A Higher Education Powerhouse with Plans to Modernize and Grow
Located in Buenos Aires, Argentina, the Universidad de Morón (UM) has been a leader of higher education in Latin America for more than six decades. Powered by its mission to “teach, generate, and communicate knowledge to the highest standard,” UM has supported hundreds of thousands of learners pursuing careers in architecture, engineering, law, and a host of other areas.
While UM has long had a thriving learning community on campus in the capital, in recent years it has developed ambitious plans to expand its online offering and extend learning opportunities across Argentina and beyond.
The Challenge
Developing a True Digital Learning Ecosystem
The team at UM, spearheaded by Secretary General Pablo Navarro, understood that to realize the potential of distance learning the university would need to modernize and digitize its offering, starting with the learning management system (LMS). UM was previously working with Moodle, but had found that it lacked the necessary capabilities to drive its approach forward.
We needed to make a 180° change in the use of technology in education. Previously we used another platform, but it hadn’t been adopted by our community, either students or instructors.”
Pablo Navarro, Secretary General
As it went to market in search of a replacement LMS, UM identified two criteria that were crucial to success: adaptability and accessibility. Leaders sought a platform that could respond to the needs of modern learners, particularly their tendency to prefer to study on mobile devices, as well as provide a genuine home for both online and in-person courses.
The Solution
Embracing the Power of Blackboard
With adaptability and accessibility in mind, UM pursued a strategic partnership with Anthology, starting with the Blackboard® LMS. This holistic platform has driven a centralized approach to pedagogy, where the needs of all learners are considered.
Blackboard has allowed us to re-think our approach to higher education. It has allowed us to integrate with other academic tools, in a way that has helped us develop not only our online courses, but also those taught in person. Students on campus also participate in the virtual classroom, as it’s where their instructors upload content, where they can communicate and seek assistance, and where they complete assessment activities.”
Pablo Navarro, Secretary General
Students have particularly benefited from Blackboard’s mobile-first design. With many now preferring to engage in important tasks like communicating with instructors, checking due dates, and revising course content from their phones, the improved mobile experience has directly led to improved academic outcomes.
Today’s students have technology integrated into their lives. They live in a digital ecosystem, and the university doesn’t have to be any different. Blackboard has allowed us to become part of their everyday lives, which improves their engagement with their courses.”
Pablo Navarro, Secretary General
Working with Blackboard has also given UM actionable insights to optimize the learning experience on an ongoing basis. Previously, the institution had limited data to assess both student and instructor performance, a situation that completely changed with its new LMS. Now it has actionable insights across a range of important areas, which feed directly into its institutional strategy for the future.
Blackboard helps us to understand the time that students spend within the LMS and the content they interact with. This then allows us to recognize the instructors who are supporting learners through their activities, which means that we’re gradually identifying a community of tech-savvy teachers which we know we can count on to tackle transformative challenges.”
Pablo Navarro, Secretary General
Insights Delivered
A Growing Institution and a Growing Partnership
By providing a student-centric, data-informed learning platform, Blackboard has helped UM achieve growth across a range of crucial metrics. Student and instructor satisfaction has improved, which has correlated with more students persisting through to the completion of their degrees.
The transformation at the Universidad de Morón has been really important. That’s why, when asked about the results through the years of partnership with Blackboard, my response is simple: growth. We’ve had growth in tuition, growth in courses, growth in the learning experience, and we’ve realized that learning technology is a fundamental part of how universities can grow in the future.”
Pablo Navarro, Secretary General
Based on the success that UM has seen with Blackboard, it has recently expanded its partnership to also include the Anthology® Reach CRM. This will allow the institution to further enrich the learning experience, complementing the gains made in pedagogy by streamlining enrollment and student support, with accessibility, data, and student understanding remaining central tenants of its approach.
The university has spent several months recognizing the possibilities for adaptation of different CRMs, particularly those that could address the realities of universities, and has decided that Reach undoubtedly meets that need.
We are excited to add Reach to our digital ecosystem and, especially, to take advantage of its integration with Blackboard, which provides advisors with key academic data to improve student support and achieve efficient management of recruitment and retention strategies. This will undoubtedly reinforce our plans for growth and continuous monitoring of these advances."
Pablo Navarro, Secretary General
Epilogue
Anthology thanks Pablo Navarro and the team at Universidad de Morón for its years of committed partnership, including regular participation in our annual Anthology Together conference. We’re excited to continue to drive great outcomes for the institution and its learners for many years to come.
Want to learn more? Check out all that Blackboard and Reach have to offer.
