TIAS School for Business and Society is the joint business school of Tilburg University and Eindhoven University of Technology. In addition to ‘conventional’ Master’s programs, it focuses on masterclasses, MBAs, and short courses for professionals.
In 2020, TIAS defined its strategic priorities to better align its educational offerings with the needs of the modern, adult learner. Working professionals are increasingly seeking upskilling opportunities, but typically do so alongside demanding jobs, requiring them to maintain control and set their own pace. To manage this effectively, TIAS sought a contemporary Student Information System (SIS) that addresses the specific challenges of adult education.
The choice ultimately fell on Eduframe, which, thanks in part to its powerful integration with Canvas LMS, has contributed to:
- Scalability, Automation & Efficiency: Eduframe standardizes and automates various administrative processes, reducing workload and increasing efficiency.
- Flexible and Modular Education: Eduframe enables flexible and modular learning. This allows TIAS to support various learning formats (such as B2B and B2C, accredited or non-accredited) and respond to trends like micro-credentials and stackable programs.
- Personalized Education: Through seamless integration with Canvas LMS, the course catalog can be presented clearly online. Additionally, it is possible to provide learners with personalized communication and content, which increases engagement – a vital component for stimulating Lifelong Learning.
For TIAS, this translates into the following key results:
- 4,500+ active learners utilizing Eduframe.
- 4.2 / 5 average satisfaction regarding the course offerings, achieved in part thanks to Eduframe.
- 600+ course templates automatically synchronized via Eduframe with the online catalog and Canvas.
TIAS School for Business and Society offers various accredited and non-accredited programs, providing learners with multiple pathways. These modules are offered as open programs, including MBAs, Masters, advanced programs, masterclasses, and short courses. Additionally, TIAS develops custom programs for its corporate partners.
Marijn Veijgen, Manager of IT Innovation at TIAS, has played a crucial role in improving the enterprise architecture at the school. He has overseen several projects within the TIAS transformation program, including the development of a roadmap for future educational programs and the implementation of the new Student Information System (SIS).
“As a School for Business and Society, our goal is to develop leaders who serve society by transforming business. TIAS believes that ‘business as usual’ is no longer an option: transformation is necessary if we want to tackle the challenges of our time.
To promote such a transformation-oriented mindset through our education, we have developed an integral, competency-based approach to what we call ‘Business & Society.’ This means that competencies in responsible leadership, collaboration, business modeling, and sustainable innovation are integrated into all our programs.”
– Marijn Veijgen, Manager IT Innovation at TIAS
A rapidly changing labor market requires learners to continuously develop new skills to remain professionally agile. Consequently, participants are increasingly looking for flexible education that fits their busy lives and is personalized to their needs. TIAS recognized early on that the classic educational architecture needed a fundamental overhaul to meet these demands.
“At TIAS, we want to become the school for business transformation that serves society. In 2020, we defined a new strategy for our business school to achieve that mission. We realized then that implementing this strategy required rigorous innovation. We defined five strategic priorities, the first of which was: ‘meeting the needs and expectations of the modern learner.’ This is primarily about adding flexibility to programs, introducing different teaching formats, and enabling stackable programs and micro-credentials.”
– Marijn Veijgen, Manager IT Innovation at TIAS
“The second priority we defined was ‘digital transformation.’ How do we add value, not only in program execution but to the learning journey as a whole? And how do we optimize our internal processes? A clear outcome of our analysis was that – to realize these two strategic priorities and serve both B2B and B2C audiences – we needed a new SIS platform that offers the flexibility to go beyond traditional cohort-based education.”
Key SIS Requirements for TIAS:
TIAS defined three core requirements that served as a common thread during their search:
- Automation: “It must help us automate and standardize our internal processes with a modern, API-based architecture.”
- Customization: “The SIS must be able to deliver more custom and personalized programs alongside the traditional programs that remain a key part of our portfolio.”
- User-Centricity: “We needed a user-centric platform designed with Lifelong Learning in mind and a strong focus on the learning experience.”
TIAS sought a system that could standardize processes while simultaneously allowing for personalization. They chose Eduframe specifically because it is not a ‘one-size-fits-all” standard system.
