The Heliocampus Assessment Management Software is comprised of the following components:
Accreditation & Planning Module
- Self-Study
- Program Review
- Strategic Planning
- Data Collection & Workflow
- SIS Integration & SSO
- Comprehensive Reporting
Outcomes Assessment Module
- Curriculum Mapping
- Learning Outcomes Assessment
- Juried Assessment
- Co-curricular Assessment
- Syllabus Management
- LMS Integration
The Heliocampus Faculty Portfolio CV Builder
- Intellectual contributions & service activities, professional associations, professional credentials, teaching and advising;
- Faculty can export their completed portfolio to MS Word, PDF and Print.
- Grants and scholarship options
- Standard reports are available to track progress of published portfolios as well as detailed reports for pulling content for one or more instructors.
In Fall 2022, President Kolison charged the Assessment Management Software (AMS) Working Group, a subcommittee of the Institutional Effectiveness Committee (IEC), with reviewing assessment software and making a recommendation to the IEC about the best AMS for Fredonia. With the Via/Watermark contract expiring at the end of December 2023, and based on comments from end users of this product indicating that it was not meeting their needs, the university saw an opportunity to consult with those who rely on such software and to identify a better alternative.
The AMS Working Group completed their review of different AMS packages in April 2023. As a result of that review, the committee recommended a new AMS, as well as software that could replace Watermark Faculty Success (formerly Digital Measures). Both of these new products are supported by a group called Heliocampus. The recommendation was based on six criteria for the software reviewed: ease of use, flexibility of reporting, cost-effectiveness, integration with existing campus systems, customer support, and existing SUNY contracts. Heliocampus stood out for its detailed campus proposal, successful integration with the SUNY instance of D2L, and the availability of a bundled product that will replace Watermark Faculty Success, in addition to Watermark Via. Moving to this bundle of products will result in significant savings for our campus (approximately $310,000 over the course of three years) while providing us with a product that is superior to what we currently have. The Institutional Effectiveness Committee approved the AMS Working Group’s recommendation in May 2023, and President Kolison and Cabinet authorized the shift to Heliocampus immediately after. We expect Heliocampus to provide a much more user-friendly experience for those who teach and report assessments for Gen Ed classes.
The data reports that were stored in Via were removed and backed up on our server. ITS will be downloading the contents of the Faculty Success module so that the information can be migrated to Heliocampus’ CV Builder.
The current timeline for the transition is below, and is approximate:
December 2023 - January 2024
Milestone 1 – Establish implementation expectations with Heliocampus
Milestone 2 – Single sign-on for Fredonia users configured and tested
Milestone 3 – System analysis, data mapping, and plan for import created
Milestone 4 - User access identified, access roles configured and tested for both software systems
February - April 2024
Milestone 5 – Campus training needs assessed and conducted for administrators and relevant stakeholders
May & June 2024
Milestone 6 – Transition completed
We appreciate the campus’ patience as we transition between products. Updates will be available in the Academic Affairs Updates and at Academic Leadership meetings. Trainings on the new systems will be set up in mid-spring, and advertised on campus google groups.