Digital elevation tool
Helping the further education and skills sector get a clear picture of their digital elevation journey with access to resources and services to support next steps.
We're all about helping our members improve user experience and build organisational agility and resilience - but every member has different needs and priorities. Jisc's three-year strategy to elevate the UK further education and skills sectors (pdf), describes the digital elevation model and sets out how further education (FE) and skills members can elevate key aspects of their operations with digital technologies.
The digital elevation tool has been developed to provide senior strategic leaders in FE and skills organisations with an online self-assessment tool that allows them to validate their organisation’s current position against five key themes and map their digital journey in each area against the digital elevation model.
Once complete, the tool confirms whether the organisation is at pre-foundation, foundation, transform or elevate level.
The self-assessment feedback as well as the resources, information and services we signpost users to, help organisations to invest wisely and make more sure-footed progress to the next level.
You can also join our digital elevation tool community to network with other senior leaders and share best practice. Updates are provided as part of membership via Teams.
How it works
The digital elevation model brings to life how digital, data and technology will help FE and skills providers elevate their digital ambitions and make progress towards an elevated digital experience for all their stakeholders.
Foundations (the ‘must-haves’)
- The policies, processes and digital, data or technology elements that must be in place for a provider to build on
Transform (the ‘should-haves’)
- Built on the foundations, the same elements that we hope providers already have in place, or plan to put in place, to transform the end user experience
Elevate (the ‘can-haves')
- Built on the transform elements, some UK FE and skills providers may already have these aspects, but most will not, yet. Early adopters of these elements will be the innovators across the regions and their experience will influence the experience of all UK FE and skills stakeholders as they progress through the levels
Strategic benefits
The digital elevation tool provides validation questions grouped around five key themes. Address each theme and every stakeholder in your organisation, as well as the organisation itself, will see benefits:
Learner experience
Improve the learning experience, not just while learners are enrolled but before they arrive and long after they’ve moved on. Explore how you can use digital technologies to:
- Improve induction and create supportive communities of learning
- Personalise learning journeys
- Foster collaborative working
- Get learners work-ready and support their lifelong learning
Curriculum development
Keep curricula relevant and up to date with sector data/insight and adopt digital tools and techniques that enable frictionless collaborative working. Find out how data analytics empowers organisations to:
- Make data-driven decisions about developing inspiring, relevant and effective learning and teaching
- Help improve assessment and inform plans for timely, effective support for individual learners
Digital tools allow learners and staff to stay connected and support participation in learning at times and in locations that suit individual circumstances and learning styles.
“We decided to use the digital elevator tool to understand where we are on the digital transformation journey. It raised questions we hadn’t even thought about when embarking on this journey. We have now completed the assessment tool, have a clear action plan and are advancing at a far greater pace than we ever imagined."
Matt Tudor, director of commercial development, strategy and partnerships, Bridgewater and Taunton College
Staff experience
Embed digital skills that enable staff to do their best work. Explore how to:
- Embed digital skills that support highly effective teaching and assessment practices
- Empower support staff to help learners with their studies and their pastoral needs
- Long-term, give all staff the digital skills and confidence they need to develop their practice and further their careers
Leadership, culture and governance
Establish a digital-first culture and provide digital leadership across all aspects of your organisation. Use the tool to assist you in:
- Creating a holistic digital culture for your organisation
- Collaborating with key stakeholders and your board of governors
- Allowing you to lead your organisation’s digital development
- Creating, or complementing, your digital strategy, yearly self-assessment report and quality improvement plan
Underpinning technologies
Get your digital infrastructure fighting fit to improve resilience and provide learners and staff with reliable access to the resources and services they need. Make sure underpinning services are keeping pace with change – for example:
- Can your cyber security measures stand up to growing cyber threats, and are your identity and authentication processes as seamless as they could be?
- Are you making best use of data and analytics tools to help you make best use of organisational resources such as learning spaces?
Getting these things nailed down are key to organisational resilience, efficiency and reputation.
Get started
If you’d like to find out more about how the digital elevation tool can help your organisation build on its digital foundations please contact your relationship manager.
ISO certification
This service is included within the scope of our ISO9001 certificate.
