Syllabus Builder to Concourse - intellidemia.com · SYLLABUS BUILDER TO CONCOURSE This report...

2011

North Idaho College Jay Lee Vice President of Instruction

SYLLABUS BUILDER TO CONCOURSE This report explores the loss of Syllabus Builder, Faculty Finder, and the status of the current syllabus

creation application, Concourse, an Intellidemia product.

1 Syllabus Builder to Concourse| North Idaho College

Terminology

ANGEL -- learning management system currently used at North Idaho College. The college is

currently using version 7.3 of the ANGEL platform. ANGEL is a Blackboard product.

Blackboard -- educational technology company that provides systems for online learning

management. Blackboard hosts the college’s learning management system.

Concourse -- third-party, hosted syllabus creation and archival solution by Intellidemia.

Faculty Finder -- home-grown application that allowed users to search the NIC directory.

Faculty Finder also allowed instructors to maintain their own web pages on the www.nic.edu

website and provided a calendar view of an instructor’s class and office-hours.

Intellidemia -- an educational software company that provides a hosted syllabus creation and

archival and system.

Learning Management System (LMS) -- a web-based instructional content and delivery

structure.

Syllabus Builder -- home-grown syllabus creation and editing tool.

Webdriver -- home-grown web content management system that provides an authenticated

environment in which users can build and manage web page content.

Windriver -- the server that housed Webdriver, Faculty Finder, and Syllabus Builder.


A Little History

In approximately 2005, a faculty committee was formed to establish a syllabus

template. The foundation of the template was given to an NIC programmer and the

application known as Syllabus Builder was born. To assist students, the campus community,

and the public with locating faculty and reviewing syllabi, a companion component, Faculty

Finder, was also created. Syllabus Builder and Faculty Finder remained in use until May of

2011. Providing details about the history from a faculty perspective is an email from Lloyd

Duman, Chair of English and Modern Languages, to Faculty Assembly, sent Monday, September

12, 2011. The letter is included in its entirety here for the record and to acknowledge the

contributions of the faculty and staff named therein.

From: Lloyd Duman

Sent: Monday, September 12, 2011 9:06 AM

To: Faculty_Assembly

Subject: A little history

At Thursday’s Faculty Assembly meeting, the topic of our homegrown

Syllabus Builder came up; some questioned why it went away; some

wondered if it could be restored.

Although I can’t answer those questions, I can offer a little history.

Now, I know that the idea of “institutional memory” isn’t in vogue in

light of our seemingly insatiable institutional desire to “move forward,”

but for those new, semi-new, or kinda maybe new (read: old) faculty, I

thought it might be helpful to understand why and how we created SB.

(I’d like to thank Cheri Zao for filling in the gaps.)

During the 2005/06 academic year a Syllabus Committee was formed.

Members included myself, Kristina Klassen, Linda Lemkau, Kathy


O’Brien, Allie Vogt and Cheri Zao. The goal of this committee was to

create a template that would be a helpful tool for faculty and adjuncts at

NIC in the construction of their syllabi. One of the primary motivations

was the report from the accreditation team, which noted significant

variations between classes with multiple sections—wording changes in

Course Descriptions and a general lack of consistency across divisions.

One of the original goals was to create a syllabus that met the needs of

the various campus entities: the faculty, each division, and the

administration. We wanted some elements “static” for consistency’s sake.

However, we also wanted it faculty-driven. (Our group had several

discussions concerning an instructor’s autonomy in relation to the

syllabus.) My ultimate goal—which was never realized—was to have an a

la cart type menu where faculty could arrange the “static” elements into

their syllabus so that the syllabus would reflect the instructor’s

personality. Oh well.

It was a collaborative tool to be used by faculty, divisions, and the

administration. It worked and various fields were programmed to be

populated by Faculty Finder, DataTel, the college catalog, Student

Services, VPI, etc.

The first crude versions Natural Science and English tested were what

we called “static templates,” one on pdf files (Natural Science)and one on

Word (English). (I believe the Business dept. also used a version of a

Static template during this time.)

From there, Cheri took what our group had developed to Bill Rishsew

and Chris Pfeiffer, two of the college’s programmers in communications

and marketing, at the time. For the most part, Cheri and Bill worked on

converting the static (paper) template into a software program to be used

by faculty. It had automatically populated fields such as catalog course

descriptions, various VPI policies, disclaimers, etc. The faculty had to

only put in their pertinent course information such as assessments, course

policies, evaluation and grading scale, course schedule information.

Fields could be added if there were additional items the faculty wanted to

include in their syllabi, which was not included in the template.

