Universities must assess online methods of evaluation to select students: Shaheem Rahiman, CEO, Atria University

One of the sectors that has been impacted the most by the COVID-19 pandemic is undoubtedly the education sector. Although the Unlock phase has already come into place, educational institutions and universities remain closed until the end of July 2020. In an interview with DataQuest, Shaheem Rahiman, CEO, Atria University talks about how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the education sector, the role played by online education, and what Atria University has to offer for students.

DQ: The COVID-19 pandemic has been especially hard for educational institutions considering the lockdowns and social distancing norms. How can universities and institutes sail through these difficult times?

Shaheem Rahiman: Every crisis offers an opportunity. While there are numerous challenges like drop in enrollments, confusion of start-date on account of delays, Universities should move ahead and innovate without fear. And, they will find new models of education that will benefit them in the long run.

Universities need to create online and hybrid formats of learning. This will allow the universities to reach out to students beyond their physical confines. Faculty members may find more time to personalize their teaching by engaging with students in a more flexible manner from the comfort of their homes. The selection process should be changed quickly to account for delayed results from Board exams and standardized exams like JEE. They can use the scores in Grade 9, 10, 11 and other online methods of evaluation to complete the selection process. Universities can enhance their quality of teaching and also boost their credibility by roping in international faculty who are willing to give more time as their calendar for international and domestic academic conferences have come down.

DQ: How must organizations address the trust deficit that has crept in due to the lack of communication between educators and students?

Shaheem Rahiman: Universities can address the uncertainty and trust deficit in multiple ways:

Simplify their enrollment process so that the uncertainty on admissions is contained. They have to use whatever existing information the student can provide and take decisions.

They have to rejig their academic calendar to suit the learning goals while factoring the constraints of the online environment. Academic load, credits, and hours of learning will need to be reorganized and a clear pathway to timely graduation will have to be presented to students.

Administrators will have to put together a robust reopening plan that will assure the safety of students and minimize delays of starting once the restrictions are lifted. Emergency response plan, in case the pandemic returns, will also have to be put in place

In times of uncertainty, all stakeholders including parents, students, faculty, and administrators should come together and work collaboratively to create new solutions that are unique to their context. Universities need to strengthen their communications team to ensure that everyone is updated and informed in a timely and accurate manner to minimize speculation or confusion.

DQ: How important a role has online learning played during these times?

Shaheem Rahiman: Online Learning has been a great alternative for the interim period and served students and universities well. It has allowed students to maintain the continuity of learning experience and also helped universities to keep the schedule of their academic calendars. The Gen-Z and the Millenials who were already conversant with online environments have taken to this new approach extremely well.

As physical enrollments have dropped on account of restrictions in mobility, enrollments in online courses have allowed universities to buffer the financial impact. It has also forced the universities to innovate. Some institutions have offered their entire degree online while others have created more modular, shorter programs that offer value in its own small way. This also mitigates the financial impact that the universities are facing.

Quality content and professors are more in demand than ever. It has allowed faculty members to do more with their time and serve students and institutions across the world, unlimited by the confines of the physical university that they are affiliated with.

Tech centric courses are more in demand than ever and tech-enabled learning experiences like VR labs are getting their due attention. The journey to enable access to top-notch labs by anyone from any corner of the world is not accelerated as collaborative technologies make rapid advances in these times. Graduates trained in such technologies like Digital Transformation, Interactive Technologies will have an edge and Atria finds itself uniquely poised to lead this transformation.

Having said that, we cannot rely solely on virtual mediums to deliver a holistic undergraduate experience to our students.  On-campus learning is a crucial part of the overall academic experience for students. When it comes to pursuing a degree, on-campus experience,  faculty and peer interactions, working on live-projects - all of these are crucial aspects that build on the overall academic experience for a student.

DQ: We must all now learn to live with the pandemic. What are the mantras that educational institutions need to follow henceforth?

