Katrina Borowiec

Adequate levels of financial knowledge and support are important as students navigate college-going decisions, including understanding net price, opportunity cost, personal budgeting, and taking on student loan debt. In addition, the exigencies of financial insecurities, short-term financial emergencies, and family and work responsibilities can affect students’ academic performance, well-being, and ability to persist to completion for their postsecondary goals. The authors discuss efforts that effectively identify and mitigate housing and food insecurities, access to course materials, emergency needs, and financial literacy/wellness interventions, among others, and how institutional processes and programs can support positive outcomes for student persistence and completion.

Purpose: Educational technology (“EdTech”) served a pivotal role in keeping schools functioning during the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Little is known about EdTech leaders’ roles in shaping this response. This study explores EdTech leaders’ perspectives and backgrounds, their response to the pandemic, how they envision their roles as educators, and their perspectives about how technology facilitates educational innovation.Design/Approach/Methods: This study uses a qualitative, phenomenological approach to understand how 11 EdTech leaders experienced the pandemic. Participants were recruited for interviews in summer 2021 via purposive sampling to include diverse backgrounds and perspectives. Data were analyzed inductively.Findings: The findings show that a four-category typology can be used to describe EdTech leaders’ diverse backgrounds and experiences. Leaders emphasized equity and open collaboration in their pandemic responses, by expanding access to their tools and adapting their products as users’ needs evolved. EdTech leaders anticipate streamlined user experiences, improvements in online learning, and increased adoption of artificial intelligence and simulated learning environments.Originality/Value: This study addresses a gap in the research concerning EdTech leaders’ perspectives on their efforts to support educators and their experiences during the pandemic. We hope this study sparks additional research on EdTech leaders’ experiences and roles in education.