We then began the process of refining it. Cheri, Peter, our assistants,

and I asked instructors in our divisions to use it and give us feedback on

its problems. Yes, it had problems. Yes, I did hear about them.Yes,


faculty came up with great suggestions to modify SB. Yes, we

incorporated as many as we could. The only item not incorporated at

that time was an archival feature as the original programmer was not

willing to put that feature (and time) in. That programmer then left and

a new guy, Jimmie O’Hara, with advanced programming capabilities

came on board and reverse engineered Syllabus Builder. He updated the

program and was also able to figure out how to integrate the

instructors’/administrators’/chairs’ ideas and suggestions.

Each semester as we refined SB, we took it to each division, showed the

instructors how it worked, and asked them voluntarily use it give us feed

back. We also held workshops to teach the administrative assistants how

to use it and instructors how to input their material and how to save it.

By 2008, most of the campus was using SB. On a visit by the

accreditation team that year the college was given kudos for our work.

The report stated: “As noted in the 2008 report, the College has made

exemplary progress in identifying andpublishing student learning

outcomes. This progress has been enhanced this past year through the

use of technology (Web Driver) that makes it easier to maintain

consistency of syllabi/outcomes across courses and programs. While not

all departments use this technology, it is exciting to see it being

adoptedthrough a faculty driven strategy. This is one example of where

faculty areattempting to create consistency within courses and

departments” (p. 6 Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities:

A Regular Interim Report, 2008)

As a result of the report, our VPI mandated that all divisions and faculty

use SB.

Back to the present. Peter has always been our go-to person as far as

computer programming is concerned; he would have a better idea as to

the current status of SB—and maybe Faculty Finder—I don’t know.


The Loss of Syllabus Builder and Faculty Finder

Four factors lead to the termination of Faculty Finder and Syllabus Builder: 1) old

software, 2) outdated hardware, 3) changes within the organization, and 4) increased need for

security via authenticated environments. As the webmaster for www.nic.edu, Chris Pfeiffer of

Communications and Marketing understood these factors best. He explains:

1. Software Technology - Both Faculty Finder and Syllabus Builder were built several years ago

(2005 for Faculty Finder and 2007 for Syllabus Builder) using an old code platform, and an old

and relatively unsecure database system. Both Faculty Finder and Syllabus Builder were housed

on an old web server with an outdated configuration (the original NIC web server), and they

were tied together within the original WebDriver content management system. As more was

required of the www.nic.edu public website, the need to upgrade the code platform, the

database system, the web server operating system and configuration, and the content

management system software known as WebDriver had reached a critical point. Both the IT

and Communications and Marketing departments decided that upgrading could no longer be

pushed down the priority list. Furthermore, analysis showed the Faculty Finder schedule was

being updated or used by only 35-44% of faculty.

2. Hardware Technology - The warranty had recently expired on the NIC web server, which

meant it would no longer be supported by the manufacturer. Migration to a new server was

required, which would force a massive re-writing of WebDriver code (which is still not fully

complete) to be able to run on the updated server operating system and configuration. Both


Faculty Finder and Syllabus Builder would still have had to be re-written, if other options were

not available.

3. Department Capabilities and Organizational Structure – While IT and Communication and

Marketing were dealing with the old and outdated software and hardware, the eLearning

department was ramping up its software management and customization capabilities. A new

eLearning System Administrator position was established, and planning for the upgrade of the

Learning Management System from ANGEL to Blackboard was being developed. In researching

solutions for the loss of syllabus Builder, eLearning became aware of Concourse.

The Concourse software provides upgraded functionality similar to Syllabus Builder and

includes additional features that address current user needs:

Feature Concourse Syllabus Builder

Advanced Search ●

Archiving ●

Auditing ●

Auto Data Feed ● ●

Calendar Sync ●

Cloning ●

Editing ● ●

File Management ●

Guest/Public View ●

Integration with LMS ● (Blackboard Learn)

Mobile Access ●

Notifications ●

Permissions ● ●

Preview ● ●

Reporting ●

Student View ● ●

Templates ●


As eLearning was investigating Concourse, the college administration decided to move

management of the syllabus editing system from Communications and Marketing to eLearning,

placing it systematically and organizationally under Instruction, which was deemed a more

natural and efficient fit.

4. Authentication - Since currently each separate online system (ANGEL, Concourse,

WebDriver, MyNIC, etc.) requires authentication (logging in), moving the schedule/office hours

and syllabus editing functionality into a system that faculty were already logging into (ANGEL)

made the most sense from a logistical/workflow standpoint.

