Institutions need to look into learning management systems (LMS) that is categorized as state of the art in providing ease of use and is capable to grow as the way we teach changes.
In order for an institution to be able to purchase the correct LMS application, they require to place a request for a proposal (RFP). "A request for proposal (referred to as RFP) is an early stage in a procurement process, issuing an invitation for suppliers, often through a bidding process, to submit a proposal on a specific commodity or service (Wheaton 2008)." The RFP process brings structure to the procurement decision and allows the risks and benefits to be identified clearly upfront. Specific requirements need to be specifically identified at the very start due to the cost and length of installation. Central Wyoming College advertised publicly a RFP in September of 2008. The RFP was broken into parts (CWC, 2008).
Each section crucially identifies the requirements to be met by several departments ranging from accounting, academics, student interaction, infrastructure / hardware, inventory, and support. There are institutions that will sacrifice certain features to reduce cost, but as Central Wyoming College has identified in their RFP, they require all features to be fulfilled including being able to manage their data from the previous systems and various other applications.
The cost for the LMS can range from $250,000 to $1 million based on hardware being replaced and most importantly support and training to be provided to the school's staff and student body.
CWC (2008) "Request for Proposals", Central Wyoming College retrieved August 19, 2010 from http://www.findrfp.com/docs/4741_RFPLMS200805.pdf
Wheaton, G (2008) "Request for Proposal", EPIQ, retrieved August 19, 2010 from http://www.epiqtech.com/request-for-proposal-rfp.htm
3 comments:
With a four-month turn around time for RFPs, the vendors had quite a bit of requirements to fulfill. To support an entire school’s online data, a vendor would certainly want to begin right away in attempts to fulfill the needs of the college. I would think the major task of all of that would be to work to manage data and information from previous systems as well as integrate into the school’s exisiting database. I wonder if getting the compatibility issues down would be a driving source of the proposal price.
Joseph,
The Central Wyoming example helps simplify the topic here, though as someone who is not familiar with the process, I'm not sure how their RFP would compare to others. Certainly, the needs of the institution have to be balanced with the costs associated with adoption, and this is the great debate that exists in the education industry. How much is the best worth? Here is where the work we are doing in this course can pay dividends.
Joseph,
As I read through your blog, I began to recall all the excuses I’ve heard from the District, Schools, and Teachers regarding why they don’t invest in a newer more efficient LMS system. Unfortunately, on the Public School arena, there are too many politicians allocating the educational funds to their pet projects so they could look good come Election Day.
Typically the funds go towards the elected school board seats, and more often than not the elected officials don’t have the educators, students or the institution’s best interest as their primary focus.
For Central Wyoming College, the process for an RFP seems pretty cut and dry. You apply for the highest amount possible and hope you are awarded enough to pay for the project. If only it was that easy!
Thanks for bringing this article to our attention; it really started to make me think of innovative ways to simplify the process.
Post a Comment