Business Case

Business Case for XCRI-CAP

A Brief Business Case

For Policy Makers

  • Build one authoritative source of course information to respond effectively to policy changes.

Why Use XCRI?

  • It is the UK eProspectus standard.
  • Eliminates the need for re-typing course marketing information.

For Developers

  • Generate XCRI-CAP catalogs by collecting course data and describing them in a single XML document.
  • Reduces data duplication.

For Managers

  • Increases the visibility of courses to learners, employers, course websites, and other stakeholders.
  • Can supply 20 or more course websites simultaneously.

XCRI is an open, community-driven initiative supported by the Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC) of the UK Higher and Further Education funding councils. The XCRI initiative focuses on creating practical implementations used by institutions today while driving future improvements and opportunities.

Learning providers create XCRI-CAP documents by collecting course information and describing them in a single XML document, typically delivered by their organization’s website or content management system. A single XCRI-CAP document or service can supply course information to various course collecting organizations or systems.

Business Advantages of XCRI-CAP

Current methods of passing online prospectus information from learning providers to aggregator organizations, such as UCAS and the Skills Funding Agency, often involve re-keying data already used to populate institutional prospectus websites into bespoke web forms designed by the aggregators. XCRI-CAP allows providers to avoid the costs associated with manual re-keying by offering a single XML-based catalog, resulting in internal efficiency gains from business process improvements.

By combining all course information into a single XCRI-CAP catalog, learning providers gain opportunities for improved quality assurance, standardization, and the consolidation of duplicate offerings. This centralized, easy-to-process format also opens up possibilities for new web-based services that can help market the offerings or add value in other ways. Exchanging information with other organizations using XCRI-CAP also presents opportunities for new business ventures and revenue-sharing partnerships.

Sector-wide benefits are expected from the “network effect” of using a common standard among prospectus providers and aggregators. Early adopters of XCRI-CAP have reported immediate process improvement benefits, even before a broader ecosystem of XCRI-consuming aggregators has fully formed. The clear target created by the XCRI CAP v1.1 specification has catalyzed process improvement initiatives for collecting and maintaining prospectus content.

Institutional Drivers

Through JISC-funded projects, the following institutional drivers have been identified:

  • Prospective fee-paying students want detailed information about the academic experience a course will provide and need to compare this with other options.
  • Better-informed students are more likely to choose courses they will complete and are more motivated to achieve better results.
  • Increased scrutiny by quality assurance agencies and the Government’s requirement for transparency in publicly funded institutions.
  • Value to both the institution and the sector in having a common data standard.
  • XCRI allows course information to be reproduced for multiple, diverse audiences.
  • XCRI helps institutions maximize resources and improve efficiency.
  • Agility in responding to new markets and changes in the sector.
  • Alignment of proposals for validated programs, work-based learning (WBL) courses, and accredited services with core university course information.
  • Implementing XCRI acts as a change agent for improving course information management and curriculum management processes.
  • Development of an authoritative “courses gold standard” for course information.
  • Auditing the quality and consistency of existing course information and its dissemination (especially non-standard courses).
  • Consistency in course information provided to external websites.
  • Responding to new technologies and initiatives.

Assessing the Business Case for Standards

The JISC briefing paper “Assessing the Business Case for Standards: An introduction for strategy planning and resourcing committees” identifies seven key factors for information standards:

  1. Reduction of re-keying: Cost savings and quality improvements can be achieved when standards are used alongside good information management practices.
  2. Reduced maintenance cost and disruption: Ad-hoc system integration may require rework during software updates, posing a risk to business continuity if the responsible developers are no longer available.
  3. Durability of data: Data formatted to a widely supported standard remains usable longer and is easier and cheaper to migrate.
  4. Avoidance of supplier lock-in: Using standards reduces dependency on specific suppliers.
  5. Easier development paths: Coupled with a strategic approach to technology change, standards facilitate incremental ICT service migration and the development of new services.
  6. A platform for collaboration: Standards create neutral territory for multilateral business relationships, including institutional mergers, enabling more fluid partnerships.
  7. Whole system economies: Shared services without standards are inefficient and unsustainable.

Last Updated on Wednesday, 14 September 2011, 11:26