Designing for Demand: Online Students Want Flexibility and AI Guidance

Tekoya Boykins

Director, Academic Program Strategy, Risepoint

Dr. Tekoya Boykins is a passionate educator who promotes growth and positive change through education. Currently serving as the director of academic strategic planning and support at Risepoint, Tekoya is an advocate for education who has led in various capacities including serving as a business and education faculty, curriculum and instructional designer, assessment writer, and faculty trainer for professional development. Her research focuses on competency-based education.

She has a heart for continuous growth and improvement. She is active in her community promoting education to underserved and underrepresented populations who desire change through quality and innovative education.

Marybeth Mitcham

Assistant Professor | Director of the Online MPH Program, George Mason University

Dr. MB (Marybeth) Mitcham is an assistant professor in the Department of Global and Community Health and the director of the Online MPH Program in the College of Public Health. She is a social and behavioral scientist and educator with extensive experience in non-profit, community, and educational settings, focusing on translational public health research and on developing and implementing interventions to promote wellness and reduce the burden of preventable health conditions among diverse community groups through a trauma-informed, social justice framework. Her research and work focus on the interplay between humans and their environment, leveraging education to improve community health outcomes, and exploring intergenerational and interdisciplinary approaches to foster personal connectedness through storytelling and open conversations. 

Van Davis

Executive Director, WCET & Vice President, Digital Learning, WICHE

vdavis@wiche.edu

LinkedIn Profile

Expertise Includes:

• Artificial Intelligence,
• Policy and Practice,
• Federal and State Distance Education Policy,
• Degree Completion Initiatives,
• Competency-based Education,
• the Cost and Price of Distance Education, and,
• the Future of Higher Education and Digital Learning.  

Bio

Van Davis joined WCET in 2021 as chief strategy officer, and in 2025, he became WCET’s executive director and WICHE’s vice president for digital learning. Davis oversees all strategic and operational responsibilities of WCET’s membership, the State Authorization Network (SAN) that assists institutions with interstate compliance, and Every Learner Everywhere, which advocates for successful academic outcomes for all postsecondary education students through advances in digital learning. 

Van has 30 years of experience in higher education as a faculty member, academic administrator, state policy maker, and edtech leader. He holds a Master’s and PhD in 20th Century US history with an emphasis in civil rights from Vanderbilt University and a Bachelor’s in history from Southwestern University. Prior to joining WCET and WICHE, Van served as principal at Foghlam Consulting, associate vice president at Blackboard Inc., director of innovation at the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, and a faculty member and academic administrator at several public and private universities with historically underrepresented student populations.  

Van lives in Colorado with his beloved wife, Lisa, and their cat, Kody. When not working, Van collects Lego models and dreams of the day he can complete his western US camping trip.