Each year since 2011, EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative (ELI) has surveyed those involved with teaching and learning in higher education to take the pulse of the group about what’s most exciting, pressing, consequential, and relevant. Looking at the ELI Key Issues over time shows which areas hold our attention year after year, and it shines a spotlight on issues that rise sharply on the list or fall down the ranking. The survey’s results represent a broad and diverse viewpoint, as we encourage everyone associated with supporting and delivering postsecondary education to participate.
On the whole, the issues tend not to shift significantly from one year to the next. For example, in 2018 the issues of academic transformation and faculty development continue their run at the top of the list. Accessibility and universal design for learning (UDL) have made a dramatic ascent over the past four years, moving from #12 in 2015 to #2 in 2018. Perhaps the most striking upward shifts in the 2018 survey are those of privacy and security, which leapt from #14 in 2017 to #4 in 2018.
This issue of the 7 Things You Should Know series consists of short commentaries on the top 7 issues from the survey. These short meditations provide focus, serving as brief, guided tours of that issue’s particular landscape.
