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Published August 1, 2023
First private University Member brings new perspectives to higher ed’s largest learning collaborative
AUSTIN, TX (August 1, 2023) – Unizin, the consortium of leading academic and research institutions committed to optimizing digital transformation in higher education today announced that Chapman University has joined the consortium. Chapman University is the first private university to join Unizin, growing membership to 14 institutions serving almost 1 million students annually.
Digital learning tools and information systems, and the data they generate, are fundamentally reshaping higher education. Members of the Unizin consortium work collaboratively to transform vast amounts of learning data into insights and knowledge to improve teaching, learning and student success. Its consortium model and partnerships enable Unizin to build and scale technology solutions, establish relationships, and pursue research that no single institution could achieve as cost-effectively on its own.
“Chapman University has adopted a transformative strategic plan focused on driving academic success and personal growth and achievement for a widely diverse and growing student population. Stewardship of student learning data is paramount to this mission,” said Helen Norris, Vice President and Chief Information Officer at Chapman University. “We established the Panther Analytics program six years ago as our initial campus-wide warehouse, providing data to inform decision-making. As a member of Unizin, we now have access to new tools and collaborative opportunities to accelerate and expand these efforts, particularly in the area of teaching and learning.”
“Chapman University brings a unique and highly valued new perspective to the Unizin consortium,” said Cathy O’Bryan, CEO of Unizin. “The universities that constitute Unizin’s membership are always looking for new ways to provide personalized learning experiences to their students. Adding Chapman’s perspective and insights to the collective – particularly their focus on data stewardship to address underserved and marginalized communities – will make us all better.”
Founded in 1861, Chapman University has been ranked among the most innovative private universities in the nation. Today, Chapman serves a diverse and growing student population, including large Hispanic and first-generation student cohorts. With an emphasis on providing personalized learning experiences, Chapman has keen interest in leveraging learning data to better understand the impact of digital tools on learning dynamics and student outcomes.
The Unizin consortium has established the world’s largest learning data laboratory, the Unizin Data Platform (UDP), which normalizes and integrates data from disparate learning tools and learning management systems deployed across its member institutions. The average size of a Unizin member’s UDP is 11 terabytes, and can see upwards of five million events a day stream into the UDP early in the fall semester. This allows Unizin members to observe the use and impact of digital learning tools in real time, as well as to collaborate on data modeling and analytics, application development and cross-institutional research initiatives.
“There are so many exciting innovations happening in teaching and learning, like the emergence of hybrid learning environments, but we need to better understand the implications of these models on our student population,” said Jana Remy, Assistant Vice President of Educational Technology for Chapman University. “Technology can create distance between teaching and learning. Data can help close that distance. Joining the Unizin consortium gives us the opportunity to share knowledge with leading researchers and research institutions to ensure we create and foster optimal learning experiences for all students in every academic setting.”
With the addition of Chapman University, the Unizin consortium now comprises 14 institutions serving nearly 1 million students nationwide, including some of the largest and most respected public universities in the United States. Unizin has established partnerships with such leading academic publishers and learning technology providers as D2L, Instructure, RedShelf, Top Hat and Kaltura.
About Unizin
Unizin provides institutions with technology solutions and partnerships that enable them to scale their use of data, analytics, digital content and learning tools to improve outcomes and guide student success initiatives. Unizin is membership-based and governed by its member universities as a nonprofit 501(c)(3). To learn more, visit www.unizin.org
About Chapman University
Founded in 1861, Chapman University is a nationally ranked private university located in Southern California. Chapman is categorized by the Carnegie Classification as an R2 “high research activity” institution and offers personalized education to more than 9,000 undergraduate and graduate students. The campus has produced a Rhodes Scholar, been named a top producer of Fulbright Scholars, and hosts a chapter of Phi Beta Kappa, the nation’s oldest and most prestigious honor society. Based in the City of Orange, Chapman also includes the Harry and Diane Rinker Health Science Campus in Irvine. In 2019, the university opened its 11th college, Dale E. and Sarah Ann Fowler School of Engineering, in its newest facility, Keck Center for Science and Engineering. Learn more about Chapman University: www.chapman.edu.
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CONTACT
Tony Labriola
PR for Unizin
tony@thinkinsideout.com
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