CampusCE Case Study
Simplifying Complexity While Integrating Systems
Princeton University, Community Auditing Program (CAP)
Scenario
Princeton University, ranked #1 in U.S. News and World Report’s 2021 National Universities category, permits a number of continuing education students to audit select undergraduate classes on a non-credit basis.
Members of the local community who live or work in Princeton, NJ are categorized as Day 1 Auditors and can enroll the first day a program is open to registration. Others who live within 50 miles of the campus or anywhere in the state of New Jersey or are categorized as Day 2 Auditors.
Because of these specifications and constraints, the data system needs to recognize returning and new auditors quickly to tag auditors with the right identifiers and assign them a permission level based on where they live or work and then to enroll them.
Princeton was using a custom built data system for CAP that was built on a DOS system in 2004 and was based in part on paper and phone calls, which complicated running administrative reports. Because it could no longer be upgraded, it had become incompatible with newer financial systems and University processes. What’s more, changes to student profiles and related data were manual, time consuming, and inefficient.
Princeton needed to provide auditors with an attractive, contemporary interface where they could search for classes, enroll, and self-serve online. And it needed to integrate with three distinct, third-party products; Blackboard (LMS), Canvas (LMS), and PeopleSoft.
CampusCE Solution
After six months of researching potential solutions, including building another in-house system and vetting external vendors, Princeton selected CampusCE because it was the best and most comprehensive solution and the only system that worked “off the shelf.”
CampusCE included integrations with the institution’s two LMS platforms (Blackboard and Canvas) and its student information system (PeopleSoft), improved the student experience, and eliminated at least two points of data entry for increased administrative efficiency. CampusCE provided weekly training, with follow up assignments, to monitor
progress. Princeton launched an initial three-month test group with an internal team of three “auditors” who practiced data entry and using the system in the new environment and fed back to CampusCE for select tweaks prior to actual launch.
Princeton is also taking advantage of CampusCE Group Membership feature, which provides special access and benefits to select groups of students, to easily manage the workflow given CAP’s staggered enrollment days.
Key Takeaways
Results
Princeton viewed CampusCE as a powerful, intuitive off the-shelf system that was easy to use. It gave individuals within CAP better and more organized data that fueled new conversations with a broader array of colleagues across the University.
Visibility
CAP now generates data reports that inform the university’s leadership about CAP and how to track auditors, develop the program, and more.
Data insights
The new-found availability and quantity of CAP data has created new relationships and driven new conversations with other academic units and campus based businesses.
Efficiency
100% of auditors self-enroll, plus self-service has gone up significantly. Staff now spend less administrative time managing online enrollment and are now able to assist their auditors in other ways while also focusing on other strategic priorities.
Student experience
The CampusCE EMS improved students’ enrollment experience and they can.
About Princeton University’s Community Auditing
Program (CAP)
Princeton University’s Community Auditing Program (CAP) enables members of the community, high school graduates ages 18 and above, to audit, or sit in on, University lectures on a non-credit basis for $200 per course unless otherwise noted. Auditors must live in New Jersey or be within a 50-mile radius of Princeton University. On average, 150-175 classes are available each semester for auditing. No credit or certification is given for CAP classes. However, certified teachers currently working in New Jersey and Au Pairs may obtain written verification for classes they have audited.
About CampusCE
CampusCE solves the online registration, program management, reporting, and marketing challenges faced by all types of continuing education programs. The CampusCE Education Management System (EMS) is a student information system and e-commerce platform designed for the needs of open enrollment programs. CampusCE also designs, develops, and hosts a suite of on-demand software services for colleges, universities, and institutes of higher education.
CampusCE is currently deployed at major universities and community colleges in over thirty-five states, reaching more than 500,000 continuing education and lifelong students nationwide.
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