CollegeSource provides one-stop policy portal solution for US institutions

Leading university software as a service (SaaS) provider CollegeSource is partnering up with AACRAO to provide a centralised policy repository that will allow university administrators to easily research and compare policies from other US institutions. 

The Higher Educational Institutional Policy Portal will be the first of its kind and will be made available to university members under the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers (ACCRAO). 

The portal will allow institution administrators, staff and faculty nationwide to research and compare policies from other institutions across all areas of campus operations, including academia, campus safety, legal, disability, and more. 

As institutional policies and procedures are constantly changing and differ between universities in the US, the formation of this new portal will provide a one-stop solution for higher education administrators to serve their institution better. 

CollegeSource will be responsible for collecting and developing the policy portal. The SaaS provider is noted as a prominent leader in providing SaaS transfer and degree achievement solutions for the past 50 years. 

As the archiver of the nation’s higher education course catalogues, CollegeSource has served over 2,000 institutions and individuals worldwide. The new centralised policy portal will seek to serve member institutions under the AACRAO. 

“Our members are heavily involved in the development and application of higher education policies and have been clamouring for a searchable, trusted policy repository that can be utilized when developing new or benchmarking existing policies,” said AACRAO Deputy Director Melanie Gottlieb in a media release. 

“Based on CollegeSource’s extensive experience in professionally gathering, collecting, cleansing and organizing college course catalogues, we were thrilled when they volunteered to spearhead this project. This will be an invaluable tool for the greater higher ed universe.”

The portal will be available to AACRAO as a complimentary resource with the full version to be made available in late 2020. 

AACRAO members who attend the association’s Annual Meeting held in April in New Orleans will be able to access a preview version of the portal. 

“As academic and institutional policies have historically been an intrinsic part of institutions’ course catalogues but now are scattered throughout various print and online resources, we recognized the critical need for a policy research and reporting repository to enable collective best practices across the industry,” said CollegeSource president Troy Holaday.

“With significant issues such as free speech, gendering and campus safety coming into the forefront more frequently for policymakers, institutions need access to well-crafted policies that fit tightly with their missions and philosophies. We are thrilled to work with AACRAO to deliver this resource to its members and beyond.”

ACCRAO is a non-profit, voluntary, professional association of more than 11,000 higher education professionals who represent approximately 2,600 institutions worldwide across more than 40 countries. 

The association focusses on providing professional development resources for its members which include best practice guidance on admissions strategies to meet institutional diversity objectvies, the delivery of innovative academic programmes to meet the needs of an ever-changing student body, and exemplary approaches to student retention and completion.