Motlow State & T-Mobile for Education Are Powering Student Success

2021 -2022

MOTLOW STATE COMMUNITY COLLEGE &

T-MOBILE FOR EDUCATION

ARE POWERING STUDENT SUCCESS: A RESPONSE TO THE SHIFTING NEEDS LATTICE OF HIGHER EDUCATION AND WORKFORCE

MOT LOW STATE

T-M obi le

During the Fall of 2021, after devel oping a r elationship wit h T-Mobil e for over a year , Motlow State Communit y College and T-Mobile for Educat ion par tnered on a gro undbreaking ef fort to “Power Student Success” using 5G.

Over t he course of the spri ng an d s umme r of 2021 , exec uti ves, sta ff , f acul t y, an d ot h ers worked f ur i ou sl y on the co nt ent , co nt e xt , an d communi catio n too ls needed f or s uc ce ss wit h T-Mobi l e. We di dn’ t just wa nt t o lau nc h anot her 1 t o 1 pr ogram, we wa nt ed t o i mpa ct stude nt s uc cess i n measurab l e wa ys . Sa ms un g donate d 2, 100 ( equal to 30% of t he 2019 Fa ll po pu l at i on) A3 2 ph on es tha t we re AR en ab led and T- Mobi le pro vided the 5G ne t wor k ac ce s s for a t rul y un i qu e un l imited an d f re e t ex t, t al k , 5G ho tspot, an d WIFI pa c ka ge f or Mot l ow s tudent s. Ou rs wa s no t a gi mmi c k t o at t r ac t s tudents t o Motlow be ca us e we we re of fer i ng t hese too ls f or stu de nt s uc ce ss , bu t for t hose wh o had made the co mmi t men t t o att en d. Li t eral ly , stu dent s t ho ugh t t he i ni t i al me ss ag i ng was a “h oa x”, “to o go od t o be t rue”, an d a “scam” an d i t wa s no t .

M ot lo w S t ate C o mm un i t y C o l leg e a nd T-Mobile f or E ducat ion Are P owe ring S t u d e n t Su cc e s s : A R es po n s e t o the Shifting Nee ds Lattice of Highe r Ed uc a t i o n and W ork force

Mot l ow State’s libraries, hall ways, and t hroughways provided a spa ce f or the “Week of Welcome” where students were introduced to the opportunity to begin t he semester with a too l/device cr afted and cus tomize d for their wholis ti c succ ess. Apps were thoughtfully cons ider ed, and we placed men tal heal th and wellness, academic, foo d i nsecurity, st udent support, and t he l ear ning managemen t sys tem within a click away on the front face of all phones. The week would not have been as outsta nding wit hout our T-Mobile col l eagues flying in from al l over the count ry to welcome our students and to assist in handi ng out phones , tees, and bags f ull of useful r esources. This was not only unique, but a fir st of its kind ini ti ati ve t o support returnin g “back to campus” students as well as mai l i ng i tems to students who were 100% online and unable to r etur n to campus for various reasons. Please see the i mportant r esults and narrative of Powering Stu dent Succes s.

T he impact of inf orm a t i o n commun ication techno lo g y ( ICT) on the scal abil it y o f teachi ng, innova t io n , le ar nin g, and tr ain ing ( TI L T ) se ems obviou s. Whe r e ca n w e g o wi thou t ou r tools ? W h er e do we g o wi thou t o u r de vices? M otl ow S tate j o i n e d with T -M obil e to su ppor t i ts TILT phe nomena. TILT , o n T Mobi les 5G n etwor k i nd e e d r epr es en ts an d meet s t h e broad immediate ne ed s o f le ar ner s an d tr aine es w h e n paralle led with/ via eme r g i n g an d cur r ent technol o g i c a l platfor ms l ike ENGA G E , V R an d its e volutionar y X R me tas capes . T he cons tr a i n ts of a pande mi c and s o c i a l ide ological inte r e s t s decouple our se ns e o f toge th er nes s. In deed , t h e pr imal u se of e ngageme n t h a s contextu all y been fa c e t o f ace and e ye to e ye, bu t t h a t too had evolve d to onlin e a n d ble nded modalities . I n t h e inte re st of h ealth , s afe ty , a n d we llnes s, we have s oci et a ll y accele r ated ou r nee d fo r tools and platfor ms t h a t e ncourage bel on ging n e s s .

