Tri-C Signs with Sungard HE for Online Development Help

  • By Dian Schaffhauser
  • 09/14/09

Cuyahoga Community College in Cleveland, OH has gone public with its engagement of SunGard Higher Education to help develop its online programs.

"As the enrollment of online students at Tri-C grows exponentially, we are continuously working to create fresh and innovative ways to support our new faculty and students so that they can be successful in what may be a very different environment than what they've been used to," said Gillian McKnight-Tutein, director of the Innovative Learning Design and Quality Office of eLearning and Innovation for the college. "Sungard HE works with our course development teams to provide instructional design support as we build new components for online faculty development and online student orientation.

McKnight-Tutein said Sungard HE was chosen because of its commitment to excellence and "their shared vision of what we are trying to accomplish."

Also, the institution had an affinity with the company's design framework. "[Sungard HE] employs the Quality Matters (QM) Rubric in designing courses," she explained. "QM is a tool we use to ensure the creation of quality courses. The fact that they use the same research-based approach to quality assurance proved another level of alignment in achieving our course design goals."

The institution, which had nearly 24,000 students in 2008, three traditional campuses, and a number of off-campus sites, has used the software and services of Sungard HE for a Banner administrative implementation, including student records, financial aid, finance, HR, and other functions.

"We're seeing more colleges and universities interested in moving to an online or hybrid environment," said Andy Cooley, senior vice president, strategy and product management for academics at the company. "Many of the institutions coming to us have tried to launch online programs on their own, but because they may not have the necessary resources, or because they are unable to dedicate the resources to achieve their desired goals, they turn to us for support."

About the Author

Dian Schaffhauser is a former senior contributing editor for 1105 Media's education publications THE Journal, Campus Technology and Spaces4Learning.

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