This week AACRAO and longtime partner CollegeSource launched a searchable database of institutional policy. Extensively beta-tested by select AACRAO members, this project is now
ready for full release. Accessible only to AACRAO institutional members, Higher Ed Policy Central gives users the ability to explore, compare, and analyze institutional policies from a wide range of sources. This tool assists policy writers, researchers, and AACRAO members as
a whole. Interested in becoming an AACRAO member? Visit our Join or Renew page to learn more about the process.
From CollegeSource president Troy Holaday:
What is exciting about this tool is not ‘bells and whistles’ it’s what it does…there are some really basic needs that are being met by this (database) and we’re going to keep it clean and straightforward as much as possible because we know it’s just about getting to the information” referencing that a larger focus was put into the functionality of the tool over the initial design.
Development to Launch
With more than 1200 catalogs from nearly 1000 institutions creating a searchable policy database was a significant endeavor. CollegeSource created new processes, tools, and automations to facilitate the work. Establishing the specific needs, resources,
and aims of the project was also necessary as both CollegeSource and AACRAO worked to ensure the policy database met the needs of the AACRAO Community.
Once ready, the Higher Ed Policy Central Database went through a limited early release to interested beta-testers from the AACRAO community. This testing phase gave us insights and feedback from actual users concerning the functionality, ease of use,
and specific needs of the community.
Some of the insights gained from beta-testing included:
Institution Type and Classification
Database Accessibility
Frequent Issues Encountered
Overall Design Satisfaction
And Much More
How to get started
AACRAO institutional members can visit the Higher Ed Policy Central Database now
to get started. Users can search the database by city, region, institution, etc., and narrow their search from general to specific using filters and keywords.
Users can then export policies as a pdf or spreadsheet or save them for future reference.
Looking Ahead
As you explore and use the policy database, you are encouraged to note features you’d like to see implemented, bugs or errors encountered, or anything else of note so that the growth of this platform can be a collaborative process between
users and developers. To submit immediate feedback, click “Help” in the bottom right of the Policy Database, or when you have time, complete our survey to help us understand where we can improve.