Columbus State University Chooses Watermark to Improve Learning and Institutional Outcomes

NEW YORK— August 14, 2018 – Watermark, the largest provider of educational intelligence solutions for higher ed worldwide, is pleased to welcome one of its newest institutional partners, Columbus State University in Columbus, Georgia. Accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges, Columbus State University has selected Watermark for use within both academic and co-curricular units across the entire campus. CSU will use Watermark’s suite of educational intelligence solutions for campus-wide academic and co-curricular assessment and accreditation management, general education assessment, student and faculty ePortfolios, as well as faculty credentialing and activity reporting.

Focused on integrating processes around outcomes assessment and program review as well as assessing student learning in order to provide students with feedback to improve, the institution plans to leverage Watermark to 1) support its General Education assessment efforts, 2) more deeply engage students in their learning by using ePortfolios to help students track and showcase their growth, and 3) prepare institutional data reports that will increase transparency and help the institution demonstrate evidence of learning and outcomes improvement across campus.

In addition, Columbus State University is driven by a goal to increase efficiencies and integrate institutional effectiveness processes, including operational and strategic planning, program review, learning outcomes assessment, accreditation reporting, and faculty activity. In implementing a workflow to support the institution’s tenure and promotion processes and reporting on faculty credentials, the institution remains committed to supporting faculty portfolio use and professional development, as well as gaining better insight into faculty activity across the institution.

With over 350 employees and more than 1,600 member institutions, Watermark’s recent growth and proven track record with other similar institutions helped cement CSU’s final decision.

“We are choosing to implement a variety of Watermark solutions on our campus because they will help us integrate our planning, assessment, accreditation tracking, and faculty activity processes, as well as provide us the educational intelligence data needed to make informed decisions that will improve student outcomes. We want to be able to break down any data silos, reduce redundancy and time spent on manual processes, and provide more longitudinal transparency around plans, goals, outcomes, and results in order to create a more holistic picture of institutional quality and learning at our institution,” said Dr. Dr. Kimberly McElveen, Assistant Vice President for Institutional Assessment at Columbus State University.

“We’re honored to welcome Columbus State University to the Watermark Community. As their partner, we are committed to supporting their goals and helping them meet the challenges of effectively planning for assessment and using data to improve outcomes. We want our technology to ease those processes so that faculty and administrators can focus more on using their data to make meaningful improvements,” said Kevin Michielsen, CEO of Watermark.

Columbus State University is part of the University System of Georgia, enrolling 8,452 students in over 100 different degree programs, including a growing array of quality online offerings and an expanding graduate school that recently awarded CSU’s first doctorate in education. Programs are nationally accredited, and many have received attention from a variety of publications for ranking among the top in the country for their combination of quality and value. With Watermark, Columbus State University can now streamline its management of institutional improvement processes in order to continue using its data to make meaningful improvements at all levels.

About Watermark

Watermark’s mission is to put better data into the hands of administrators, faculty, and students everywhere in order to empower them to connect information and gain insights into learning which will drive meaningful improvements. Through its innovative educational intelligence platform, Watermark supports institutions in developing an intentional approach to learning and development based on data they can trust.