technology and inclusive design. There is a sense of urgency for public universities and colleges to address accessibility due to new Department of Justice regulations released last June. To learn more about the accessibility regulations please review our WCET Frontiers post: Accessibility in the Spotlight: Department of Justice Regulations.

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Van Davis – Chief Strategy Officer, WCET

This coming academic year feels especially monumental as institutions recover from a tumultuous spring term. Where is higher education going this fall? I think there are a couple of trends that institutions need to watch.

1. AI will continue to dominate the conversation as more students press their institutions to provide them training for an AI-enabled workforce, more faculty work to find appropriate ways to embed AI in their classes, and more institutions strive to find ways to leverage AI for student success and institutional efficiencies.
2. Who our students are will continue to change. Dual enrollment will continue to increase as will the number of post-traditional students looking to re-skill or earn their first degree. Institutions will need to find new ways to help these very different student populations.

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Russ Poulin, Executive Director, WCET and Vice President for Technology-Enhanced Education, WICHE

Institutions have changed. We just need to acknowledge it.

During the pandemic, there was worry that there would be a great backlash against planned online learning, given the negative experience with emergency remote learning. That did not happen. The recognition of the positive acceptance of technologies by faculty and students has been slow to reach across the academy. It will be hard to deny the new reality this year.

How is this transition playing out? Students are increasingly incorporating online courses into their schedules, and faculty are offering online, hybrid, synchronous, and asynchronous versions of their courses. The hallowed halls of the ivory-towered buildings named after prosperous alumni are increasingly empty. Is in-person learning going away? No. But the campus has changed.

For the past two years, we have been guessing at the direction and reacting to the impact of the increased use of digital learning. As future strategic plans and budgets are created, I predict that serious conversations will be held on shifting resources from traditional uses to:

• Prepare and support faculty in effectively using existing and emerging digital technologies.
• Focus student support services to better address an increasingly remote or hybrid enrolled population.
• Invest in the technologies required for faculty and student support.
• Better communicate to students about the technologies to be used, the expectations to be at a location, and the synchronous requirements for each and every class.

Well…at least I hope that will happen.

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Your Turn!

Now that we’ve shared some of our thoughts, we’d love to hear from you. What trends are you seeing at work or on your campus? What are you excited for in the year ahead? Drop your thoughts in a shared post on LinkedIn or reach out directly—we always enjoy hearing from our community. We’ll also send out a question through wcetDISCUSS – our online member community.

The leaves are starting to change, football stadiums are packed, and sweater weather is officially here. So, grab your warm latte (pumpkin spice or not!), and let’s tackle the rest of the year together.

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Post written by Lindsey Downs, WCET