Online, digital learning was an idea whose time had come anyway, but COVID-19 gave it a swift shove forward along its path—one that has been longer than anyone could have imagined. 

As early as 1906, a few select schools began offering correspondence courses via snail mail in the form of lectures that professors would record on phonographs and send to remote students. This set the stage for distance education as we now know it. 

Fast forward to the 1980s, when the modern internet was born. Not only were online courses available, but entire online degrees started to become an option for the public. 40 years later, we now find ourselves in an era where online college courses, professional development, and independent study programs have become so common that the United States alone currently offers over 1,500 online bachelor’s degrees.

The Current State of Learning

Then 2020 slammed us with a worldwide pandemic that has, of necessity, reshaped how we learn, work, and socialize. Every traditional brick-and-mortar school, from the smallest preschool to the largest university, has been forced to close its doors and scramble to institute a new manner of educating, requiring online learning and less in-person interaction.

One can see that now, more than ever, traditional school administrators need to avail themselves of educational partners who will enable them to stay on the cutting edge of this digital trend. When the cloud of the COVID-19 virus finally clears, it’s unlikely that we’ll return to the old status quo. 

Society has a way of moving forward, and the status quo is constantly changing. While educational facilities are sure to remain an option, more people—especially working professionals and people living in outlying areas who can’t commit to full-time, on-campus education—will seek distance learning options.

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Adapting to Stay on the Cutting Edge

It is crucial for schools to adapt. Forward-thinking administrators and education professionals must work to satisfy the increasing demand from both learners and employers for higher education in digital skills. 

Colleges and universities who offer a comprehensive catalog of digital skills training will become the most sought-after learning institutions in the education industry. The benefits of partnering with a digital skills education provider are two-fold:

  1. Schools will be able to reach and service more students due to the large number of non-traditional learners seeking different education options.
  2. Schools will ensure that they stay on the cutting edge of the constantly evolving digital economy.

Keeping Up with Technology and Methodology

In this rapidly morphing field, new skills and methodologies are surfacing, popping up with systems like DevOps, Agile/Scrum, cloud computing, artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning, and data science. 

One challenge for colleges and universities is simply keeping up. To prepare students for digital economy jobs, these institutions must keep their training current with the continuously developing digital systems that are in perpetual flux. The best way to do so is to partner with a company whose sole focus is to offer the most current digital skills education options.

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Simplilearn’s Digital Solution

Simplilearn provides a unified solution to bridge all these needs. First, we offer a complete catalog of digital skills training that covers the topics, proficiencies, and issues most relevant to the industry.

Secondly, we continuously update our catalog to stay current with leading-edge technologies so that colleges and universities can do the same. 

And finally, we deliver our curriculum entirely online to meet the needs of not only non-traditional learners but the phalanx of students who will choose online learning as the “new normal” for pursuing an education. 

Simplilearn covers several bases to reach all types of learners. We use a blended approach to education that combines three online elements:

  • Live virtual classrooms that offer instructor-led learning
  • Self-paced, on-demand content
  • Hands-on labs developed to give learners the experience of solving real-world problems

Partnership Benefits

Simplilearn blended-learning pedagogy drives student engagement, deepens learning and retention, and delivers course-completion rates well above other online learning platforms. Our programs are industry-aligned, and we partner with digital technology providers to ensure our courses are certified to meet the highest standards. 

As a result, companies in many industries recognize our certifications as proof positive that our learners have acquired the relevant skills to ready them for the workforce.

Colleges and universities who choose to unite with us are in good company. Simplilearn currently partners with institutions of higher education, including the following: 

  • Duke University
  • University of Massachusetts, Amherst
  • University of Georgia
  • Purdue University
  • Rutgers University
  • And others

These organizations partner with Simplilearn because of our unique capacity to provide consistently up-to-date course content through our blended learning platform. These prestigious schools have found great success through our higher education partnership program and report high learner satisfaction.

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Partner with Simplilearn Today

Simplilearn is a global leader in digital skills training. We help to ensure your students receive the most relevant, up-to-date education and skills in demand by today’s hiring managers.

Expand your digital economy skills training, stay in step with technology as it marches forward, and reach out to a broader range of learners by partnering with us. Our Blended Learning approach drives student engagement, enhances learning and retention, and provides some of the highest course completion rates in the industry.

Our subject-matter experts and our association with many of the world’s top corporations help ensure that we’re training for the jobs of tomorrow.

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