Shaheem Rahiman: Visionaries like Bill Gates and higher education futurist Dr. Bryan Alexander, who predicted such a pandemic, have suggested that this may happen again. As the world adapts to a new normal, universities across the world are scrambling to mitigate its current impact and prepare for the future. Indian Universities will be forced to innovate.  At Atria University, we imagine that the following measures will help the sector navigate the future in a powerful manner: Change in norms for selection to universities in a scenario where physical Board Exams/JEE exams may get hampered again. Atria, from its very inception, has done away with marks based selection and placed emphasis on identifying qualities that are unique to each individual.

Change in regulation by UGC to allow universities to offer online or hybrid degrees. Reputed institutions like Harvard and UPenn are forced to redesign and expand their course offerings and fee models to suit virtual formats of engagement.

Modular courses, similar to Atria’s three week, sprint-style learning instead of long drawn out semesters, where the major exams and evaluations happen once or twice a year. These shorter cycles will derisk the stalling that may happen again because of another pandemic. The long 6-month system places the timely progression of students at risk.

Extensive use of technology like virtual reality labs, simulators and collaborative projects that are uniquely designed for online environments will have to replace the brick and mortar style of learning.

While the physical mobility of faculty is curtailed drastically, the online and cost-effective access to world-class faculty is enabled in an unprecedented manner. Universities like Atria, which are committed to high-quality learning experience, are pulling in the best minds from around the world. This is a win-win situation, because it cuts the overheads of travel and stay for the university and allows the faculty to earn more for their value of time for institutions anywhere in the world

DQ: How is Atria University planning to ensure continuity in education during these times? And what does the institute have to offer in terms of remote learning?

Shaheem Rahiman: The global pandemic has impacted decisions of over 48 percent Indian students who wanted to study abroad in 2020. Lockdown restrictions across the world have affected many students who were planning on pursuing an undergraduate program in an international university. While academic calendars continue to be disrupted, many students are now looking for alternatives within the country. Atria University’s curriculum structure is modelled on the NEET program at MIT and is at par with reputed international academic institutes.

The ongoing global crisis has highlighted crucial gaps in India’s current education system. Atria University’s unique design of selection (that does not depend on Board or JEE scores), its 3-week sprint-style and project-based learning, and faculty from the best international institutions make it uniquely suitable for international bound students.

DQ: How is Atria University helping to shape the entrepreneurial goals of the students?

Shaheem Rahiman: At Atria we believe that by enabling a student to discover their passion and interest we can create a great foundation for their entrepreneurial journey. As the brainchild of a serial entrepreneur, the university is entrepreneurial in its spirit and design and places a huge premium on qualities instead of grades in its selection.  We believe that the nature of problems and solutions around us are inter-disciplinary and so is our design of education.

We do not restrict the student in a particular domain or degree track. We understand that it is unfair and limiting to slot 18-year-old students to a domain or a degree track. This is why we offer tremendous flexibility to move between domains and degrees. For the first time in India, a student can earn a BBA in any of the five tech-centric domains. This unique element of design is not only expected to trigger new ideas but prepares the students uniquely to execute those ideas.

At Atria, we believe that entrepreneurship is not the exclusive right of experienced graduates. There are hundreds of stories of drop-outs who have created amazing businesses. Atria University recently hosted Venture Capital Fund Competition, which is India’s first venture capital fund for college-ready high school students as an attempt to encourage high-school students to think differently,  share viable ideas to address complex industry challenges, and empower them to transform the world that they see around them. We received a large number of idea submissions from across India. The jury had a tough time narrowing down to the winners. Another testament to the talent India has!

Irrespective of which university these students will enroll with, the top three winners of the competition, with industry-disrupting ideas, will now receive mentorship from industry professionals and faculty from MIT to shape their startup idea into a functional service. The student-entrepreneurs will have access to 30 lacs in venture funds and be inducted into Atria University’s Business Incubation Center (ABiC).