Panola College earned a spot in the top 10 ranking of Digital Community

Colleges in the most recent survey and competition. Panola was awarded

ninth place in the small college category of schools with under 5,000

students. Allen West, Panola College Director of Information Technology,

made the announcement on Thursday, April 7.

 

Now in its eleventh year, the Digital Community Colleges Survey analyzes

how community colleges use a range of technologies to improve services to

students, faculty, staff and the community at large.

 

“This year’s survey indicates community colleges are making great strides

in using data to improve decisions, providing professional development to

assist faculty in the use of technology, and creating robust online and

mobile environments for their students,” said Dr. Kecia Ray, executive

director for the Center for Digital Education. “Congratulations to this

year’s survey winners.”

 

Award winners demonstrated innovative uses of technology, including online

courses and mobile environments, mobile apps, secure platforms and wireless

networks.

 

This year’s Digital Community Colleges Survey also revealed insights about

community colleges’ technology priorities. Colleges surveyed indicated that

mobility devices/app support and website redesign are their top priorities

in the coming year, followed by cyber security tools and testing, network

infrastructure modernization, server consolidation and virtualization, and

disaster recovery/business continuity. The survey also revealed that, 59%

of colleges now offer professional development courses on how to use mobile

apps for instruction; while 93% offer professional development courses on

how to integrate technology into curriculum and instructional practices.

 

All accredited U.S. community colleges are eligible to participate in the

Digital Community Colleges Survey within three classifications based on

enrollment size. CDE thanks last year’s first-place winners who abstained

from participation to contribute as members of the development panel for

this year’s survey: Northern Virginia Community College, Va.; Lord Fairfax

Community College, Va.; and Carl Sandburg College, Ill.

 

The Center for Digital Education is a national research and advisory

institute specializing in K-12 and higher education technology trends,

policy and funding. CDE provides education and industry leaders with

decision support and actionable insight to help effectively incorporate new

technologies in the 21st century. For more information and a complete

listing of colleges that earned distinction, visit the Digital Community

Colleges Survey 2015-2016.