BCcampus is an enthusiastic supporter of the shared services model. Because we are a collaborative and participatory organization that “thinks outside the box” and welcomes innovative concepts and best practices, shared services are an ideal fit for us. By providing services and support to B.C.'s post-secondary sector, we can do together what one institution may find difficult to do alone. BCcampus promotes this in two ways:

Shared Services

BCcampus works with vendors, open source providers and institution partners to provide educational shared services for online teaching and learning. By gathering needs and requirements, BCcampus hosts and supports learning technologies for the benefit of B.C.’s post-secondary system. Shared services typically reduce software and infrastructure costs by pooling demand and negotiating system-wide licenses and services.

For most shared services, BCcampus underwrites a significant portion of the costs, striking a balance between incentives for participation and operating contributions from institutions. BCcampus currently provides or supports the following educational shared services:

• Adobe Connect web conferencing system.
• Desire2Learn (D2L) learning management system.
• Moodle open source software learning management system.
• Blackboard Collaborate (previously Elluminate) web conferencing system.
• QuestionPoint, supporting technology for AskAway, B.C.’s provincial post-secondary virtual reference service.
• Kaltura, a multi-institutional streaming video shared service implemented in fall 2011 as a pilot project.

Online Collaborative Programs

An online collaborative program allows students to work towards a credential by taking courses from a number of different colleges or universities which have joined together to offer the program. BCcampus works with our partner institutions to deliver online collaborative programs and learning services. Integrating various educational technologies helps to improve the services that institutions can provide to their students as well as reducing costs and creating system efficiencies.

BCcampus hosts and supports shared virtual learning spaces for students, as well as the means for connecting the participating institutions. This allows institutions to coordinate existing resources for delivery of online learning or student services beyond what any individual institution could provide on its own.

BCcampus welcomes institutional expressions of interest around participating in new or existing shared services. For more information on Collaborative Educational Services, please call:

Lawrence Parisotto
Director
Telephone: 604-412-7715
Email: lparisotto@bccampus.ca