Virtual Learning Environment

Statement of Requirements
May 2004

CONTENTS

Page

  1. The Process of Selection3
  1. Background about the University and Online Learning5
  1. Information and Information Technology7
  1. Project Management9
  1. Key Principles Guiding the Selection10
  1. Background to the VLE Specification 11
  1. VLE Specification13

7.1 Pedagogical functionality13

7.2 System functionality37

7.3Summary of specifications43

  1. Current Student and Staff Statistics 50
  1. Interfaces between the VLE and other systems50

APPENDICES

  1. Helicopter (Overview) Specification51
  2. YIMS System Interfaces54
  3. Legal Notice55

4.Company Questionnaire56

5.Technical Questionnaire58

6.Schedule of Indicative Costs 60

1. The process of selection

1.1Introduction

1.1.1The purpose of this document is to set out a statement of requirements of the University of York for an institutional virtual learning environment and to explain the process by which interested parties will be short listed and a supplier(s) selected.

1.1.2This competition to supply a virtual learning environment (VLE) solution to the University of York

will be undertaken under European Union procurement rules using the restricted award procedure.

Selection will be a two-stage process: short listing will be on the basis of documentary evidence

provided by interested parties; selection will be after extended discussion with short listed suppliers,

to include demonstrations, reference site and company site visits etc. as appropriate.

1.1.3The University will look at a range of possible solutions including off-the-shelf packages and open

source software.

1.1.4The University reserves the right not to accept the lowest or any bid. The attention of prospective

suppliers is drawn to the legal notice in Appendix 3.

1.2The Short listing Process

1.2.1In order to enable the University to evaluate responses equitably, suppliers must complete the following documentation:

(a) response to the Statement of Requirements (this document) - to enable the evaluation of the product against key requirements (see sub-section 1.2.2 below for specific requirements);

(b)company questionnaire (Appendix 4) - to enable evaluation of the economic viability of the proposal;

(c) technical questionnaire (Appendix 5) - to enable evaluation of the technical suitability of the product;

(d) schedule of indicative costs (Appendix 6) - to enable the evaluation of the likely total costs of ownership.

1.2.2Responses to the Statement of Requirements should pay close attention to the requirements in Section 6. A response to each line in the associated requirements table (Section 7) is essential. A description of how your proposed solution addresses each required aspect of provision is expected.

NOTE:Failure to address each specification requirement may result in the University choosing to disqualify the respondent from the short-listing process.

1.2.3Additional information may be included if necessary. Six copies of the completed materials, including a response to this document on disk in MS Word format, must be returned via postal mail to the following address by 5th July, 2004:

Mr. Tim Bird

Materials Manager

University of York

Heslington

YORK

YO10 5DD

Telephone: +44 (0) 1904 434054

Email:

1.2.4Supplier responses will be evaluated on the basis of:

  • the response to the Statement of Requirements document (responses must follow the requirements set out in 1.2.2 of this document)
  • the response to the Company Questionnaire
  • the response to the Technical Questionnaire
  • information provided in the Schedule of Indicative Costs

and a short list compiled. This short listing process is likely to be completed by 30th July, 2004.

1.3The Selection Process

1.3.1Those selected potential suppliers who are short listed will be invited to:

  • present a demonstration of their product to key users;
  • make available to the University, at its site, a working test system of their product for extended use by key users over a one/two week period;
  • supply details of reference sites which are running the current or proposed version of the system which the project team may visit/contact;
  • demonstrate the suitability and functionality of the product to the project team using test scenarios provided by the University;
  • meet with representatives from the Web Office and Computing Service to discuss technical issues.

1.3.2For each offer made by a party, the following criteria will be applied to the tender documents. Note these are not necessarily listed in order of priority.

  • degree of fit to operational requirements and technical infrastructure;
  • satisfactory evidence of support and development capability;
  • confidence in developing a sustainable working relationship;
  • value-for-money;
  • satisfactory evidence of financial viability;
  • acceptance of the University’s terms and conditions of purchase.