“We could have chosen a traditional SIS used by roughly 90% of all traditionally funded Dutch universities. Those systems usually offer many functionalities, some of which you don’t actually need in executive adult education. We realized these traditional systems didn’t quite meet our key requirements. That’s why we ultimately chose Eduframe by Drieam.”
– Marijn Veijgen, Manager IT Innovation at TIAS
An SIS and LMS Working Hand in Hand
An LMS, like Canvas, is specifically designed for managing learning experiences. It provides instructors with tools to create materials, organize activities, provide feedback and track progress. Learners can use the LMS to find learning materials, hand in assignments and collaborate with other learners.
An SIS, like Eduframe, focusses on the administrative and organizational aspects of the educational offerings. It manages enrollments, schedules, payments and reporting. While the LMS handles the ‘content’, the SIS provides the administrative backbone to ensure a smooth operation.
Benefits for Administrative Staff
By integrating Eduframe with Canvas LMS, TIAS has automated or simplified a large portion of these processes. This allows TIAS to quickly adapt to the rapidly changing needs of adult learners.
With Eduframe, TIAS synchronizes its course catalog directly with its website, ensuring their offerings are always up-to-date. The pages per program on the new website are built using data read via the Eduframe API.
New courses and editions are created using templates. Lectures, exams, and meetings can be planned in bulk, with data automatically syncing to Canvas to prevent double work. Eduframe also manages TIAS’ payments and invoicing, linking this data automatically to enrollments and course progress in Canvas. The integration allows TIAS to generate comprehensive reports on registrations, payments, and learning outcomes.
An Enhanced Learning Experience Thanks to the Integration with Canvas
The combination of Canvas and Eduframe contributes to an enhanced learner experience:
When a student enrolls via Eduframe, they are automatically registered in Canvas without any additional administrative steps. Single Sign-On (SSO) allows them to use one account for both.
Course data, like schedules and deadlines, are also synched between Eduframe and Canvas, such that learners always have access up-to-date information. They can also sync important meetings or deadlines with their own Calendar apps.
In Eduframe, learners can view the full educational catalog, sign up for follow-up courses, and see how modules stack into fully accredited programs.
Finally, students can easily download certificates for completed modules to showcase their professional development.
Hence, the combination of both systems offers a complete solution to TIAS’ requirements.
TIAS found a trusted long-term partner in Drieam, sharing a vision for Lifelong Learning. Several factors were essential to the success of the Eduframe implementation:
Engaged Project Management
Both parties worked closely from the start, with open communication and constant risk mitigation at every stage.
Carefull Process Design
TIAS and Drieam mapped out six key processes for optimization. Functional and technical designs were created in consultation with the staff who handle these processes daily, addressing pain points before the launch.
Decent Training
Drieam trained key TIAS personnel to become internal experts, ensuring knowledge was anchored within the organization before going live.
Hypercare & Continuous Support
During the six-month “hypercare” phase post-launch, the system was further refined to support credits, theses, and transcripts for full Master’s and MBA programs.
In practice, the implementation of Eduframe allows TIAS to make significant strides in automation and process optimization. This lowers the work load for staff members and reduces the overhead that is requires for further growth. Eduframe has paved the way for a more uniform way of working for program coordinators and an improved experience for the learner.
“Syncing results from Canvas back to your SIS is incredibly valuable. Because of that connection, we can see in Eduframe when a student has completed a course. We use that info to trigger marketing and sales automations in HubSpot. This allows us to proactively reach out to students when they are ready for the next step in their personal growth.”
– Marijn Veijgen, Manager IT Innovatie bij TIAS
In addition, data sources are combined in Power BI for better insights, and the course catalog is offered directly on the website from Eduframe. “The training pages of the new website are built using data retrieved via the Eduframe API. All these integrations and automations combined save our organization a lot of time,” says Marijn.
With 92 training programs, TIAS now has a wide range of accredited and non-accredited programs offered on its own website via Eduframe.
Looking ahead, Marijn expects Eduframe to further support the transformation toward Lifelong Learning. He envisions the system helping students faster without losing the “personal touch” that is a core value of TIAS. By saving time on administrative tasks, staff have more room to focus on the learners themselves.
“I am curious to see what else Eduframe can do in the future to promote Lifelong Learning—not just on the administrative side, but on the front end by offering even more adaptive learning pathways.”
– Marijn Veijgen, Manager IT Innovatie bij TIAS
