Axios Event: The challenges and opportunities of remote learning

On Thursday, May 21, Axios CEO & Co-founder Jim VandeHei and Axios Cities Correspondent Kim Hart hosted a conversation on the challenges and opportunities of remote learning with the President of the American Council on Education, Ted Mitchell, and Rep. Jahana Hayes (D-Conn.) Ted Mitchell focused on how colleges and universities are adapting to the digital landscape and the impact these changes are having on enrollment this coming year.

• On institutions expanding the types of students they cater to: "A majority of college students today are not 18-22-year-olds. Colleges need to cater more to the lifelong learner, the adult learner. And certainly in this economy, individuals who need to train and resell for the next generation of jobs."
• On making digital learning as high-impact as possible: "What is going to be important is for colleges and universities now to make the turn to providing extraordinary value through the online experience. Coming up in the fall, students and families will expect more than just a Zoom class online. And that's up to all of us to provide that value."

Rep. Jahana Hayes stressed the importance of Congress investing more in public education and supporting teachers.

• "Congress has to make an investment in public education. We cannot keep having these 'band-aid' fixes...We asked 3.5 million teachers all over the country within days to shift to virtual learning...We must support them on the other side of this to make sure that they are better prepared moving forward and that they feel supported and not abandoned by their leaders and their legislators."

In a View from the Top segment, Jim VandeHei was joined by Cengage CEO Michael Hansen to discuss the rapid adjustment to virtual education.

• "It is not a question of technology...The real Achilles heel is the training that is required of the faculty to teach in an online environment...There are a large number of faculty that have never done this before and they need to be trained pretty much overnight."

Thank you Cengage for sponsoring this event.