M otlow State Comm u n i t y Coll ege does not se e k t o de volve backwar ds f rom t h e impor tance of hu m a n conn ection , but t o b e con sciousl y con side rate o f a mor e con necte d, s ocial , a n d te chn ological con tin u u m .

M ot low Sta te C om munity Colle ge | T-Mo bi le for Education

I mmersive platforms ar e and have been a normative phenomenon for many gl obally; this is i rrespective of how we t ransi tio n back to brickand- mortar locations to sati ate our desire for soc io-physical contact.

The global pandemic activ ated Alternative Work Schedules ( AWS) .

However, as we retur n, activ e work is no longer si mply creeping into org anizational mission st atements, organizati ons are r emeasuring the direct val ue of optimally servi ceable and functional workplaces. Our futures are parallel as we will f uncti on face to face and vi rtually forever. This i s not new, but we are in need of bro adening t rue under standing of the ROI f or employee and student devel opment. Motlow Sta te Community Coll ege and T-Mobile agreed on t his vision and shared in seedi ng through fruition.

M ot low Sta te C om munity Colle ge | T-Mo bi le for Education

POWERING STUDENT SUCCESS:

Teaching The commercial introduction, roughly a decade ago, of the DK ÷ headset from a then little start up called Occulus initiated my interests as a learner and a professor.

Those of us, all of us, who teach must continue to learn, no? The early devices provided a glimpse into being “in world” and characteristic human movements. As we have advanced, content continues to exist as a place for investment which utilizes Career and Technical Education (CTE) and what we have tagged STEAùMB(e) - as a developing marketplace for learners or those who seek to be trained that are interested in Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, Aviation, & Agriculture, Mathematics, and lastly Business as entrepreneurship. TMobile for Education shares in our narrative and is motivated to impact lives through education and connectivity. We believe this provides us a guidebook or literal beacons for intentional stackable credential development towards skills that lead to career employment. Our developing enterprise approach is currently co-opting and filling partnerships with industries across Robotics, Mechatronics, Healthcare, OEM, Tier One Manufacturing, Educators, Government Agencies, and within our communities. The Pell Eligible fall-tospring (fall øöø÷ to spring øöøø) retention rate is ýú% for T-Mobile phone users and üþ% for the overall college wide Pelleligible population. This marked ü% difference also holds true for Non-Pell eligible students, where þö% of T-Mobile ûG platform device users were retained fall-to-spring versus ýú% for the overall Non-Pell eligible population. We have learned that the best prepared are prepared on day one.

Moreover, in another focus population, Black male students who were T-Mobile ûG device users also retained from fall-to-spring û% higher than the overall student population, at üý% for phone users versus üø% overall. As an organization, we are still learning, but we are also more broadly mindful today. We cannot provide the students support needed now if we don’t till the landscape or sow what needs to rise to create awareness. More bluntly, ûG and beyond infrastructure is no longer a discussion point, it is a must for success. We can posit or debate the platitudes of roughing out the existential use of the realities in the Metaverse or tools, but shall we await broader onboarding? No, we cannot, we should not, we ought not. Let’s further push and promote for the vertical integration of emerging technologies for the purposes of improving the human condition. Teachers are our innovators, let us support their exploration. Students are our opportunity, and we depict here what must be in the palms of their hands; devices on a network that come readily equipped to meet the demands of the TILT environment. This partnership has displayed what works. However, we know that we have other questions that we can still ask and answer which will redress findings and certainly create additional topics for discussion and action.

POWERING STUDENT SUCCESS:

Innovation Motlow State XR labs connection to automation, robotics, cyber tinkering, health sciences, and mechatronics allude to the development of Robotronics. The broadening categorization of blockchain paradigms create linear continuums.

From the existing interoperability of personal sovereignty, digital skills wallets, learner cards, the úth Industrial Revolution, *R, integrative artificial intelligence (AI), and attention to sustainability; innovation rises. We sought useful tools that promote the value of skills and can be combined across many or all verticals/domains.