1.3.3Any queries regarding the project should be directed as follows:

Specification queries

Dr. Richard WalkerMr. William Mackintosh

Learning TechnologistWeb Manager

Academic Support OfficeWeb Office

Registrar’s DepartmentRegistrar’s Department

Heslington HallThe Stables

University of YorkUniversity of York

YORKYORK

YO10 5DDYO10 5DD

Telephone: +44 (0)1904 433850Telephone: +44 (0)1904 434878

Email: ail:

Technical queries

Mr. Peter Halls

GIS Advisor

Computing Service

University of York

Heslington

YORK

YO10 5DD

Telephone: +44 (0)1904 433803

Email:

Commercial queries

Tim Bird

Materials Manager

University of York

Heslington

YORK

YO10 5DD

Telephone: +44 (0)1904 434054

Email:

1.3.4The system will need to be ready for configuration purposes by December / January 2005. For this reason, it is intended to complete the selection process by the end of October 2004.

1.3.5The formal acceptance procedure will be distributed with the formal finalised tender document to short listed suppliers.

2.Background about the university and online learning

2.1The University of York was founded in 1963 with 200 students in two city-centre locations. It has now expanded to 9,500 students, and the academic structure of the University comprises 23 departments and a number of research-based centres and institutes. The University is rated as one of the top seven universities in the United Kingdom for research and performed extremely strongly in the Research Assessment Exercise 2001. It is also rated very highly for teaching quality with a series of excellent results in the subject review assessments putting it in the top five universities for teaching quality. The University is working towards its objective to expand the student base to at least 15,000. In October 2003, it launched a new medical school jointly with the University of Hull (the HYMS project).

Further background information about the University is available at:

2.2The University places a major emphasis on the provision of a high quality learning experience for its students. There is a strong academic supervisory system, whereby each student has an individual academic supervisor from his/her academic department and a welfare system based around eight colleges. Students belong to one of eight colleges throughout their time at York. Undergraduate students normally reside either in a college or an associated building for at least one of their three years as an undergraduate.

2.3The University has in place existing strategies for learning and teaching, for online learning and for the Web. The provision of a VLE will support the attainment of strategic goals, including:

  • provision of student-centred approaches to learning which address issues of diversity through flexible and varied modes of study;
  • provision of flexible approaches to learning, teaching and assessment which meet the varied requirements of students and of departments and teaching staff;
  • the need to grow sustainably both in terms of increasing student numbers and in terms of the needs of education, training, research and employment;
  • exploring the possibility of developing more flexible programme structures and modes of delivery (both campus-based and remote).

2.4Overview of Online Learning at York

Date / Milestone
2001 /
  • Summer. The Online Learning Working Group was setup.

2002 /
  • Spring. The Online Learning Working Group presented an interim report to the Teaching, Planning and Information Committees.
  • April. The University’s Web Manager was appointed.
  • Summer. The Online Learning Strategy was approved.

  • October. Bid to TQEF for funds to support the implementation of the Strategy submitted.

2003 /
  • February. Web Strategy approved.

  • June. OLSIG (Online Learning Strategy Implementation Group) setup.

  • July. Appointment of University’s Learning Technologist (TQEF capital).

  • September. Audit of departmental e-learning activities (part of VLE requirements gathering).
  • October. Submission of bid to HEFCE Capital Round 3 to support the implementation of a VLE.
  • November. VLE Awareness Conference targeted at academics and learning support staff. The event included internal and external speakers.

  • December. Departments invited to identify specific online learning requirements.

2004 /
  • January. Compilation of VLE Statement of Requirements commenced.
  • March. Tender document completed.

The provision of a centrally supported Institutional VLE sits at the heart of our Online Learning Strategy. The absence of a central VLE does not indicate that the institution lacks experience in e-learning. Indeed, currently, there are five virtual learning environments in use at York:

  1. Blackboard (HullYorkMedicalSchool, HYMS)
  2. Moodle (Mathematics)
  3. Bodington Common (Department of Economics and Related Studies, DERS)
  4. Sun Microsystems (Department of Social Policy and Social Work in conjunction with UKeU:
  5. Divace (Language Teaching Centre and Department of Language and Linguistic Science)

WebCT has also been used by Psychology and DERS over the past few years to support individual courses. Further information about existing good practice is available at:

3. INFORMATION AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

3.1Strategic Information Management

The University takes a strategic approach to the provision, support and development of information and information technology. The University has an Information Strategy to guide institutional priorities and to set out governance and management responsibilities. The importance of information to all activities within the institution, including Research, Teaching and Learning and Administration, is clearly recognised and there is an on-going programme of enhancement and investment to ensure that the University is able to meet its aims and objectives and to take advantage of advancements in technology.

