The Power of Transformation in Higher Education: Why Learning Centers Must Lead in 2025

The Role of Transformation in Higher Education

In the evolving landscape of higher education, “transformation” has become a buzzword. Leaders are consumed with discussions around how artificial intelligence (AI) will disrupt or enhance education. While AI may mimic and even surpass many human abilities, it’s important to remember one fundamental truth: AI cannot transform humans. That power still resides with us.

As higher education leaders, we must refocus on delivering transformative education—the kind that turns students into learners and learners into leaders. Here are some critical insights about transformation to keep in mind.

Free resource at the end. 


Key Principles of Transformation

  1. Transformation Doesn’t Start in the Boardroom
    Transformation isn’t achieved by strategic plans or top-down directives. Instead, it revitalizes academic culture by reshaping students’ perspectives on both academic work and daily practices.
  2. Transformation is Priceless, Not Expensive
    While transformation doesn’t require extravagant spending, its impact is immeasurable. A genuine year of transformation will pay academic, relational and financial dividends for over a decade as the culture replicates itself.
  3. Transformation Flows from the Bottom Up
    Dorm rooms, classrooms, libraries and learning centers—not boardrooms—are the epicenters of transformation. Real change happens through direct engagement with students where they live and learn.

The Learning Center: Your Engine for Transformation

If you’re looking for transformation, start with your learning center. Learning centers play a pivotal role in cultivating academic success, building relationships, and fostering institutional harmony. They are uniquely positioned to extract actionable insights from student interactions—what I call “Trench Data”—that can guide more significant institutional initiatives.


A Decade of Transformation at Lenoir-Rhyne University

Take, for example, a decade-long academic revitalization I led at Lenoir-Rhyne University. One foundational tool was a workshop series I led called “Transforming Good Students into Great Learners.”

Here’s a snippet from a core activity in the workshop: students playing the Original Outcome Valuation Game.

 

The buzzing and zapping sounds are the unmistakable signs of students actively engaging with transformation!

This game wasn’t just fun—it was impactful. Over time, it improved success in academic programs and athletic teams, fostering harmony among professors, students, and athletic staff. Before the program began, faculty and coaches were enemies. However, three years later, they were presenting at conferences as allies in academic work.


More Recent Success Stories

Here are two standout examples of transformation led by learning centers:

  • The Florida Poly FLAME Revamp: A change in an introductory course led to drastic drops in DFW scores and immediate boosts in retention and enrollment.
  • The Denison Difference: A newly established Peer Learning Strategist program boosted performance among first-generation and underrepresented students.

Learning centers hold the keys to transformative education. As we look toward 2025, it’s time to elevate their role in higher education.


Learning Centers Must Lead in 2025

True transformation starts with a shift in academic culture—and learning centers are poised to lead the way. Tap your learning center to bridge your performance gaps and reshape your success journey, one student at a time.

How will your institution embrace transformation? Start the conversation today.

You can read more in my recent article in The Learning Assistance Review.

How is your institution approaching transformation in 2025? Leave a comment or question below. 

I’m providing a free transformation resource to the first 20 viewers who leave a thoughtful comment.

6 Comments

  1. Jade Sandbulte

    Mr. Geddes,
    Thank you for this post and your article in TLAR. Our institution and learning center are going through major personnel changes at the moment. On one hand, the lack of stability raises concerns, but it is also an opportunity to create major changes if we can get the right people on board. I’m planning to use your words to help inspire my colleagues to make the most of this opportunity!

    Reply
  2. Rhea Swinson Fitzpatrick

    Mr Geddes – I love your work and while I am working in Scotland I find much of your insights for improvement cross over. It is funny, recently we have new leadership in charge of Student Experience – Learning & Teaching which has brought much needed new perspectives and energy. They have been drafting a new Learning & Teaching strategy and have sought feedback. My take on many of the points is that the focus is on “what” we will do, but not “how”. Most of my comments were about the importance of nurturing an institutional culture that promotes: well-being, student support & success, relationships, student autonomy, etc. I came from “outside” the institution which I find to be a relatively closed environment – many staff/faculty have studied here, and then work here for decades, so everyone is very comfortable and assumes shared understanding i.e. the terms used, the processes, etc. are known to everyone including new students. People then get frustrated about students lack of engagement, poor academic performance, issue with classroom management. I love your premise that change/transformation starts at the bottom – where culture is formed. As a learning support department, I totally agree with the power we have in the transformation process.

    Reply
  3. BD

    I appreciate the term “trench data” to describe a learning center’s intimate perspective on the student learning experience. It is a vital piece of the data puzzle that higher ed administrators use to make choices that impact faculty, students and staff. A colleague once asked me to gather experiences I had with students that were “transformative, not transactional” where the learning process was central to a student’s success. It was a catalyst for me to reflect on our mission and our measures of success.

    Reply
  4. Virginia Ledesma

    Greetings Mr. Geddes, my question for you is- how can support services transform students’ mindset when they see AI as yet another short cut to not go through the learning process. How do we approach this dilemma?
    Thank you for your valuable insight- your resources are extraordinary!

    Reply
    • Leonard Geddes

      Hi Virginia,

      Thank you for your contribution and your thoughtful question.

      Your question warrants a more detailed response than I can provide here, but I’ll do my best to summarize. In short, you may need to address some deeply held assumptions and challenge a prevailing culture.

      One assumption is that many people believe students primarily seek shortcuts. While it’s true that students often aim to find the most efficient way to achieve the best grades, many of them also crave a challenge—they just want to feel equipped to overcome it. When courses lack the appropriate infrastructure, such as metacognitive-based learning outcomes, students’ study methods may fall short. In these cases, they are more likely to resort to tools like AI.

      The cultural issue, in my view, is that learning centers often see themselves as service providers rather than agents of transformation.

      From my observations, higher education has lost its way in some respects. The “higher” in higher education should be about transformation—whether it’s transforming students into learners or learners into lifelong learners. Unfortunately, the focus has narrowed to being information providers or “content experts,” as many educators refer to themselves. This perspective puts us in direct competition with AI, and frankly, we cannot compete on those fronts. AI is a superior content expert and provides better services.

      What AI cannot do, however, is transform students. In the stories I’ve shared in my articles, the students didn’t just perform better academically—they experienced what researchers call “the joys of learning.”

      So, to answer your question succinctly: If we want students to change their mindsets, we must first change ours.

      Reply
      • Virginia Ledesma

        Mr. Geddes, thank you for taking the time to address my question- (it really came from a place of wanting to help students succeed) it sounds about right- we need to go deeper into the need of the student and guide them to see learning as an opportunity to transform themselves. We must change our views in order to inspire genuine transformation. Thank you, I appreciate the lesson.

        Reply

Submit a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Call Us Today 1-866-337-3030