T-Mobile willingly endeared themselves to us by uttering a commitment to impacting our local community of students and employees. We spoke about, “Remembering pagers and bag phones, tethered joy sticks and block characters in learning simulations". The realm of realism is so crisp now, the mind not only sees, but intuits presence in virtual collaborative spaces. These spaces can be in øD, ùD, or completely immersive with ÷þö and ùüö degrees of freedom also known as ù degrees of freedom axis and ü degrees of freedom axis.

T-Mobile’s network connections create digital success pathways to innovative and academic skillsets to which academically underprepared students do not always encounter and/or engage. Our data clarified that for the academically underprepared focus population, the ü% difference for phone users still holds true, with ýü% of academically underprepared. TMobile phone users retaining fall-to-spring versus ýö% for the overall academically underprepared population. The ûG phone and AR enabled devices on T-Mobile’s network have supported the innovative efforts the Motlow State Community College community embarked upon.

POWERING STUDENT SUCCESS:

Learning & Training Traditionally, have we not aligned goals, objectives, assessment, and outcomes to standards? We positioned these pillars as the quality and rigor measures that amplify what it is to be a “learned” individual. The ûG network enables blended learning and supports morphing our inputs, throughputs, and outputs. Moreover, the use of TMobiles ûG platform leverages open skills networks, OER, and Zdegrees permanently while positioning learners to earn. This quite literally provides “skills to pay the bills.” For MBs used, think of cost per minute bills for college students and families, Pell eligible students, on average, made up ûÿ.ú% of the total number of MBs used between September and January, although the only made up ûö% of all T-Mobile phone users. Likewise, students of color made up ùû% of phone users, yet between September and January, on average students of color made up ú÷% of total MBs used.

What our students are expecting Emerging markets and urbanization • Trade, people, finance, and data: Greater global connections • Accelerating technological change • Responding to the challenges of an aging world • Create quadruple threat graduates who leave their respective high schools and Motlow after having completed dual enrollment courses, an apprenticeship, a longterm capstone project and receipt of an industry-recognized credential along with their degree and do this in half the time it usually takes.

We don’t have to have an either or approach to creating a sustainable workforce of skilled Tennesseans and credentialing via certificate or degreed graduates. Mike Sievert, TMobile CEO, states “Higher education environments foster bold ideas and cutting edge technologies … as a corporate partner innovation, T-Mobile for Education provides infrastructure to ensure academic research and development communities can thrive” (T-Mobile for Education Guide, p.ø). I believe we must be compelled to enlist what works, where it works, when it works, for whom it works!

PLEASE SEE THE ADDITIONAL DATA POINTS BELOW. As an indication that T-Mobile phone users accurately represent the overall student body, the demographics of these T-Mobile phone users parallel the overall fall 2021 student body in several ways: The make-up of T-Mobile phone users requiring Learning Support (45%) compared to the overall student body (44%).

The age classifications of T-Mobile phone users in the Traditional <21 (73%), Traditional 2124 (7%), and Non-Traditional 25> (20%) groups compared to the overall student body in the same groups (69%, 9%, and 22%).

The campus location of T-Mobile phone users for Online (40%), Smyrna (30%), Moore County (11%), and Fayetteville (3%) compared to the overall student body’s breakdown by campus for Online (45%), Smyrna (29%), Moore County (13%), and Fayetteville (4%).

However, T-Mobile phone users’ demographics do differ from the overall fall 2021 student in body in the following notable ways: Students from the McMinnville Campus are more represented in T-Mobile phone users (16%) than in the overall student body’s campus breakdown (10%).

More T-Mobile phone users are Pell eligible (50%) vs. the overall student body (43%).

Male students make up a higher percentage of T-Mobile phone users (44%) vs. the overall student body (37%).

More full-time students are T-Mobile phone users (66%) vs. the overall student body (49%).

White students make up a smaller percentage of T-Mobile phone users (62%) vs. the overall student body (72%), meaning that students of color are more represented in T-Mobile phone users (14% Hispanic / 13% Black / 4% Asian) vs. the overall student body (10% Hispanic / 10% Black / 2% Asian).

First-Time-Freshmen make up a higher percentage of T-Mobile phone users (39%) vs. the overall student body (27%).

