University of Tennessee case study

Founded in 1794, the University of Tennessee serves about 50,000 students on five campuses across the state and has a presence in all 95 counties through the UT Institute of Agriculture and statewide Institute for Public Service. For three UT organizations, continued reliance on outdated learning management systems (LMSs) made it difficult to provide engaging, seamless learning experiences:

In 2015, as existing contracts approached expiration, UTIA reached out to other areas of the university to propose a unique solution. “We asked if anyone wanted to go in with us on a new LMS,” said John Toman, extension specialist at UTIA. Struggling with their own learning challenges, IPS and the System Administration HR department joined UTIA in the search for a new platform. “Cornerstone OnDemand stood out for several reasons,” said Scott Gordy, chief information officer at IPS. “The system is very configurable, which meant that, while we shared one system, each unit could create unique portals for different customer bases.”

Increased registration for paid classes. Since implementing Cornerstone Extended Enterprise, registration for paid IPS classes has increased. “The registration process is much easier. More people are registering. This has translated to an increase in revenue,” said Gordy. “Because we don’t have to walk customers through the process on the phone, we’re free to work on other things.”

Expanded usage. Via Cornerstone, UTIA customers now have a streamlined checkout process and improved access to courses. “Since implementing Cornerstone, we’ve seen usage increase,” said Toman. “The interface looks modern. And we know that if your system looks good and is easy to use, people think good things about your programs.”

Enhanced completions by 670%. With Cornerstone Learning, UT System Administration HR can quickly customize, deliver, and track compliance training. “Not only is it simpler to deliver compliance training to different units, we experienced a 670% increase in completions for one training from the year prior to implementing Cornerstone,” said Sowrey.

Customized the user experience. While IPS, UTIA, and System Administration HR all use the same Cornerstone platform, individual portals are customized for different groups: students, professionals, and faculty and staff. “Each unit can create unique portals for different users while sharing one resource,” said Gordy. “We also can segment our audience. That’s been an incredible advantage.”

Refocused administrators on strategic activities. Prior to Cornerstone, leadership spent valuable time troubleshooting systems. “With Cornerstone, I now get to do more development work,” said Toman. Gordy added, “Cornerstone has allowed me to focus on other processes. That’s been a big benefit.”

For Sowrey, Cornerstone has reduced time spent on manual data entry. “Previously, departments worked with the SAP team to upload training data. We don’t have to do that anymore. It’s all done automatically and both systems—SAP and Cornerstone—are kept current. We’re saving so much time.”

Added Tredway, “Our old, outdated database was replaced by an actual LMS, making our work more efficient and effective. This efficiency enables us to focus attention on partnering with department heads and administrators on developing much-needed internally developed eLearning content and expanding LMS usage to our campus HR partners.”