Paul Swaim, Manager of Network Operations, echoes Pfeiffer’s statements. From his

perspective:

The previous web server housing these applications also contained content from a

variety of interested parties, creating a mix of technical- and process-related dependency

conflicts. The decision was made long ago to separate these resources onto their own

platforms. In doing so, Webdriver, Syllabus Builder, and Faculty Finder would not be available

in the move to these new platforms. Many discussions were held about the move to the new

platforms, various parties knew and had access to their respective new environments, and all

worked to test and migrate services as they could. Much of the data for these three

applications was stored in Microsoft Access databases and was gradually being ported over to

Microsoft SQL. The original code for these applications was written in a code platform by a

former employee, and the code was being ported over into more modern frameworks. There


were tens of thousands of lines of code to be understood and converted. Information

Technology created environments, worked with eLearning and Communications and Marketing

to assure the correct modern components or configurations were in place to test, create, and

communicate migration schedules as needed.

After the cutover from the legacy platforms to the new current web services, eLearning

provided training for the new syllabus application. Communication and Marketing sent out

communications about the difficulties with Webdriver on the new platform (June 21), their web

developer took a position within eLearning and transitioned out in June, feature changes and

weekly updates started (July 26). What services were lost or transitioned were contained

within Communication and Marketing’s ability to migrate to the new platform. With old,

overloaded data sources and thousands of lines of code, this code transition was a monstrous

undertaking.

Case Analysis

While many of us saw Faculty Finder and Syllabus Builder from an end-user standpoint,

the current eLearning Systems Administrator and former Web Developer for Communication &

Marketing, Jimmie O’Harra, had the insider’s view. In 2008, Jimmie O’Harra had become

responsible for the enhancements to and maintenance of both Syllabus Builder and Faculty

Finder. What follows is Jimmie O’Harra’s analysis of the transition.


The data system behind WebDriver was Microsoft Access. The access database farm

was set to be retired as access databases are not protected data centers under the warranty

and backup of Information Technology. A quick plan had to be developed in order to guarantee

continued operation of www.nic.edu. More importantly, it was necessary to protect

institutional data from becoming unavailable or lost for long durations of time.

Course data was entered into WebDriver by division assistants and others in order to

maintain a shadow data set of information that was already in Datatel. The course description

and course start and end dates were managed by the registrar inside Datatel and then re-

entered into WebDriver by Communications and Marketing in order to create, edit or delete

existing courses for Syllabus Builder.

The faculty information used in Syllabus Builder was pulled from Access databases

running on the windriver server alongside all other WebDriver data. This was a separate

process from Human Resources onboarding and a data set maintained by hand by

administrative assistants, division assistants and others within departments to maintain an

accurate secondary shadow database. This data in Syllabus Builder did not arrive from Datatel.

It is a goal of Information Technology and Human Resources to consolidate directory

information coming from Datatel to maintain institutional integrity.

In order for faculty to be able to create or edit a syllabus, an account was created for

them in WebDriver. After this account was created, the division assistants added the faculty

member to the division’s public facing directory. By doing so, the faculty member’s account

could be associated with the appropriate courses in that division. If a faculty member taught


for multiple divisions, his or her account would have to be added to each division’s directory to

ensure access to the appropriate course syllabi.

It was decided that the windriver server could no longer be maintained for critical

business needs due lack of updated equipment, deprecated development practices, and the

lack of a warranty to ensure operation and availability. Also, Microsoft Access databases were

no longer allowed to be used to maintain business services to the campus, as they have a very

small limit to the number of active users that can be editing/creating at one time. This capacity

number is less than 50.

At the end of term spring 2011 steps were taken to migrate all critical business data

(directory/websites/news/events/archives) to the data system housed in IT. WebDriver was

moved in parts over to the new database. It took several weeks to re-write data in order to

meet development requirements in the new server and account for differences in the way

operations were performed between the two systems.

During the migration, the vicissitudes of seven years of multiple programmer

development from multiple departments became apparent. The most important element

during this migration was to maintain the front facing public view of www.nic.edu. This was

accomplished; we did not have any downtime of the public website.

Much of the WebDriver management system did survive the migration. Some parts

were successfully moved to the new server on June 1, while much of the legacy coding was

unable to be moved. Each component of WebDriver affected another component, and steps

had to be taken in the management area to get some semblance of usability. At first start-up of


the new system the WebDriver system was unable to operate. Pieces of the Webdriver system

were added back starting with the primary, outward facing pieces. In a short period of time,

website components of WebDriver were completely re-written from scratch. This allowed

editing ability on our front facing sites for all the departments.

