Webster University
LocationSaint Louis, MO |
Classification4-year private university |
StudentsGraduate: 15,461 | Undergrad: 4,395 |
FacultyFull-time: 171 | Part-time: 2,788 |
The Story
After the third generation of an in-house solution that did not live up to vision or address the needs of the School of Business, Webster, didn't want to continue allocating time and resources on software development, they wanted a sustainable syllabus solution that they could support.
The George Herbert Walker School of Business and Technology went to Webster's Information Technology group to develop a syllabus tool that simplifies the accreditation process by ensuring consistency among the domestic and international business campuses. The key drivers for developing an in-house syllabus management tool was to ensure that policies were consistent with outcomes and to make it easy for their high numbers of adjunct faculty to create their syllabi, have that syllabi approved, and get them to teaching – faster.
Webster wanted to replace their manual processes, and believed this could be achieved by generating a collection of master syllabi that would act as standard templates for all faculty in the School of Business to expand and build of off.
Webster soon realized that what started as a small IT solution soon grew into a large scale project. Developing a "syllabus generator" required more resources than expected. The third generation in-house tool was not living up to the initial vision of addressing syllabus consistency, standardization, delivery, and coordination across campuses. Within a week of the decision, Webster started the search for a commercial syllabus management solution and found the Concourse, a platform developed by Intellidemia. Concourse was cost efficient, integrated easily with Webster's existing academic systems, and would facilitate sharing and collaboration.
A selection committee of Webster Deans and IT members evaluated Concourse against the needs of not only the School of Business, but as a solution for the entire university. Meeting one school's requirement to better manage syllabi soon became an institutional conversation about organizing, sharing, analyzing syllabi for all Webster campuses. In addition to the areas of assessment and accreditation, Concourse is the solution to meet the needs of multiple departments.
Additional Content
Full Press Release - February 9th, 2011
About Webster University
With its home campus in St. Louis, Webster University (www.webster.edu) is a worldwide institution committed to delivering high-quality learning experiences that transform students for global citizenship and individual excellence. Founded in 1915, Webster offers undergraduate and graduate degree programs through five schools and colleges, and a global network of campuses. Its 20,000-plus student population represents almost 150 nationalities. Since opening its first campus overseas in Geneva in 1978, Webster has become a recognized leader and innovator in global education, with an international presence that now includes campuses in London; Vienna; Amsterdam and Leiden, the Netherlands; Shanghai, Shenzhen and Chengdu, China; and Bangkok and Cha-am, Thailand. Webster also has educational partnerships with universities in Mexico and Japan.
To learn more about Webster, visit their website at www.webster.edu.