How Does Coursedog
Compare to the Alternatives?
Academic administrators deserve a powerful, easy-to-use tool that makes it easy to execute student-centric, data-driven, and cost-efficient academic operations. Coursedog sets itself apart as a single platform that helps you to drive operational efficiencies and move the needle on your institution’s enrollment, retention, and graduation goals.
The Market Leader in Academic Operations | Serving 300+ Campuses with 2M+ Students
What are your options
for administering academic operations?
We want you to choose the best solution for your institution and students, even if it’s not us.
Option 1: Manual Processes
Institutions use manual processes such as paper forms, email, spreadsheets, and more to execute their academic operations.
Option 2: Point Solutions
Institutions implement disparate solutions that manage distinct but inter-dependent components of their academic operations. These solutions are often paired with some manual processes.
Option 3: Integrated Academic Operations
Institutions can implement a single platform that has the tools needed to execute truly integrated academic operations.
Option 1: Manual Processes
Today, most institutions rely on manual processes to manage each element of their academic operations. Typically the tools and processes are un-integrated and require duplicate work to ensure data is entered everywhere it needs to be.
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The specific tools vary from institution to institution ranging from paper forms to spreadsheets with complex formulas. Ultimately they all mean the same thing — academic administrators spend the bulk of their time doing manual work such as entering data into several sources and manually reviewing documents for accuracy.
Pros
Deep knowledge of the process and data because you are so close to the work
Cons
Difficult to have large picture insights which can hinder innovation
Leaves room for errors that require last minute changes that ultimately impact student success
Not scalable
Major reliance on institutional memory/specific individuals
No accountability/visibility/data-driven decision-making because everything happens in a black box
Expensive because of manual labor
Less time can be spent on core focuses and institutional priorities; ie admins can't spend as much time with students
Option 2: Point Solutions
Institutions may also use various point solutions to handle different aspects of academic operations. Some solutions integrate with the SIS or with another tool; however, many of them do not. Institutions adopt point solutions to streamline workflows, establish a single source of truth, and decrease manual workload, but often wind up in the same place that they started because they're managing multiple, clunky, non-native integrations and are still working in separate places.
Typically schools that rely on a various point solutions will have a one or a few solutions that specialize in specific areas, such as an event scheduling tool, a section scheduling tool, a curriculum management solution, and perhaps an online catalog creator. These tools are linked together either through manual data uploads or some form of an integration.
Pros
Ability to select specialized tools to create a suite of solutions that fit your needs
Cons
Integration between so many tools can be precarious and unreliable
Significant manual work is still often required to ensure data accuracy across platforms which can lead to the same problems that are found in manual processes
Academic operational data is siloed in different tools and databases that are potentially owned by different teams
Increased costs in implementation, integration, and change management
Multiple points of service for billing/finance, legal, and customer support
Option 3: Integrated Academic Operations
Coursedog’s Integrated Academic Operations platform offers an ideal alternative to both the manual and the disparate solutions with a single platform solution for academic operations that includes a bi-directional integration with your SIS.
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This easy-to-use solution includes tools for Academic and Event Scheduling; Curriculum and Catalog Management; and Course Demand Analytics. With Coursedog's tools, institutions make it easier for their administrators to break down barriers and enable greater student success.
Pros
Simplify and streamline your processes with a single platform that helps you save time
Reduce the number of last minute changes that affect your students
Manage one contract and learn one tool for all your academic operations needs
Dig into the big picture with course demand and analytics built right into the tool
Cons
Implementing a single platform can require a significant time investment
The Top Reasons Your Institution
Needs Integrated Academic Operations
Save Time with a Single Platform for Your Curricular Lifecycle
By switching to a single platform for your Integrated Academic Operations, you can:
Reduce your administrative load
Enter information one time and be confident it automatically populates accurately throughout the tool
Use the time you save to re-allocate your resources to more high impact initiatives
Eliminate Barriers to Student Success with Integrated Academic Operations
Put your students at the center of your academic operations with a tool that will make it easier for you to:
Set up scheduling rules that prioritize creating a smoother path to graduation for students
Avoid errors that lead to last minute schedule changes with automatic rules validation
Make changes to your curriculum that automatically update in the catalog for your students to see
Dedicated Support from Kick-off, to Launch, and Beyond
Be confident and feel supported anytime you use Coursedog because:
We work with you to create an implementation team with representatives from your institution and our team
Your customer success manager will meet with you on a regular basis
You have ongoing access to our Technical Support team as well as our help documentation
Make Informed Decisions with Integrated Analytics Tools
Take advantage of having all of your data in a single platform and use the integrated analytics tools to:
Understand the big picture impact of your current processes
Quickly see big-picture trends with the visual, easy-to-understand graphs and charts
Take the actionable insights provided by the data and implement them right there in the platform
Why go with Coursedog’s Integrated Academic Operations Platform?
“A full meal deal.”
"I love that this is a full meal deal, you don't have to go to a bunch of different vendors. And it all seems very familiar once you are in the platform."
Ashland University
“The most complete solution on the market."
"BYU found Coursedog to be the most complete solution on the market."
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Brigham Young University
“We've saved months of work.”
"We’ve saved months of work. There’s a huge impact on people’s time."
Dallas Baptist University
How does Coursedog Stack Up to the Alternatives?
Over 200 Institutions Across the United States Trust Coursedog with their Academic Operations
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Seamless, bi-directional, real-time SIS integrations & more
Coursedog accommodates bi-directional, real-time integrations with all SISs, communication platforms like gSuite & Outlook, as well as SSO providers like SAML, Shibboleth, and CAS.
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Want to see Coursedog in action?
Set up a meeting with our team today to discuss your institution's goals and learn how Coursedog can help get you there.
