Drury University Partners with Watermark to Improve Student Learning and Institutional Outcomes

NEW YORK — February 21, 2019 – Watermark, the largest provider of educational intelligence solutions for higher ed worldwide, is pleased to expand its partnership with Drury University in Springfield, Missouri. Accredited by the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools, Drury has elected to expand the use of Watermark’s educational intelligence solutions from its College of Education to campus wide.

Focused on increasing student success and using data to drive meaningful improvements, Drury is implementing Watermark for its abilities to increase efficiencies and better integrate institutional effectiveness processes on campus, including: assessment planning, program review, learning outcomes assessment, and accreditation reporting. The University plans to leverage Watermark to break down data silos at the institution, reduce redundancy and time spent on manual processes, and provide more longitudinal transparency around plans, goals, outcomes, and results from one centralized location.

In addition to centralizing assessment planning processes, Drury will use Watermark to support course-based assessment within its programs and General Education core, as well as implement ePortfolios to assess student growth and increase post-graduate preparedness. By implementing Watermark’s outcomes assessment solution, Drury now has the ability to:

1. assess and foster student growth through ePortfolios, especially using high-impact practices and essential learning outcomes
2. provide students with an opportunity to track their own academic and professional growth
3. generate institutional data reports that will increase transparency and help the institution demonstrate evidence of learning and outcomes improvement across campus

With Watermark, students have the opportunity to curate and manage multiple portfolios that include a variety of sample works, which serve to demonstrate progress toward goals and skill acquisition. Students can receive real-time feedback and easily showcase their learning journeys well beyond the limits of a traditional resume and transcript, demonstrating both their academic growth and future professional potential.

“At Drury, we already have strong processes in place. With Watermark, we’ll be able to streamline those processes further so that we continue to have the educational intelligence needed to make informed decisions that improve student outcomes. It’s helpful to have a technology partner that shares this vision and recognizes its value for an institution. Watermark will be vital in our ability to assess student learning and gather meaningful data that will allow us to improve both student outcomes and instructional design. The ability for our faculty and other instructional personnel to view target sets, goals, outcomes, and methods of assessment will be a fantastic step in representing what we as an institution hope to achieve and how we work to put students first,” said Marline Faherty, Director of Academic Affairs Support Services for Drury University.

“We’re honored to expand our partnership with Drury University. We strongly support the institution’s focus on student success. We look forward to helping the University simplify and integrate its assessment planning processes in order to gather the data needed to demonstrate outcomes improvement. Our goal is to provide our partners with better data so they can focus on learning from that data and using it to make the kind of improvements that positively impact students,” said Kevin Michielsen, CEO of Watermark.

Founded in 1873 as a private liberal arts college, Drury University serves more than 3,300 students and offers students a bold new academic experience – one that breaks the mold of single majors and rigid formulas most often associated with traditional education. With an intentional combination of study in professional and non-professional areas, Drury guarantees students receive a blend of life credentials and career credentials, allowing them to pursue their intellectual passions while giving them the tools they need to be technically proficient and career-ready.

Named one of the top schools in the country by The Princeton Review in the 2019, Drury has partnered with Watermark to streamline and centralize its institutional and assessment planning processes in order to use its data to make meaningful outcomes 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.

Contact:
Victoria Guzzo
Director, Corporate Communications
vguzzo@watermarkinsights.com