Overview

The 'Story of SHELL'

Project Outputs

Conference
Publications

Evaluation
Reports

Contact
Details

For a rapid introduction to the work of the SHELL Project, view the short video (8 minutes) titled Introducing the SHELL Project.  Broadband or faster network connection recommended: This file is 15 Mb and is in Windows Media Player format.

Project Background and Overview

The project originally arose out of an identified need to support students undertaking higher education courses delivered by further education colleges in partnership with the University.  There were persuasive reasons for developing the support in this area. 

Each year over 4000 students register at partnership colleges, studying for qualifications that are awarded by the University. ‘Double registration’, the processing of registration data by a college and independently by the University, takes weeks to complete and is prone to error at both ends.  Complete reconciliation of the data on college and University student record system takes months.  To the student, this double registration process sometimes means having to fill in two registration forms. 

It was clear that current administrative processes could be developed and improved and this was a major driver.  Furthermore, provision of rapid access to the University managed learning environment (MLE) was attractive to a target group that is well dispersed around the region.  

At the start of the project, participating institutions relied on a range of student record systems, none of which were using interoperability standards for data transactions. In fact, existing transactions of student data between institutions were often conducted using paper based systems.

The project aimed to:

• Improve administration through single registration for all partnership students, combined with rapid transfer of registration data between institutions.  (This aimed to cut administrative workloads and improve the co-ordination between delivery and awarding institutions.)
   

• Improve frameworks for integrating the student record and information systems between partnership colleges and the University.  (In practical terms, from the learner point of view, this aimed to cut the waiting time from the point of initial registration to where access to the LMS was granted.)
   

• Develop a personal web-based portal for learners. (This aimed to provide an independent record of qualifications that would be available to learners long after they left their place of study.)

To meet these key objectives, the SHELL project developed an infrastructure based on IMS standards to transfer data, coupled with revised business processes for handling data between partners. 

Use the links on the left of each page to view the project deliverables and associated documents and reports.

Project Website managed by Jon Yorke