Innovative Approach to Growing Programs in Higher-Ed

The world of Higher-Ed is under constant change. The impact of recent technology innovations such as generative AI, advancements in remote learning systems, and changing market demand have precipitated a variety of new options for students seeking advanced degrees. Other factors such as social, economic, geographic, and environmental dynamics have further stressed the traditional higher-education model, demanding a need for innovative thinking in the way we design, deliver, and promote higher-ed programs. Graduate programs are no exception; with the switching cost to remote learning largely absorbed through the pandemic experience, there are increasingly more options for prospective students seeking graduate degrees. All these factors are adding stress on program developers to differentiate their unique offerings from other program options.

Faculty leading programs are challenged with not only keeping their program content fresh and relevant but also recruiting top candidates to their programs during heavy competition and changing marketing recruitment approaches. This talk will profile a novel approach to program growth that includes an assessment of the lifecycle journey of a student in the Health Informatics program. The immersive discovery or "journey map" assessment becomes the foundational structure and a compass setting for both curricular development and for program marketing and recruitment efforts involving cross-media communications.

Speaker Bio:

Dr. Chris Bondy is a Professor of Practice at Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) for the past 13 years, currently in the Golisano College of Computing and Information Sciences, where he leads the GCCIS Computer Immersion and MS-Health Informatics programs. He is an active researcher, speaker/educator, and expert witness, leading strategic research, and consulting initiatives around the globe. His research focuses on "Innovation through Immersive Discovery" and has published journal papers and books in the document imaging and healthcare domains. He developed and published a framework to evaluate technology-mediated workflow in both telehealth and document imaging workflows and is currently conducting research on technology adoption of older populations and underserved populations in telehealth.

Dr. Bondy is the founder/co-author of the industry-renowned book; "Unsquaring the Wheel", RIT Press 2015. Chris is also the Principal at Quest Consulting Solutions, LLC., a strategy development, workflow analysis, and research and development firm. 

Chris earned a B.S. from, the New York Institute of Technology, Interdisciplinary Studies, a Master of Engineering and Science, New Product Development at RIT, and a PhD in Computer Science at RIT. Chris has held leadership positions with the following firms: Group Director, InfoTrends; Chief Technology Officer, Direct Marketing Partners; Vice President Solutions and Services, Kodak; Vice President & Chief Engineer, Xerox; and President/CEO, GraphiComm/Imagestters West. He holds patents with Xerox and Kodak in variable data printing and workflow optimization methodologies.