SANTA BARBARA, March 20, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Governet, innovators of technology solutions for higher education institutions, announced today that Arizona State University (ASU), renowned for its academic leadership and achievements in sustainability, will adopt CurricUNET Meta, the award-winning online curriculum management system as part of its ongoing effort to reduce paper consumption and save resources. Currently serving and connecting more than 550 colleges and universities via the Worldwide Curriculum Network, CurricUNET Meta will enable ASU to modernize, automate and streamline its curricular management while improving connectivity and integrating sustainable, paperless practices in all major curriculum processing functions throughout its six-campus system.
"Arizona State University is famous for its prolific leadership in technology, innovation and sustainability and is setting a new 'Gold Standard' for American universities," said George Tamas, Governet's Chief Executive Officer. In recognition of its sustainability achievements, ASU has received a "STARS Gold" rating from the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Education(AASHE). "Having demonstrated cutting edge innovations in green technology, renewable energy, environmental conservation and climate science, ASU is among the most highly regarded research universities in the country. It is gratifying that CurricUNET Meta has been selected as the technology that will move the institution toward more sustainable curriculum practices."
Since 2001, Governet has been setting standards for best practices in curriculum management. Higher education institutions subscribing to CurricUNET's suite of automation services have reported significant savings in terms of financial, human and natural resources, an advantage that is aligned with ASU's Sustainability Plan.
Over the course of the next several months, Governet's technology team will be configuring ASU's CurricUNET Meta system, which will automate curriculum processes that streamline development, management, workflow, approvals and dissemination of course and program data across all ASU campuses. By adopting CurricUNET Meta, ASU expects to significantly reduce its use of natural, human and financial resources across the board.
"The opportunity to re-design and build our academic processes, from new curricular developments through course and catalog approvals, around a single system is very exciting," said ASU Executive Vice Provost for Academic Affairs and Graduate Dean Maria T. Allison. "To date so much of the work requires a huge amount of human resource to handle electronic routing and archiving of word documents and PDF curricular documents. CurricUNET will not only allow ASU to work more efficiently with transparent and timely communication with the academic units, but it will also allow for historical archiving of all actions relevant to curricular and course approvals. Additionally, its benefits align perfectly with ASU's long-term sustainability goals."
As of 2013, ASU's student enrollment reached over 73,000 students, making it the largest student body in the United States. ASU students can choose from over 12,000 courses scheduled yearly in more than 850 academic programs offered at four campus locations in the metro-Phoenix area as well as though ASU Online. Each year, ASU develops an average of 475 new courses to support new and existing programs. By adopting CurricUNET, ASU will gain access to the rapidly growing Worldwide Curriculum Network. Currently, CurricUNET's member institutions have access to more than 600,000 courses and 47,000 degree path programs stored in CurricUNET's global database.
"ASU's academic achievement and credibility can be measured by the quality of educational offerings it provides," noted Tamas. "In that regard, its presence in CurricUNET's Worldwide Curriculum Network will benefit other member institutions as much as ASU will benefit by gaining access to our growing database."
About Governet and CurricUNET:
Governet is a leading provider of innovative Web-based solutions for higher education institutions. These solutions address local campus, statewide system, and international collaborative network issues in curriculum development, management and accreditation. Governet's core application is CurricUNET, the award-winning curriculum management system designed to streamline curriculum processes from planning to articulation by improving workflow efficiency, reporting and approval processes and institutional connectivity. Currently serving more than 550 colleges and universities, including several state-wide systems throughout the U.S., Canada and the United Arab Emirates, and recently adopted by California's ground-breaking ASSIST, which connects and facilitates articulation between all of the state's higher education systems, CurricUNET provides its users access to more than 600,000 course outlines and 47,000 program and degree programs. Via this transformational database, Governet is guiding the development of best practices standards for curriculum and creating what is rapidly becoming the Worldwide Curriculum Network. For more information about Governet and CurricUNET, please visit www.governet.net.
About ASU Campus Sustainability and
University Sustainability Business Practices
The ASU sustainability vision begins internally with
university-wide business practices and policies. Sustainability
efforts are advanced by the Global Institute of Sustainability and
made possible by partners from across ASU. Sustainability practices
are implemented in the areas of energy, water, carbon neutrality,
transportation, buildings and grounds, food services, waste and
recycling, and purchasing. For more information,
visit: http://sustainability.asu.edu/practice.