How CourseArc Saved One School Over $300,000
The Erickson School at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) educates up and coming business leaders, teaching them how to innovate and transform themselves and their organizations, and to provide solutions for the rapidly changing landscape of a growing and diverse population. The School offers both Graduate and Undergraduate degrees in Management of Aging Services.
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, saving 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:
Graph comparing outsourcing costs versus insourcing the development internally using CourseArc. Erickson saved $370,000 using CourseArc.
Graph comparing the estimated time to complete development using outsourcing with CourseArc internally. Erickson’s development timeline was cut in half using CourseArc.
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. Now, look at the savings Erickson saw by transitioning their course development to CourseArc, which allowed faculty and staff to develop content on their own. More importantly, Erickson was able to cut the development timeline in half and deliver all ten online courses in two and a half years.
Erickson saved $370,000 by using CourseArc, which they can now invest in three key initiatives:
- marketing their program to a national audience
- reinvesting in more digital course translations for other in-demand programs
- 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 CourseArc content from a matching activity in one of the Erickson’s online graduate courses.
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.”
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.”
How Can CourseArc Deliver These Same Benefits to Your Organization?
Are you interested in creating high-impact courses quickly and easily, increasing collaboration among your team members, and saving time and money that can be reinvested in your long-term business goals? To find out how CourseArc can help your organization, contact us today so we can show you the all the benefits that CourseArc delivers.
