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Liverpool John Moores University
LJMU’s strategic curriculum challenges
Not unlike many Higher Education institutions, Liverpool John Moores University (LJMU) was facing a myriad of curriculum-related challenges. The university faced a number of risks and inefficiencies due to a lack of automation, siloed and cumbersome processes, and no data transparency. Additionally, without a dinstinct source of curriculum data, the university was at risk of compromising data acurracy and integrity.
Keen to resolve these strategic and operational challenges, LMJU began its search for a partner that could effectively manage the entire curriculum lifecycle, from programme and module design to validation, approval and publication. LJMU’s ambition was to address its entire end-to-end curriculum challenges using best-of-breed to improve the academic experience, support administrative departments and enhance the overall student experience.
LJMU sought an end-to-end curriculum management solution that could support the following:
- A single source of truth for the university’s curriculum data
- High quality and reliable data as a result of the new system
- Effective and efficient processes across the University
- Reduced processing and administration time
- Quality assurance processes
- Detailed and flexible reporting
- Flexibility/configurability to support changes in requirements and processes
- Integration with LJMU systems via Application Programming Interfaces (APIs)
Why LJMU chose CourseLoop
Strength of technical capability
The CourseLoop Platform provides true end-to-end capability that addresses the challenges of institution-wide curriculum management. Our modular solution allows universities to invest in additional functionality as and when they need to extend capability, thereby removing worry and uncertainty about upfront investment costs.
Deep domain expertise
The CourseLoop Platform is built by higher education experts with real university experience. Our team genuinely understands your world. We have made it our mission to solve some of Higher Education’s most pressing curriculum management problems.
Alignment to internal processes
LJMU was impressed with the flexibility and configurability of the CourseLoop Platform. The CourseLoop Platform allows LJMU to specify university terminology and configure approval processes to match its existing processes.
The Solution
NTU was looking for a solution that offered central management of curriculum information capable of delivering improved efficiency, improved management information, and improved monitoring and quality assurance.
After a local market scan and review, NTU decided to launch an open tender process in order to ensure it could identify the best solution. Five proposals were returned from vendors across the European Union and from CourseLoop in Australia, and after reviewing all solutions the university shortlisted the proposals down to two potential vendors.
CourseLoop’s Curriculum Management Platform was selected above competitors for its unrivalled functionality and f lexibility. The Platform met all of NTU’s immediate business requirements and supported the configuration required to suit NTU’s approach and processes. The project team were also equally impressed with the platform’s user interface, particularly the intuitiveness and ease of use.
- Release one: One contained core curriculum management functionality (Curriculum Data Management and Governance) that underpinned the CourseLoop Platform and formed the critical building blocks for LJMU’s curriculum journey. Release One was completed in August 2022.terfaces (APIs).
- Release two: One contained core curriculum management functionality (Curriculum Data Management and Governance) that underpinned the CourseLoop Platform and formed the critical building blocks for LJMU’s curriculum journey. Release One was completed in August 2022.terfaces (APIs).
- Release three: The final phase of implementation was completed in March 2024 and included the last piece of the puzzle – Curriculum Review.
With CourseLoop successfully implemented, LJMU has benefited from:
- A simpler and more intuitive curriculum management system that provides a single source of truth for curriculum data across the university.
- Improved academic staff experience. Staff are now more engaged with the curriculum journey, making better-informed decisions about programme content, supporting the design of research-led, evidence-based and practice-driven curricula.
- Improved student experience. With CourseLoop Publisher and Marketer, students have benefited from more accurate curriculum data and more transparent programme plans and outcomes.
- Improved administrative experience. Prior to CourseLoop, staff were not able to easily identify and understand the status of course approvals within the approval process. Inefficient working practices such as emails and spreadsheets have now been replaced by simple, time-saving search and response in the CourseLoop Platform.
