Episode 90: James Vasquez on Using Technology to Make Connections
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What's the role of technology in student success? How are online and hybrid learning and ubiquitous connectivity changing experiences? How do you make decisions about what's in the enterprise tech stack while leveraging personal devices? How can you use data to connect coursework, co-curriculars, and more to a career path? We dive into these questions with James Vasquez Associate Dean for Strategy and Operations at the USC Annenberg School of Communication and Journalism.
In the rapidly evolving landscape of higher education, the conversation around technology has shifted. It’s no longer just about which hardware to buy or which software to license; it’s about how these tools foster the deep connections that drive student retention and graduation. James Vasquez, Associate Dean for Strategy and Operations at USC’s Annenberg School of Communication and Journalism, suggests that technology is the invisible thread weaving together a student's journey from recruitment to career.
Defining Student Success as a Holistic Journey
When we talk about student success, we often look at graduation rates or GPA. However, a more effective definition is holistic. Success begins the moment a student considers an institution—the recruitment phase. It then flows through admissions, classroom learning, and research, extending far beyond graduation into their life as an alumnus.
The goal of any institution should be to provide a start-to-finish experience that equips students with the background knowledge and professional tools necessary to navigate the world aggressively and responsibly. Success is measured by how well a student can "attack" the challenges of a professional environment using the skills seeded during their time on campus.
The Power of 24/7 Ubiquitous Connectivity
One of the most significant shifts in the last twenty years is the move from stationary IT to personal, ubiquitous connectivity. We have moved away from the era where technology was "delivered" via a projector in a specific room. Today, students carry their own tech ecosystem—often two computers, an iPad, and a smartphone.
This personal attachment to technology changes the relationship between the student and the institution. Students expect to stay connected to their projects, peers, and professors 24/7. Whether they are using Slack for group projects or Google Suite for collaboration, the role of the university is to provide the "seed" for these discussions and ensure the infrastructure exists to support them in dorms, study halls, and at home.
Navigating the Enterprise Tech Stack
For higher education leaders, the challenge lies in deciding what to control and what to let go. The "enterprise tech stack" should focus on the greatest good for the greatest number. Foundational elements like email, ubiquitous Wi-Fi, and Learning Management Systems (LMS) are non-negotiable.
However, there is also room for specialized tools that provide a competitive edge. At USC Annenberg, this includes software like Adobe Creative Cloud and newsroom production tools that allow students to edit remotely. By providing these professional-grade tools, the university isn't just offering a service; they are providing a pathway to career certification and professional readiness.
Data-Driven Pathways: The Annenberg Insights Project
Perhaps the most exciting frontier in student success is the use of data to connect coursework to careers. The "Annenberg Insights Project" is a prime example of this. By looking at alumni data—what classes they took and what positions they currently hold—the school can work with current students to map out a precise pathway.
If a student wants a specific role in a particular industry, the data can suggest the exact classes, internships, and organizations they need to connect with. This moves technology from a passive tool to an active guide, helping students navigate the "silos" of higher education to reach their professional goals.
Simple Strategies for a Fluid Future
As we look toward the future of AI and cybersecurity, James Vasquez offers a simple piece of advice: keep it simple. Start with the basics and ensure your core competencies are rock-solid. You don't always need the most robust infrastructure; you need the "Minimum Viable Product" (MVP) that allows you to accomplish your goals.
In this fluid environment, institutions must hire for curiosity. Because we can no longer "control" the digital environment—only manage and develop it—we need IT professionals who are adaptable and eager to learn. By focusing on connectivity, simplicity, and data-driven insights, colleges can ensure their students aren't just passing classes, but are truly connected to their future.
Episode 90 Transcript
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Elliot Felix: I'd love to hear your definition of student success?
James Vasquez: When it comes to student success, it begins at the front component. When students start thinking about where am I gonna go to school, which from a university perspective is the recruitment component. Which then lands into admissions, which this lands into learning and research, teaching in the classroom to graduation, to being an alumnus and points of connectivity there. So as you think about student success, is that every one of these components has an element that touches upon the other, and that, and ultimately what institutions should be looking at doing. I think we do that quite well here is we're looking at what is that experience from start to finish with the end result about student success is being able to provide students with background, knowledge, experience throughout that entire experience that allows 'em to move forward. Progressively, aggressively and responsibly in their professional career when they graduate, and also give them the tools to deal with life in a professional environment, making sure that they're ready when they're out in the professional world and being able to attack all the life related components attached to it.
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Elliot Felix: Hearing you talk connectivity, connections meeting came up a lot and it almost feels like connectivity is like a KPI. Student success in your mind? Like how connected are our students? Like to each other, to their classes, to their professors, within a student organization? Am I hearing that right?
