Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile: UC launches innovative technology management system that puts it at the forefront in Continuing Education
Through a single and integrated platform, the new platform will allow students to access their online courses, applications, evaluations, as well as their enrollment, certifications, diplomas, services, among others. It is a relevant advance in the digital transformation process that will place the institution in a leadership position in Latin America.
Integrated System of Continuing Education Management, or SIGEC to dry. That is the name of the modern technological platform that the Office of Institutional Management is implementing and that will allow those who study at UC to access their courses, emails, certifications, evaluations, payment and enrollment processes, among others. .
This is a significant advance in the digital transformation process that the institution is promoting and that will place it among the leading study houses in Latin America that offer courses, MOOCS ( massive open online courses, or massive and open online courses ) and graduates.
“SIGEC contributes substantively to the UC digital transformation process, as it addresses, in an integrated manner, the entire flow of processes and management requirements that Continuing Education considers. It is a transformation that is supported by digital and virtual to facilitate the student experience “, explains Patricio Donoso, UC Institutional Management Pro-rector.
“SIGEC contributes substantively to the UC digital transformation process, as it addresses, in an integrated manner, the entire flow of management processes and requirements that Continuing Education considers” – Patricio Donoso, Pro-rector of UC Institutional Management.
Donoso says that the platform will also contribute to enhancing the university’s offer beyond Chile. “From a practical perspective, we are creating a more efficient teaching campus without borders. In this sense, it is a key platform for the internationalization and growth of Continuing Education carried out by our university,” he says.
One of the advantages of the new system is that it allows to solve a significant diversity of functionalities and requirements that those who study at the university have.
“SIGEC is a large ecosystem of digital platforms that are automatically integrated for the entire management of continuing education, which involves the entire life process of the student: from the dissemination of programs, application and enrollment, academic management, processes financial services, the delivery of courses on virtual platforms, certification, among others “, explains Luz Montero, Director of Continuing Education .
“SIGEC is a great ecosystem of digital platforms that are automatically integrated for the entire management of continuing education, which involves the entire life process of the student: from the dissemination of programs, application and enrollment, academic management and processes financial “- Luz Montero, Director of Continuing Education
The initiative that began to be devised in 2017, under the impulse of the authorities of that period -Paulina Gómez, former Vice-Rector for Communications, and Margarita Guarello, former Director of Continuing Education- will imply that the service will be totally digital and fast, which help not only to improve its quality, but also to internationalize the academic offer. Currently almost 90% of the courses offered are online , which is why it is increasingly relevant that systems and processes are digital.
But just as the benefits that students will have with the new platform are numerous, so it will be for the university. For example, it will generate better access to quality information in real time (on time), allowing to know, for example, the number of students, applicants, enrolled and their respective grades, which also facilitates the possibility of making evaluations and making decisions with regarding the management of continuing education into the future.
With previous systems, the ability to generate an analysis was time consuming and had to be done manually. Likewise, the rapid growth that the supply of continuing education has had in recent years, a situation that deepened with the pandemic, also required a more robust system.
By 2021, there are an estimated 110 thousand continuing education students, many of whom also come from regions of Chile or other parts of the world. The increase is relevant considering that in 2019 there were approximately 70 thousand students.
Currently almost 90% of the continuing education courses offered are online , which is why it is increasingly relevant that systems and processes are digital.
Implementation in stages
The Director of Projects and Technology of the Office of Institutional Management, Paulina Rodríguez, explains that the execution of SIGEC has been programmed in stages. In December, the incorporation phase of the online certificate generation system will be followed by the launch of the new interface that students will encounter when they enter the UC Continuing Education site . There they will be able to find out about the courses and diplomas, but also to apply and register online. “This entire process will be self-managed and students will be able to do it completely online , with the time savings that this implies,” he says.
“The entire process will be self-managed and students will be able to do it completely online , with the time savings that this implies” – Paulina Rodríguez, Director of Projects and Technology of the Office of Institutional Management.
The new portal will be integrated with CRM Salesforce (a Customer Relationship Management platform), which will manage the information on the programs, activities, start dates of courses and diplomas, prices, vacancies and the academics who will teach these education programs.
Paulina Rodríguez explains that in March 2022 all the academic aspect will also be integrated with the incorporation of the Banner software , which includes the academic trajectory, as well as Moodle, a course management system for academics.
“One of the main advantages of SIGEC is the great interrelation that occurs between all these digital platforms, which, being online, allow each other to support each other and respond to the diverse needs of the students, in addition to closing the complete cycle, with the delivery of a certificate upon completion, ”he says.
The new online master’s program that has been developed in conjunction with the online education platform Coursera , will also use SIGEC for its processes.
“From a practical perspective, we are creating a more efficient teaching campus without borders. In this sense, it is a key platform for the internationalization and growth of Continuing Education carried out by our university” – Patricio Donoso, Pro-rector of Management Institutional