Salesforce Partners with Institute for Transformational Learning at University of Texas to Build TEx 2.0 – Total Education eXperience

Higher Education is at a crossroads. Technology has the opportunity to radically improve education, however, MOOCs and existing Higher Education technology have not delivered on the promise. We believe putting the student at the center can radically change the student experience. The Institute of Transformational Learning (ITL) at the University of Texas has taken the student experience and applied design thinking to map the student experience. As Dr. Marni Baker Stein says “they are intentionally student centered.” Salesforce.org is very excited to partner with the University of Texas System on one of their nine Quantum Leaps.

To align technology with the learning as opposed to the institution, UT is using Salesforce as the foundational technology for TEx. Leveraging the Salesforce platform, TEx will be a learning success platform. More than an LMS or a MOOC, it will digitize the learning experience and help both the students and faculty understand where they are in the learning experience. Not just online learning; TEx will enable students to be in the classroom and be able to study outside the classroom with an application that personalizes the pace of the learning to the student.

A pilot was run earlier this year at UTRGV (University of Texas Rio Grande Valley). In RGV, 60% of the population does not have internet access. RGV is an economically challenged part of the United States. In this program the students were given an iPad with TEx – a different experience from most students. The outcome was overwhelmingly positive. One of the students wrote a blog titled “The College App that Changed My Life.” I loved her metaphor; TEx is a Fitbit for Learning. The cohort of 129 students in the pilot for two semesters created over 3 million data points which were used to customize the learning experience. Imagine faculty truly understanding what a student is learning or not grasping all along the way. Historically, the persistence rate of this program has not been good – less than half moved forward with better than a C on their transcript. Of the 129 students in the pilot, over 80% moved forward with better than a C on their transcript. While one pilot is not proof, we were really excited to see the real world impact of TEx.

UT has been a great partner and we look forward to TEx 2.0. You can learn more about TEx and ITL at http://utx.edu and in their most recent press release. For everyone joining us at Dreamforce 2016, you won’t want to miss Marni Baker Stein, Chief Innovation Officer at The University of Texas System and Sir Ken Robinson speaking on Oct 5 as part of the “Forbes Philanthropy Summit: It All Starts with Education” session.