Directory editing components were non-functional, searching and reading functions

were made possible after several changes for the public view of the website. Part of the

Syllabus Builder portion of WebDriver relied completely on the directory in order to operate.

As the directory was failed and the editing ability disappeared, we were unable to add, change,

or move instructors around to coordinate any syllabus development; essentially crippling our

user management.

Also integrated with the directory component was the Faculty Finder weekly schedule

piece. Faculty Finder was also not moved over successfully and could not be changed or

updated without new code being written to repair the missing functions.

Repairs on the system commenced immediately following the final pieces of the

migration coming into place on June 1, 2011. There were over 25,000 lines of code to the

WebDriver system that needed to be reviewed, updated, and deleted. Due to several

uncertainties as to how long this process would take to review and repair, other options had to

be implemented before the start of Fall Semester in order to provide syllabus editing and

creation.

The fastest and most effective way to provide as many services as possible in the short

window of the time available was to offload syllabi to the new Concourse system and focus on


repairing public facing websites and services such as the “Emergency Messaging System” for

www.nic.edu. Due to the lack of personnel and expertise necessary for such a full scale re-write

of the system, it was not be possible to revive or completely rebuild Syllabus Builder or Faculty

Finder.

The Concourse syllabus system allows a tiered development environment, single sign

on, and provides the necessary connections to relay Datatel data for the creation of courses

and accounts without the need for divisions to manage those lists independently. This was why

Concourse was identified as the primary candidate to shift service to. Concourse also

conformed to the goals of a uniform syllabus for print, online, and mobile viewing.

Facts

In spring 2011, 197 instructors logged in to Webdriver and updated1 their Faculty Finder

page. This is approximately 44% of the instructors for spring 2011.

Prior to Spring 2011, usage of Faculty Finder was ~35%. (3% margin of error)

The Here and Now

From the input of many individuals across several departments, we became very aware

of the limitations of Syllabus Builder and the demands on personnel to maintain the outdated

system. Using the authority of my position as Vice President for Instruction, I selected

1 Tracking does not distinguish between the type of updates. Updates may have been made to both syllabus and

calendar, but not necessarily both.


Concourse as an alternative solution. Unfortunately, everyone involved in the decision failed to

anticipate the domino effect that would result when WebDriver was dismantled as a result of

the move to newer technologies.

In July 2011, eLearning began working with Intellidemia, the company that developed

Concourse, to suit the needs of NIC faculty, staff, and students. In August, eLearning launched

a training campaign to familiarize faculty with both the new syllabus creation and attendance-

taking procedures. In September and October a syllabus work group comprised of all levels of

instruction and representing all divisions will assemble to review, revise, and refine the syllabus

creation and archival process.

Lessons Learned

As is the case when factors cause hurried action, we made mistakes through the

transition process. Although the training sessions held in August were open to faculty and

staff, we failed to specifically include division chairs and division administrative assistants in the

August training sessions. This oversight has led to a series of miscommunications,

misunderstandings, and damage to working relations. Although our research showed that only

35-44% of faculty used Faculty Finder, it was an error to believe the loss of Faculty Finder would

not have the negative impact it has had. At present, there is currently no unified alternative to

Faculty Finder. Exploration of alternatives will commence in the month of October.

In spite of the errors that have been made, there have been positive outcomes as well.

eLearning and IT have provided North Idaho College with an authenticated, standardized


syllabus creation and archival solution, and they did so in less than 30 days. Communications

and Marketing in coordination with eLearning did successfully disseminate information about

the new syllabus solution in rapid fashion via the Week’s Worth, MyNIC, and email. The

eLearning team did successfully train over 300 instructors to use the new solution via face-to-

face, one-on-one, and online training offerings in less than two weeks’ time. Divisions have

been notified of how they can search for syllabi via a direct link to Concourse. Students have

access to syllabi via ANGEL.

Through continued improvements in communication and efforts toward collaboration,

there will be enhanced, long-term processes for the creation of and archival of syllabi. The

creation of an accessible faculty and course information format, that is relevant to both the

campus community and the larger community, will be found and developed. In time, solutions

will be found and improvements will be made. It is my hope that in the very near future, we

will again provide all the services our students need and deserve.

Jay A. Lee, J.D.

Vice President of Instruction

Syllabus Builder to Concourse - intellidemia.com · SYLLABUS BUILDER TO CONCOURSE This report...

Documents

Transcript of Syllabus Builder to Concourse - intellidemia.com · SYLLABUS BUILDER TO CONCOURSE This report...