Erickson School Case Study

How CourseArc Saved One School Over $300,000

UMBC Management of Aging Services Erickson School logo

Organization Overview

The Erickson School at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) educates up and coming business leaders in the business of longevity. The one-of-its-kind, innovative program combines business management, public policy and the study of human aging to develop leaders who transform themselves and their organization to improve society and enhance the lives of older adults. The School offers both Graduate and Undergraduate degrees in Management of Aging Services.

The Case: Expand Offerings

Erickson was experiencing declining in-person enrollment for its graduate courses, which were all taught in person prior to CourseArc. To expand its offerings, the School needed to cost-effectively translate ten of its traditional graduate courses for online delivery. The School initially planned to outsource the development of this content, but after reviewing all available methods and associated costs, they instead chose to use CourseArc. The decision saved them time and money, while allowing the faculty and School staff to manage the project internally.

Here’s the cost comparison that led Erickson to select CourseArc over outsourcing:

Graphs showing Savings with CourseArc and Reduction in Development Timeline

Two graphs comparing the changes in cost and time spent on development before and after using CourseArc.

Graph 1: Graph comparing the estimated time to complete development using outsourcing with CourseArc internally. Erickson’s development timeline was cut in half using CourseArc.

Graph 2: Graph comparing outsourcing costs versus insourcing the development internally using CourseArc. Erickson saved $370,000 using CourseArc.

Outcome

In Erickson’s original estimate, outsourced development of the first online course would cost $55,000 and each remaining course would have cost $40,000. In addition to course development services, the original plan would also require outsourced custom video and editing services.

By using CourseArc, however, Erickson was able to keep their development in-house. Faculty and staff were able to develop their own content. As a result, Erickson was able to cut the development timeline in half and deliver all ten of their program’s online courses in two and a half years.

Erickson saved $370,000 by using CourseArc, which they, in turn, invested in other key initiatives, including:

  • marketing their program to a national audience;
  • reinvesting in more digital course translations for other in-demand programs; and
  • expanding into the Japanese market, which is experiencing the very problems in managing their aging population that Erickson’s courses are designed to address.
Sample Content from a Matching Activity in an Online Course from Erickson School
Sample Content from a Matching Activity in an Online Course from Erickson School

Client Testimonials

As Melissa Roane, Director of Innovative Learning Solutions at the Erickson School, explained:

“CourseArc has been a true asset to the Erickson School as we have embarked on the creation of online courses for the first time. The ability to develop the content directly in the site without needing HTML or JavaScript knowledge is amazing! It is easy for my faculty to navigate and the integration with Blackboard allows a seamless experience for the students.”

Melissa Roane, Director of Innovative Learning Solutions at the Erickson School

Judah L. Ronch, PhD, Dean and Professor, UMBC Management of Aging Services, The Erickson School, found that CourseArc has saved him and his faculty time in both course preparation and teaching.

“I don’t have to spend days preparing and delivering classes. I don’t have to come to school on weekends. My time is used more efficiently and I’m able to have a better grasp on the class discussions. I can travel during the school year. It will probably lengthen my career because it allows me to work from anywhere.”

Judah L. Ronch, PhD, Dean and Professor, UMBC Management of Aging Services, The Erickson School
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