Introduction

At Chatham University's School of Health Sciences (SHS), Dr. Ann Williamson holds multiple roles, including Associate Professor and Director of Clinical Education, as well as Data Systems Coordinator responsible for managing the Exxat platform, a critical part of the effective management of student placements and clinical education programs at the university.

The Challenge

Chatham University SHS struggled with clinical education data management prior to installing Exxat in 2016. They were using multiple systems of varying sophistication and capacity. This made it difficult for faculty and staff to efficiently manage student placements and clinical education programs across the university. Consequently, they had to spend much time and effort manually tracking and organizing placement data. These operational challenges took time away from other crucial tasks, like giving students guidance and instruction.

“Exxat has been liberating, to say the least. Moreover, it has allowed me to take on all kinds of other new projects and pursue other academic/professional interests. Literally life changing.”

– Dr. Ann Williamson, Associate Professor, DPT Director of Clinical Education, and SHS Data Systems Coordinator at Chatham University's School of Health Sciences

The Key Considerations

To address these operational challenges, Dr. Williamson conducted a full needs assessment across the Chatham University SHS and reviewed several competing products. After inviting several vendors to visit, she conferred with her counterparts across the school and came to a consensus on Exxat as the best solution.

The key decision criteria included:

Chatham University's main goal was to reduce operational challenges. After thoroughly assessing the needs and evaluating various competing options, Dr. Williamson and her colleagues reached a consensus on Exxat as the most suitable solution.

The Implementation

The implementation of Exxat has already led to significant improvements in data management and student placement tracking for each program to varying degrees. Faculty and staff have reported increased efficiency and reduced errors related to student placements, which has helped improve the quality of clinical education programs. With the ongoing implementation of Exxat across all SHS programs at the university, Chatham expects to see even greater benefits in terms of data accuracy, communication, and coordination between programs.

The Impact

Since implementing Exxat, Chatham University SHS has seen several improvements across the board:

Reduced Anxiety and Workload for Faculty

By streamlining data management and eliminating the need for multiple systems and processes, Dr. Williamson estimates a 30-40% cost time savings within her Doctor of Physical Therapy Program.

Enhanced Reporting Capabilities

Allowing faculty, staff, and administration to access and analyze data more efficiently, Dr. Williamson states that she is pleased with the capacity to complete rapid reporting for individual departments and across SHS as needed.

Increased Efficiency & Productivity

Exxat has enabled the faculty and staff to take on additional projects and pursue other academic/professional interests. The work that used to take 2-3 days for administrators now only takes less than 10 hours.

Overall, Dr. Williamson highly recommends Exxat to her peers in the industry. She believes that having a designated Exxat liaison is key to optimizing communication and coordination between and across programs and that the platform's user-friendly interface and robust reporting capabilities can provide significant benefits to faculty, staff, and administration.

“Time-saving, resource-saving, and just being cloud-based makes everything easier!”

– Dr. Ann Williamson, Associate Professor, DPT Director of Clinical Education, and SHS Data Systems Coordinator at Chatham University's School of Health Sciences

Suggestions

For other institutions looking to solve similar problems, Dr. Williamson recommends:

• Conducting a full needs assessment to identify specific pain points and requirements.

• Engaging with multiple vendors and conducting in-depth product evaluations.

• Designating a dedicated Exxat liaison to optimize communication and coordination between and across programs.

• Leveraging Exxat's robust reporting capabilities to provide faculty, staff, and administration with the data they need to make informed decisions.

By following these steps, institutions can ensure that they are selecting a platform that meets their specific needs and requirements and can take full advantage of Exxat's powerful capabilities to streamline data management and improve the success of their clinical education programs.