Funded by the: Jisc e-Learning programme.
Lead Institution: Cranfield University.
Learner Provider Type: Higher Education
Project Duration: January 2012 - March 2013
Key Words: Course Data
Case study tags: course data, process improvement, course information, cranfield university
Note: This is an abridged version of this project's final report. The full version is available here.
CDIVAS: Course Data Including Validation, Advertising and Selection
Project Summary
Project CDIVAS aims remain the same as the initial JiscCourse Data bid in that it will deliver an operational system to capture course information from initial conception through all approval processes, to creating course information for public use and to ultimately allow students to select modules at on-line registration. The system will allow the course proposer to record the initial information electronically, this can then be amended and added to whilst in discussion with their Director of Education. Once the information is authorised by the Director of Education the proposed course structure will be electronically workflowed to the relevant School committee members for further discussion. The course information will be displayed electronically during the School and Teaching committee meetings. At this stage the process is following the existing but now automated procedure of the Course Structure Document. The process will allow for revision as the course proposal progresses through the approval process. The system will also allow for existing approved courses to be amended, the amendments will then follow the approval process as per the University Laws and Regulations. Once approved by the School Committees, Teaching Committee and finally by Senate, a new automated QA procedure will confirm and schedule the update of the student record system and invoke the process which will create the XCRI-CAP record for that course. Once this final approval process has taken place, the course modules will be available to allow the student to electronically select modules at the time of online registration and the XCRI CAP record made available for aggregators.
What did we learn?
Engaging with participants of a process and obtaining dedicated engagement from personnel to a project is difficult. Resources identified at the start of a project are not always available to the project once it has commenced or those resources are not willing to participate although their knowledge is required. Enabling personnel to articulate their involvement in a process is a challenge and then asking those personnel to analyse the process in order to streamline it, is an even greater challenge. However, by using training gained under another Jisc project, it was found that a visual and participative methodology was the most productive. Project structure is crucial to keep a project moving forward; the PRINCE(2) methodology employed in this project has given structure and movement forward. It is vital to automate and put structure in the course and module approval process primarily in terms of capturing the required data for the student records system as accurate course and module data is vital in the student records system. The correct course and module approval process must be followed in order that the correct structure is reflected in the student records system to enable accurate application, student registration and statutory reporting. HE institutions are keen to work together to find common solutions; that our processes are not radically different and when using the same software generic solutions should be possible. The meetings and communications held with reference to collaborative working have been of great benefit in this project and for the future. Software suppliers are not willing to work collaboratively with multiple institutions to find a generic solution; resource seemed to be a major contributing factor to this as well as the ingrained opinion that each institution was unique in its processes which has been proved to be incorrect. When Jisc put an amount of funds into the sector which will involve software suppliers being engaged in technical developments; the software supplier does not have the resource capacity to satisfy the demand; additionally, technical resource becomes a general issue in the sector. Networking opportunities in a Jisc project is an immense benefit to the project and to future relationships. Jisc offer immense support and training during a programme which can be taken forward into other projects to the benefit of participating institutions. Jisc project reporting requirements can put an added burden on to the project team members and should not be underestimated. Giving a presentation to a large audience with a timer counting down 5 minutes is difficult.
Immediate Impact
The Course Data project has increased awareness of the real need to automate and streamline the course and module approval process. The importance of the accuracy of the data has been highlighted to individuals who otherwise did not know the student records system relied on the data to allow publication of the course; student registration and statutory reporting. Some manual changes have already been put in place whilst waiting for the project to deliver the automated solution. It has been recommended to change the course and module approval process to allow for parallel running of approval and system set up. Sharing of knowledge between institutions has been informative of how formal documents can be communicated to individuals using visual methods rather than spreadsheets and formal documents.
Future Impact
The course data with integrated validation, advertising and approval processes will have an enormous impact on both the staff proposing the course and on the system data integrity which in turn has an impact on course publication; student registration and statutory reporting. The staff will be informed of what is required and automated workflow through approval will ensure all courses are approved through the formal approval process in the correct manner with the correct and required data being input with immediate validation. Although this project is delayed due to a number of reasons: lack of project management resource; conflicting project priorities across the Improving Student Processes Programme and software supplier issues, there have already been many benefits: Course data cleansing in order to issue the XCRI-CAP file Course data structure rationalised in order to issue the XCRI-CAP file University as a whole informed of course and module approval and data issues which has encouraged support of this project Diet Generation automated and rolled out (June 2013) to the course administrators thus releasing resource within the student records systems team Module Approval solution shared from another institution proving that the concept works in reality Module Approval solution rolled out (June 2013) to the course administrators thus releasing resource within the student records systems team
Conclusions
The creation of the XCRI-CAP file has been a valuable exercise for the university and would not have been done had it not been for this project; it will also be of benefit to the sector once embedded and aggregators are developed. Working and networking with other institutions is valuable and a benefit to administrative and technological developments; such co-operation is not available in the commercial sector and it should not be underestimated. The business processes across institutions do not fundamentally differ, there are deviations to a standard route, this should allow for collaborative working across institutions to find a common technical solution but it is challenging to obtain the same collaborative working ethic in a commercial software supplier. The Jisc project reporting requirements are valuable in ensuring project progression; consideration will be given to incorporating these into internal projects in the future. At the same time, the reporting requirements can sometimes seem to add an additional burden onto project management but this highlights the absolute need for a Project Support role within every project to assist the Project Manager and team to ensure communication is carried out. There are advantages and disadvantages to Jisc funding; this funding has encouraged many institutions to look at their course data management and integrity but the influx of funding to the sector and the drive to improve the systems managing course data has found the major software supplier struggling to meet the demand consequently project timescales slip out.
Recommendations
A strong project team is paramount: if resourcing “disappears” the team should ensure replacement is identified and be strong enough not to continue the project until a replacement is allocated. Regular and clear communication is essential but is linked to time and resources allocated to the project team to manage an effective project. Projects never go to plan: Plan and re-plan but it takes time – again the project support role is essential. In a Jisc project, make full use of all the resources available such as attending training and accessing the library of valuable reading material.
Contacts:
Project Director: Matthew Russell.
Project Manager: Claire Gale
Contact email: c.a.gale@cranfield.ac.uk
Project Web URL: http://www.cranfield.ac.uk/academicservices/CourseData
