DePaul University Launches Streamlined Platform to Ease Administrative Burden for Faculty, Enable More Time for Research and Teaching


Midwest’s largest private, nonprofit university teams with faculty information system Interfolio to support shared governance activities and improve faculty experience and workflow 

CHICAGO, Nov. 07, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- DePaul University today announced the merging of all faculty affairs processes under a single system designed to support the entire lifecycle of faculty careers, activity, and governance. Working with Interfolio, creators of the first-ever faculty information system, leaders at DePaul will develop a more cohesive experience for faculty and a more academically-focused approach to supporting faculty affairs—including hiring, promotion and tenure, and accreditation reporting.

”In addition to immediate process improvements, we will join a community of faculty affairs leaders determining best practices and industry standards around the highly specific processes and workflows of academe, said Alyssa Kupka, Chief of Staff and Senior Associate Vice President Academic Affairs. “The opportunity to provide a cohesive and responsive faculty solution set will yield both short- and long-term dividends.”

By making the transition from existing systems to Interfolio, DePaul will elevate all disparate faculty processes to a unified platform designed to accommodate the specificities of faculty activities and actions. DePaul sought technology purposefully designed for academic users because the processes addressed—especially faculty hiring, with its nuances around confidential letters and shared governance—demanded a specialized solution.

Administrators at DePaul were also seeking more and better ways to receive validated information about the scholarly activity of faculty in advance of accreditation milestones. Must-haves included an intuitive activity reporting solution to gather, validate, and drill down on accurate data necessary for accreditation requirements, as well as flexible and customizable workflows to seamlessly integrate the technology within colleges with varying departmental structures.

“We’re excited to be working with a leading university like DePaul in an expansive relationship that will contribute formally to the research and development of new Interfolio products.”  said Andrew Rosen, CEO, Interfolio. “Leaders at DePaul University share our vision for the evolution of the Faculty Information System and recognize the importance of developing a roadmap for faculty-centric technology in concert with Interfolio’s diverse portfolio of institutional partners.”

In mid-November, DePaul will convene peer institutions for a one-day workshop on using Interfolio to manage faculty information, transform faculty centered processes and decision management, and drive best practices around faculty affairs in the arena of diversity and inclusion in hiring, collaboration in the research process, and centering faculty time on strategic activities such as research, teaching, service and other professional matters. 

About DePaul University
DePaul is the largest Catholic university in the United States and the largest private, nonprofit university in the Midwest, with nearly 22,500 students and a wide range of academic and professional programs. It is nationally recognized for incorporating service learning throughout its curriculum and preparing its graduates for a global economy. DePaul was founded in Chicago in 1898 by the Congregation of the Mission (Vincentians), a Roman Catholic religious community dedicated to following the ideals of St. Vincent de Paul, the 17th century priest for whom the university is named. DePaul’s tradition of providing a quality education to students from a broad range of backgrounds, with particular attention to first-generation students, has resulted in one of the nation’s most diverse student bodies. More information is available at www.depaul.edu.

About Interfolio
Founded in 1999, Interfolio is an education technology company based in Washington, DC, and offers the first holistic faculty information system to support the full lifecycle of faculty work—encompassing job seeking, professional accomplishment (in teaching, research, and service), evaluation success (in reviews, tenure, promotion, sabbatical), and beyond. All Interfolio software applications focus on faculty, with workflow tools to support shared governance processes; activity reporting solutions that support accreditation, decision making, and data analytics; and consumer offerings that provide portable, private dossier collection and curation for sharing with academics and others. Working with over 250 clients, Interfolio leads with vision and innovation, always focused on advancing faculty and their institutions.

For more information about Interfolio, please contact team@interfolio.com, or visit www.interfolio.com.