How an established continuing education division built the foundation for its next decade of growth.
"Modern Campus is a very robust platform. We followed similar advice to what you hear when buying a house: buy the most powerful, advanced system you can afford and grow into it.”
Lisa Kays | Senior Director, Continuing and Professional Education at SMU CAPE
At Southern Methodist University (SMU), the Continuing and Professional Education (CAPE) division has served learners for more than seventy years. As a self-sustaining continuing education unit funded through program revenue, SMU CAPE has long combined entrepreneurial thinking with a commitment to serving a diverse population of learners.
“We were experiencing a growth phase,” said Lisa Kays, Senior Director, Continuing and Professional Education. “As we planned to develop new programs, we also were evaluating technology that could make the experience for students, instructors, and staff more seamless and efficient.”
Like many CE units, SMU CAPE was experiencing a shift in both audience and mandate. As demand for professional development grew, the division was expanding beyond its traditional lifelong learning offerings. Increasing complexity placed new demands on the systems and processes that supported the division.
Kays and her colleagues didn’t know what the future would hold. But they knew it would bring change. That meant building an operational foundation that would support not only the division SMU CAPE was, but also the one it was becoming.
“There's always evolution in programs, audiences, delivery, and technology. We wanted to be as proactive and forward-looking as we could.”
Lisa Kays
Modern Campus Lifelong Learning gave SMU CAPE the infrastructure to build an operational foundation that would support both current and future needs.
Built on a single system of record, the platform became the operational hub for SMU CAPE's learner records, registration, communications, and credentials. Rather than managing separate systems for different audiences or program types, the division could support a wide range of learner journeys from one place.
“We wanted a comprehensive system that could house student records so that we could see the full scope of their experience,” Kays said.
In practice, the same platform could support:
The years that followed would test continuing education in new ways. SMU CAPE was ready to evolve alongside it:
SMU CAPE expanded digital delivery without replacing the systems that supported its learners. The platform supported both in-person and online experiences while maintaining a consistent learner experience.
SMU CAPE implemented a CRM to strengthen engagement with prospective students throughout the recruitment journey.
The division incorporated digital credentials into a consolidated learner record, giving learners portable recognition without fragmenting records across multiple systems.
“We found that the Modern Campus platform really served our needs and our students’ needs. It has the capacity to allow us to grow, evolve, and change.”
Lisa Kays
Continuing education looks very different today than when SMU CAPE began this journey. Career-centered learning has taken center stage. Delivery has become more flexible. Adult learners have come to expect more connected, personalized experiences. Throughout that evolution, SMU CAPE had the foundation to adapt without sacrificing what mattered most to learners.
“We’re a little bit more honed in and focused on our portfolio now, but our delivery is much more diverse than when I started at CAPE,” Kays said.
Operational efficiency became essential to navigating an era of change. Integrations between Modern Campus and SMU’s Learning Management System and CRM replaced manual processes and gave the team the capacity to support a more complex portfolio without adding administrative burden.
“That system integration really was the biggest key to helping us be as efficient and productive as we can,” Kays said. “There’s always more to learn, but we’ve accomplished a lot with a small but mighty group.”
Modern Campus Lifelong Learning gives SMU CAPE the ability to manage the platform without depending on technical specialists elsewhere on campus. Staff can configure and refine the platform themselves, keeping day-to-day management with the people closest to the programs and learners.
“We found that our staff members could be super users without being systems analysts, coders, or registrars ourselves,” Kays said.
That accessibility gives the team greater control, so staff can focus more of their energy on programs and the learner experience.
As career-centered learning continues to evolve at SMU, so does CAPE. In a university where non-credit programming spans multiple schools, the division is a trusted voice for adult learners, helping other units think more intentionally about their experience.
“CAPE has led the charge to help other units get started using Modern Campus, and thinking about the non-credit adult learner student experience too,” Kays said.
“The most important thing we can offer is the advocacy for adult learners and the different needs they have. It’s really about being a champion for those students in larger conversations across the university.”
Lisa Kays