The University of Nevada, Las Vegas first discovered the benefits of distance learning in 1995, after the state legislature voted to pursue its use throughout Nevada. The learning technology was an obvious fit for the urban university, where only 2,500 of its 30,000 students live on campus.

After considering available course management products, UNLV originally purchased WebCT’s Standard Edition, and over time migrated to Campus Edition 4. It became an immediate hit with students and faculty, so popular that its use spread quickly to non-distance ed courses. Indeed, only one-quarter of UNLV’s courses managed by the software are actually part of its distance ed curriculum.

UNLV’s experiences were shared by the seven other institutions within the Nevada System of Higher Education, all of which independently adopted one of WebCT’s products. That included the three-year-old Nevada State College at Henderson, which wanted all of its courses to have a WebCT presence. The System’s technology arm, known as System Computing Services (SCS), even negotiated a lower shared license rate with WebCT for the member schools.

But UNLV’s expanded use of WebCT’s Campus Edition into an enterprise-wide course management system has outstretched its capabilities and created challenges for the university, reports Lori Temple, its vice provost of information technology. The system lacks the robustness to ensure continued operation during peak times, and must be sidelined daily for routine maintenance, an annoyance for students. “Campus Edition 4 was never intended for such a widespread implementation,” says Temple.

The obvious solution: WebCT’s Vista academic enterprise system. Beyond offering a complete virtual course environment, Vista’s features include a Community Manager, which enables institutions to provide dedicated areas for communities—including colleges, schools, departments, and programs—to collaborate effectively. “Communities can work autonomously but still enjoy the support and reliability of a central e-learning system,” says WebCT. Vista’s PowerSight Kit enables institutions to have their own data store in support of assessment and accreditation. The flexible WebCT PowerLinks capability for software development enables developers to integrate WebCT Vista with the shared legacy student information system.

In short, employment of WebCT’s Vista within a consortium means that tiny Nevada State College and the other affiliated schools no longer need their own servers to produce an individualized look and feel. More importantly, the software enables the schools to stretch their limited resources by sharing hardware, administration, system management, database administration, development, and certain help desk and training duties. UNLV alone predicts savings of $150,000 per year.

The new consortium will soon host the course management system from the SCS facility with UNLV and Nevada State College at Henderson as initial partners. The consortium has been designed so other Nevada schools may join at a later date, says Temple, who hopes all eight institutions will ultimately participate.

Temple says the move to WebCT’s Vista 4 represents a large step for the schools on several levels. It employs entirely different architecture from the Campus Edition, including built-in redundancies that enable those who manage the systems to take them offline without affecting operations. In addition, the software includes new features and more user friendly interface for faculty and students to master.

Faculty training has just begun for pilot programs slated for the spring 2006 with several departments. Widespread rollout is planned for summer and fall semesters at both schools, says Temple. At UNLV, Vista 4 will ultimately embrace all courses including noncredit activities, such as environmental health and safety training for staff and continuing education for the community, she adds.

For Nevada State College, with its 1,600 students, the consortium makes possible its upgrade to Vista 4. “We could not have afforded this without it,” says Brian Chongtai, the school’s director of information technology.

Yet as Nevada’s state schools prepare for their new era of e-learning, they must solve a new set of challenges posed by the creation of their consortium. Namely, the entity must operate within constraints that equitably represent the interests of its members. It must function legally in contractual and other matters, communicate with interested parties, and follow numerous bylaws. Other details include selecting a name for the organization and getting it approved, creating a neutral website and other environments so that one institution is not perceived as driving it.

“You have to know the culture you’re working in and how far you can move forward politically, legally and organizationally,” says Temple. “Because of our history of working together on WebCT’s Campus Edition, we have established that culture.” In addition, she says, no one is forcing Nevada’s higher education institutions to participate. “It’s totally voluntary.”

Temple’s advice for other academic IT executives is simple: Get started looking for opportunities to join the Vista parade and to partner in doing so. “You will discover efficiencies everywhere by sharing costs and expertise,” she assures.

On a personal level, says Temple, the thrill of creating a new entity for mutual benefit is hard to describe. “To have colleagues elsewhere helping to bring this together is exhilarating,” she says, a point echoed by partner Brian Chongtai. Temple is also looking forward to yet another dividend—the ability to take on other IT challenges once she is freed from the operational duties of UNLV’s e-learning arm.

Karen Gage, WebCT’s senior vice president for marketing, says the growth of consortia around the Vista platform has increased during the past two years. In fact, WebCT offers a pricing discount and consulting services for institutions seeking to form such partnerships. “It’s a challenging thing to do, especially since academic institutions don’t have a history of sharing technology,” she says.

Gage says the Nevada consortium represents a rare example of a consortium driven by individual institutions, not pushed by a central board of regents to its member colleges. “People can look to this example for forming a consortium that is not funded by a statewide initiative,” says Gage, who predicts rapid growth of such partnerships even among unaffiliated institutions.

Meanwhile, WebCT is readying release of Vista’s version 5 in 2006, which will include expanded capabilities for sharing content within consortia and other features. WebCT also will introduce a new portfolio product to help students document their work and make it available, she says.