Motlow State Community College travels toward its future with this in mind, Powering Student Success 2040. As an institution, we believe in the following strategic initiatives, 1) Open Access, 2) Completion, 3) Community & Workforce. In alignment with our sister institutions across the state of Tennessee, these efforts will lean heavily upon our ability to forge strong collaborative partnerships, enhance our institutional and operational capacity, harness innovation, and fulfill the equity necessary for both urban and smalltown rural Tennessee. This is an exercise in being focused and steadfast with a mindset cemented on continuous improvement. T-Mobile for Education believes in their brand of “unconventional thinking and partnerships with higher education institutions are helping us build an infrastructure for the future of learning” (T-Mobile for Education Guide, n.p.).

The T-Mobile for Business creative matter of fact approach aligns with Motlow State Community College and we are pleased to have engaged in a partnership that is impactful

A FEW STUDENT RESPONSES Motlow State Community College & T-Mobile for Education

1. The phones allow me the ability to do my homework, study, and complete assignments in D2L when I am on the way to or coming back from matches on the bus.

2. I didn’t think that this phone would do everything, but it does. I am connected almost everywhere I go using 5G. 3. My friends at other schools can’t believe that we have this happening here at Motlow.

4. Thank you T-Mobile for helping me get through this year!

5. I am saving thousands of dollars because of this and I really appreciate it!

6. Are we going to be able to do this or have this every year? It’s been super helpful to not worry about data usage and study with friends over zoom and stuff.

7. This is the best!

POWERING STUDENT SUCCESS:

Conclusion The opportunity ahead is enormous for institutions of higher education. Motlow State Community College and T-Mobile for Education agree on this point. Our support of student success and workforce development preparation is evident. The engagement and retention of students is supported by significant percentage increases. Moreover, this allows us to extend the conversation into blockchain paradigms, regenerative economics, and the current and future impact of decentralized autonomous organizations (DAO). We will be prepared to usher in the narrative that comingles EV and sustainable practices all while supporting the vertical integration of technology that supports the human condition. Imagine the useful tools created when communities of learning, love, and innovation step forward in unison.

Imagine the organic intellectuals with tools supported by networks that tether smart campuses with smart and secure networks.

Let us continue to map for a future where at anytime and anywhere human development and skill attainment can occur without friction. As we prepare to carve out space in the creation of a Metaversity, we at Motlow State Community College seek to unbind boundaries. The now has always belonged to those bold enough to explore the unknown and create a niche for organizational futures that reach toward the infinite. We are here and we are now. We care about our employees. We care about our students and communities. We care about our partners. We have put support into action and are committed to the success of others. The future is ours.

18

MOTLOW STATE COMMUNITY COLLEGE |

T-MOBILE FOR EDUCATION

NOTA BENE: A special acknowledgment goes to Ms. Erica Newman for her support, design, and review of the data points. A huge thank you to Matt Beagle for sharing in this idea to implementation and friendship. Thank you to Ms. Carrie McIlvern, Ms. Ann Clancy, and Mr. Tim Stoer for joining us and believing this was possible. Dr. Meagan McManus and Ms. Tiffany Phillips, your insights are always appreciated and support our mission and vision for student success. Dr. Sid Hill, Ms. Alissa Roebuck, and Ms. Brenda Cannon, thank you all for your support of this project and its outcomes. Ms. Hilda Tunstill and Ms. Charle Coffee, thank you for your support in making this happen for our students. Thank you to the entire Motlow Family. Thank you to Dr. Kiesha King for the constant encouragement and vision sessions. Ms. Sharon Edwards, Ms. Debra Smith, Mr. Carlos Padilla, Mark Hutchins, Dr. Sidney McPhee, Dr. Joy Rich, Dr. Pam Harris, Mr. Gary Winton, Ms. Barbara Scales, Mr. Rob Keel, Dr. Terri Bryson, Mr. Brian Robinson, Ms. Marie Mosley, and Dr. Tony Millican, thank you for sharing in this success as members of a good team. Thank you to the Motlow College Foundation and Trustees.

Thank you to Mr. Eugene London for his leadership, brainstorming, and support.

Thank you to the Chancellor Flora Tydings and Dr. Kim McCormick for always providing room to innovate, grow, and test. To all of the Motlow Family who participated and support student success and workforce development, we thank and appreciate you.

ONE MOTLOW.

BY MICHAEL TORRENCE, PH.D. ON MAY 10, 2022 @4:41 A.M.