James Vasquez: Oh, absolutely. I always think about things, connectivity in terms of brick and mortar. Then the it points of connectivity attached to that. What do we know today? We know that everybody is connected consistently, so right, 24 7 ubiquitous points of connectivity via devices. And really the personal device component is one of the critical pieces. And then you have plethora of applications to be able to connect you on a consistent basis. I just, finished up a class organizational behavior business development class. And that class the one thing that students told me as they were managing their student projects is, and it's something I asked 'em right to begin with, how are you gonna stay connected throughout this process? What tools are you using, right? What are those things that you know are gonna keep you connected? And they made decisions, ah, we're gonna use Google, right? Or we're gonna use teams or we're gonna use Slack as a mobile connectivity component or texting, and they had to decide what that mechanism is going to be. But the thing that they all will say is the differential point is how connected they expected themselves to be as they work these projects the IT component, the tools are there to be able to have 24 7 ubiquitous connectivity, but it doesn't necessarily mean that's what's happening when you look at the day of the day-to-day type of interaction.
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Elliot Felix: Are there other big things out there that you feel are changing changing technology as it relates to student success?
James Vasquez: Obviously AI is a huge part. And I say that just in the standpoint of what, what's developing, quickly. And it isn't just use of AI in a classroom environment chat, GPT or others like it. It's gonna have a momentous impact on how we operate in and outta the classroom. Up until the AI conversation, there really hasn't been a broad conversation about any particular type of tool. And in this case, like what does it mean as we move forward?
Elliot Felix: Right. Generative ai and sometimes you forget all the administrative technology that's, that's involved. It's not just the academic technology. So that's really interesting.
James Vasquez: That's one of the areas when you think about it, the difference between managing or leading IT teams today as opposed to the past. There's really more systems. Systems administration, networking, management, those are key things that you didn't really have to focus on that type of skillset. In the past, you had a few of 'em, but there's actually, as more systems develop, more access, the issue about cybersecurity becomes a big component about being in an academic environment. And, we're always concerned about any type of intrusion. The only way you can actually deal with that is to ensure that you have sound systems that are being managed effectively. So you're putting more time and thought process into, I need to have the right systems admin, the right network admin. When you think about the focus in terms of the foundation, are you leaving it in the cloud? Is your backup environment on-prem? These are the things that are becoming a little more challenging because there's more access points that you have to deal with.
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Elliot Felix: As you're thinking about the future what advice would you have to your peers to use technology to enable student success?
James Vasquez: Just a couple of thoughts, right? One is it keep it simple. It just it's one are the basics and then you build from there. I think going back to where we talked about it, like what are the common infrastructure you need to be able to support your environment today? And then that should be your core competency and then you build from there. It's always great to, to have aspirational components attached to that, but you need to address the first that, that's one. The second is it doesn't necessarily always have to be. The best, right? The robust infrastructure isn't always needed. It's you need to identify what is the minimum, right? The MVP to be able to accomplish what you want to accomplish. And then as one of my colleagues, Charles Peyton always says you measure twice before you cut. It's test it. And then the last thing is, your teams and this is what's changing, right? You want to hire. The right skillset. But you really want to hire the right skillset that understands the use of technology, but is curious about the use of technology and has general curiosity towards things. And so this is things that we're always looking what's the curiosity about anything? But as an IT professional, the IT professionals. Have to be significantly more fluid in their thought processes and their ability to engage situations because you don't control environments anymore, right? You manage environments, you develop 'em, you manage 'em. You're not controlling how they're being used, and that's really one of the more challenging things.
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Elliot Felix: And you're doing some interesting stuff with Salesforce as well, right? Trying to connect courses and careers with that.
James Vasquez: That's the thought process as we've been talking about this, that, the points of connectivity is like, what are students learning in the classroom? What are the opportunities you're looking at, what are alumni, the positions that they're in. Looking at what they took in terms of classes throughout their undergraduate or graduate career, and then being able to take that data, work with current students and say, you want this position, this type of role in this particular industry. Here's what you need to take. As you go through the process, but isn't just the class, it's all, here's the internship points of connectivity, here's the organizations you can connect with. And so we have a really good model that was de developed or Dean. Dean Bay. She started, she rolled this out a couple of years ago, and we've been working pretty consistently on this internally, just again, developing this as a, we call it the Annenberg Insights Project and the insights is. You want this role in this industry. Here's the pathway to make that happen. When you're connecting with, when you're deciding what curriculum, what major, what classes, and then also the other points of connectivity.