Customer stories


University of Missouri at Columbia

It's All Academic!

A university is a place of learning -- of education -- of the eternal search for knowledge.

But it's also a place of paperwork. Documents to be filed, reports to be written, records to be kept -- the list goes on and on. And at the University of Missouri--Columbia, they're keeping ahead of all that paperwork with FileMaker Pro, the award-winning database software application from FileMaker Inc.

The University of Missouri--Columbia is a comprehensive, land-grant research institution providing a diverse selection of degree programs. And behind the scenes, Educational Technologies at Missouri (or ET@MO for short) keeps busy providing vital faculty support services. "Through partnerships with academic and other service units across campus," explains director of Educational Technologies Dr. Andrew White, "ET@MO has helped develop and deliver multiple solutions using FileMaker Pro which have helped improve teaching and learning."

FileMaker Pro is used for a variety of essential tasks around the campus. "We use FileMaker Pro for both internal recordkeeping and for web-enabled services that drive our course management system and various faculty and advisor evaluation systems," Andrew continues. "One of the main 'internal' database systems is our course management tracking. Our campus uses both WebCT and BlackBoard course management systems and with over 700 courses each semester, our team needs a good recordkeeping system for knowing which faculty has which class, and so forth. We use FileMaker Pro for that, as well as for providing our faculty with a 'sign up' form to request a course site and start the whole process."

One new application the University has adopted is the "Early Feedback" Teacher Evaluation system. "The key to doing 'early feedback' evaluations is that the teaching staff need to get the results back quickly so that they can implement any changes in their courses before the semester is over," elaborates Andrew. "The old paper-and-pencil version literally took weeks to compile and subscribe. With a web-enabled form and FileMaker Pro behind it, we are able to create feedback reports to faculty, save those summaries in PDF format and email them to faculty as soon as their students are done providing feedback. This gives faculty access to the information faster and more time to improve teaching."

All told there are dozens of FileMaker Pro databases in use in different departments around the campus, and thousands of records. FileMaker Pro database applications are accessible across the campus via Ethernet and a wireless network, while off campus, employees may connect anywhere, anytime using dialup or broadband connections. And this sort of easy connectivity really makes a difference. "The biggest benefit is actually collaboration," Andrew comments. We can easily give other people access to our data -- which encourages group projects and better communication."



Contact information

Contact Info for Customer:

Andrew White
Director, Educational Technologies
University of Missouri--Columbia
573-882-1374
drew@missouri.edu
http://www.missouri.edu


Filemaker Contact:

Kevin Mallon
Public Relations Manager
FileMaker Inc.
408-987-7227
kevin_mallon@filemaker.com
http://www.filemaker.com


Overview
  • On the campus of the University of Missouri--Columbia, you'll find administrators, faculty, and students receiving vital services through FileMaker Pro.
Industry
  • Higher Education