Teaching & Learning Software & Application Budget Landscape

Phases & Goals

Phase I Goal: Data Collection

  • Collect data from central groups, schools, colleges and divisions about what software and apps students are required to use for coursework and how much those tools cost.

Phase II Goal: Analyzing & Applying the Data – current phase

  • Better understand the overall campus footprint regarding T&L software and applications to allow leaders to develop a funding strategy, understand complexities, and assess the need for cross-campus coordination.

Project Timeline

High-level milestones

The following section of the page contains content that may not be intuitive to navigate with a screen reader. Skip to an ordered list version of the content.
Phase I: Central Spend Gathered

Costs and details for enterprise T&L tools gathered

Phase I: Cross-Campus Spend Requested

Request for information sent to deans of schools, colleges and divisions

Phase I: Cross-Campus Spend Gathered

Schools, colleges and divisions submit data

Phase I: Total Spend Shared

Full budget shared with university, completing Phase I

Phase II: Work Begins

Work begins with more details to follow

  1. September, 2021 – Phase I: Costs and details for enterprise T&L tools gathered.
  2. October, 2021 – Phase I: Request for information sent to deans of schools, colleges and divisions.
  3. November, 2021 – Phase I: Schools, colleges and divisions submit data.
  4. December, 2021 – Phase I: Full budget shared with university, completing Phase I.
  5. January, 2022 – Phase II: Work begins with more details to follow.

FAQs

This is an accordion element with a series of buttons that open and close related content panels.

How has data been requested of schools, colleges and divisions?

After Provost Karl Scholz introduced the project, Vice Provost for Teaching and Learning John Zumbrunnen emailed all deans with details and a template to complete.

What software and applications are part of the project?

The project is tightly scoped to only software and applications students are required to complete coursework. The following guidance provides more details on what the schools, colleges and divisions are asked to provide.

Guidance on Scope

  • DO include tools used for coursework related to courses in the UW–‍Madison Course Guide.
    • DO NOT include tools only used by students for non-credit and compliance courses.
    • DO NOT include tools that are used for wider purposes such as Office 365.
  • DO include tools you and/or your students pay for.
    • DO NOT include tools paid for by a central group, such as Canvas and Kaltura MediaSpace, because those are already accounted for.
  • DO include tools that students must directly pay for if it’s mandatory to complete coursework, such as MATLAB for a specific engineering course.
    • DO NOT include software that a student may choose to purchase, but have multiple options – including free ones – to choose from. An example is PowerPoint for a presentation, when Google Slides and others can be used.
  • DO fill out the template as fully as possible.
    • DO NOT worry if you don’t have all of the details. Bethany Gordy may follow up to ask questions to help complete the form.

Will eText costs be included if they are bundled with other software from the publisher?

Textbooks are not included in the scope of this project and neither are eTexts. However, the goal is to include costs of all software required to complete coursework and that does include publisher-provided digital learning technologies.

For these, the price is often hard to determine as they are provided along with the eTexts for a single price. For the purpose of this project’s first phase, the average cost of $80 per software license should be used instead of trying to calculate the cost without the eText price included.

The university expects to run into a number of these complex situations and encourage schools, colleges and divisions to reach out and collaborate with Bethany Gordy to find solutions.

Who can schools, colleges and divisions contact for more information?

Vice Provost for Teaching and Learning John Zumbrunnen is available for general questions about the project.

Enterprise Learning Technology Architect Bethany Gordy can provide additional guidance in completing the template. She is also the person the data should be submitted to by the 11/15/21 deadline.

What are the funding sources for teaching and learning tools?

Software and applications in the teaching and learning domain are funded by one or more of the following:

  • Central group like DoIT
  • School, college, institute or division
  • Students