Leadership

  • On keeping Skynet and The Matrix fictional…

    Byraymond.scheel@gmail.com

    Recent reports describing an autonomous AI system escaping a testing environment and accessing another company’s infrastructure serve as a reminder that capability and governance do not always advance at the same pace. As AI systems become increasingly autonomous, the question is no longer whether we can give them more authority. The question is how much authority we should give them, and what safeguards should be built into their design from the beginning.

  • Five Institutions, One LMS

    Byraymond.scheel@gmail.com

    Most people assume an LMS migration is a technology project. My experience leading the Texas State University System Online Shared Services…

  • Growing Online Learning at Scale

    Byraymond.scheel@gmail.com

    Growth is often confused with expansion. Expansion adds volume. Growth builds the capacity to sustain that volume. During my time supporting online learning initiatives at Sam Houston State University, online enrollment grew from approximately 4% to more than 23% of institutional FTE. That growth was not driven by a single technology platform or marketing initiative. It was the result of building systems, governance structures, support networks, and operational capacity capable of scaling alongside demand.

  • What We Learned During COVID: Speed, Clarity, and Continuity

    Byraymond.scheel@gmail.com

    When campuses abruptly shifted operations during the COVID-19 pandemic, the objective was not to create exemplary online courses. The objective was continuity. Drawing on lessons learned during Hurricane Harvey, existing online-learning infrastructure, and established system partnerships, our team was able to rapidly develop and scale instructional continuity strategies that helped support not only our own institution, but partner institutions and hundreds of organizations looking for practical guidance during an unprecedented disruption.

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    The Reporting System That Didn’t Need Me Anymore

    Byraymond.scheel@gmail.com

    One of the most valuable projects of my career wasn’t a major platform launch or a large technology initiative. It was a reporting system designed to eliminate a bottleneck and make itself unnecessary. Fifteen years after I left the organization, the system was still operating successfully, reinforcing a lesson that has shaped my approach to technology, process improvement, and leadership ever since: sustainable solutions create independence.