According to a recent report, University boards are cutting back sharply on expenses, leaving administrators with the challenge of running their organizations more efficiently without sacrificing the quality of education. Budget cuts of more than 40% at some colleges during the 2016-2017 academic year have focused the attention of administrators on IT investments as a powerful way to strike that balance, according to the latest survey from the Campus Computing Project, a group that has tracked college expenses for nearly 30 years.
“CIOs and senior campus IT officers continue to express great faith in the power of technology to enhance, if not transform, instruction and learning at their campuses,” the report said.
Clinical educators understand that simulation-based training is a learning necessity– but even a simple case or scenario requires significant resources, from people and processes, to space, time, devices, and written course materials. In fact, a sim center’s data may double every two years! But with the help of a learning management system, you can seamlessly tame the data storm and connect a wide variety of disparate departments, sources, and systems.
Consider a learning management system (LMS) on the cloud for streamlining the administration, documentation, tracking, reporting and delivery of educational courses or training programs—and, with less headaches! Read on for eight benefits of a cloud-based LMS.
1. Streamlines IT maintenance
With a cloud-based learning management system, all servers are located off-site, minimizing the requirement for day-to-day IT support and maintenance. It also provides automatic software updates. This leaves you free to focus on educating learners and running clinical simulation activities in your center.
2. Lowers startup costs
Imagine having the freedom to fully upgrade your center without a costly hardware investment. A cloud-based learning management system makes this possible. Because there is no server hardware to install, cloud-based learning management lowers your initial costs. And with quick installation and set-up, you won’t need to devote internal IT resources to installing programs, working out glitches, or confirming center-wide deployment.
3. Improves accessibility
Whether you’re on site at your simulation center, in your office, at home, or traveling, cloud-based learning management allows you to get the data you need, when you need it. Use permission-based access to create or modify cases, schedule, view videos, score, and report. Anytime, anywhere.
4. Decreases total cost of ownership
Want the highest return on investment (ROI)? Consider how a cloud-based LMS can reduce your total cost of ownership and keep your capital and operational expenses to a minimum with a smaller IT footprint. And with regular refresh of servers every 5-6 years at no additional expense to you, you can be confident for the long-term.
5. Reduces network bandwidth requirements
All video access and bandwidth requirements on your network are reduced as faculty and students view simulation-based data via the cloud. With cloud-based learning management, you never have to worry about running out of hardware storage space.
6. Promotes scalability
Cloud-based learning management gives you the customizability and lower cost you need from the get-go—and also ensures you have room to grow. Enrolling more learners? Building a new campus? Engaging in interprofessional learning activities with multiple departments or institutions? You have the freedom to modify and scale your cloud-based LMS to meet your increasing single or multi-site requirements.
7. Enhances data security
When it comes to cloud-based technology, users’ security and privacy is of the utmost importance. Cloud-based learning management keeps your data offsite, secure, and up-to-date with regular backups.
8. Simplifies inventory maintenance
Deploy a companion app for your cloud-based LMS that allows you to manage your center’s inventory in real time using your mobile device. To add inventory, just scan the bar code, add a description, available quantity, reorder amount, warranty, and manufacturer information.
Whether you’re managing programs, people, or processes, simulation center management is key to simulation success. Consider deploying a cloud-based LMS that streamlines every aspect of your simulation-based training program.
Schedule a free consultation to learn how you can save money and enhance your center operations with a cloud-based learning management system.