Jill Buban

Biography

Jill Buban’s career focus has been on increasing access and opportunity for adult, working learners, as evident by her roles at institutions, non-profits, and currently at EdAssist. As General Manager, Buban’s passion for adult learner success is evident in the solutions EdAssist provides for nearly half a million learners every year through innovative education opportunities that meet the needs of the current and future workforce.

Prior to EdAssist, Buban served as the Vice President for Digital Strategy and Online Education at Fairfield University, bringing 21 programs online in a year. She oversaw strategic development, infrastructure and programming with a particular focus on graduate and professional studies.

Prior to her time at Fairfield, Buban served in leadership roles at two national organizations, the Unizin Consortium and the Online Learning Consortium (OLC). At Unizin, she served as the chief academic officer, overseeing the organization’s research activities, member and partner engagement, and acting as the liaison for Unizin’s robust teaching and learning committee. At OLC, Buban served as the senior director of Research and Innovation for the Online Learning Consortium (OLC). In this role, she founded and oversaw the OLC Research Center for Digital Learning and Leadership, worked on key strategic leadership initiatives for digital learning leaders, and oversaw the organization’s peer-reviewed journal, Online Learning. While at OLC, Buban lectured nationally and internationally on research in online, blended, and digital learning; innovation in higher education; and best practices for implementing online and blended programs.

Buban has held positions at for-profit and state institutions. At Post University, she was the assistant provost for Research and Innovation and oversaw all aspects of digital learning initiatives, including the transition of 500+ courses to eBooks, digital courseware, and open education resources (OER); creating and launching an online school for high school students; and instituting credit hour and regular and substantive policies for the institution. While at Post, Buban previously served as the dean of the School of Education and the academic program manager for the Master of Education program. Her career in online and distance learning began in Academic Affairs at SUNY Empire State College (ESC).

As a higher education thought leader, Buban speaks on many campuses, at a variety of conferences, and serves on multiple advisory boards. A collaborator with organizations such as APLU, Educause, WCET, NC-SARA, and Quality Matters on topics that are pertinent to the distance learning field, Buban is also a member of the higher education board of directors for IMS Global, and has served on the senior leadership team for the Association of Chief Academic Officers (ACAO) Digital Fellows, and the National University Technology Networks (NUTN) board of directors. Currently, Buban serves on the editorial board of the international journal, Educational Technology in Higher Education (ETHE).

Buban earned her PhD in Educational Studies with a Specialization in Adult Learning from Lesley University. She holds an MS in Curriculum and Instruction from State University of New York College at Plattsburgh, and a BA in History from the University of New Hampshire.

Awards earned for her accomplishments include being named a Top 100 Influencer in EdTech by Ed Tech Digest, a member of the 2017 Class of OLC Fellows, Best in Track Award from Sloan-C International Conference on Online Learning (2011), Emerging Scholar for the Society for the Study of Emerging Adulthood (2012), and the Hartford Business Journal 40 under 40 achievement (2014).

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