In an era of budget restrictions, centers for teaching and learning will need to find innovative ways to reach greater numbers with limited funding. At the University of Minnesota, there has been more and more pressure on our campus to convert all paper communications to electronic communications. Course registration and fee payment are now done on the Web. University policies are all on the Web. More and more courses have Web components.
Most departments have Web pages and many conduct business through interactive sites.
Similarly, our students will be able to create learning portfolios online, sharing them with advisors and instructors through the Internet. This revolution in how business is done at the University has dramatically influenced every component of it, including the Center for Teaching and Learning Services, still a minor player on campus, but one with ambition. The Forum site license offers our Center a unique way to save money and increase coverage. Without the site license, it would be impossible for a university of our size to subscribe even a small portion of the faculty to a national publication about teaching and learning. With a site license, all faculty, instructional staff, and graduate students can access the newsletter through their university e mail accounts.