3.2IT Support for Learning and Teaching

The University aims to support Learning and Teaching through the provision of a range of information technologies and services. These include:

  • The majority of students living in University accommodation on campus are able to access the internet and a range of services on the campus network directly from their study bedrooms.
  • PC classroom facilities are available 24-hours a day within the residential accommodation blocks.
  • Classroom facilities are available at central locations and within individual departments to support teaching.
  • Students are offered training in IT skills through the provision of a central program called ILIAD (Information Literacy in All Departments) and through departmental provision.
  • Advantageous arrangements for the purchase of software and hardware are available to staff and students for personal computers
  • Students are able to obtain support and help in the use of computers on campus from departmental staff and from the University Computing Service.
  • Approximately 50 items of PC software are available on the centrally managed desktop service including Microsoft Office and a range of graphics, programming and mathematical software.

Future plans include expansion of student networking services, wireless access points, a roaming laptop service for students and continued investment in classroom IT facilities.

3.3Information Technology Infrastructure

The University has a well developed IT infrastructure which enjoys high levels of availability. Academic departments have flexibility to deploy IT systems locally to meet their specific teaching and research needs. Some key features of the IT infrastructure are:

  • Gigabit Ethernet campus network with high-speed wide area links to other University sites in the city of York and across the county of North Yorkshire
  • 155 Mbit/s connectivity to the Internet via a metropolitan area network and SuperJanet
  • Network access and e-mail facilities for over 24,000 user accounts
  • Centrally managed desktop PC service based on Windows 2000
  • Central Solaris servers for critical infrastructure services
  • Network Appliance filers for high-performance managed filestore
  • ColdFusion web service for departmental and user systems development
  • Delivery of Internet access to 2,500 study bedrooms on campus
  • A single username/password environment for all users of centrally supported systems based on LDAP
  • Enterprise level backup and recovery based on Legato Networker
  • A campus licence for Oracle database software which is used for business information systems and other academic and administrative database facilities.
  • A centrally managed calendar service based on Sun’s Calendar Manager.

One of the characteristics of the IT infrastructure at York is the variety of desktop platforms connected to the network. Approximately 6500 devices are connected including Linux based PCs, Apple Macintoshes, Unix workstations and PCs running various versions of Windows. The centrally managed desktop PC service, which includes all public access PCs, is currently based on Windows 2000. To meet requirements for increasing flexibility for access to centrally provided systems, thin-client technologies are being considered for future deployment.

3.4Web Systems

The University has made full use of the development of web technology and has made available a significant amount of information via its web site. The University web identity is managed and developed from the Web Office within the Registrar’s department. Web authoring is a highly devolved process with departments creating and maintaining their own web pages. Work is currently underway to develop intranet facilities for students and staff. Following the preparation of a Web Strategy in 2002/2003 led by the Web Office, strategic development is focussing on the University requirements for a Content Management System and the potential use of Portal technologies.

3.5Business Systems

Over the past three years the University has made a significant investment in the purchase and implementation of business systems to replace outdated legacy technology. This process has been managed through a University initiative called YIMS (York Information Management and Systems), which aims to deliver modern and flexible applications, together with modern and efficient business processes. The programme has adopted a “best-of-breed” strategy whereby individual business applications are selected based on their fit to the University’s functional and technical requirements. A common underlying technical architecture is deployed to facilitate systems integration through the development of interfaces. (Please refer to Appendix 2 of this document for an illustration of YIMS Systems Interfaces.) Information standards ensure that data can be shared between applications seamlessly and that data integrity is preserved. The programme has standardised on Oracle database software with application servers hosted on Solaris and Windows 2000 servers. Web technology is utilised wherever possible to minimise client-side software requirements and ensure the widest availability of the information systems to the staff and student community.

The YIMS Programme has already implemented and/or upgraded application software covering the following business areas:

  • Timetabling and Room Booking (Syllabus Plus)
  • Human Resources Management and Payroll (Northgate ResourceLink)
  • Time & Attendance (Kronos Workforce)
  • Student Records (SITS Vision)
  • Student Accommodation (Occam)
  • Financials (Agresso Business World)
  • Reporting (Business Objects)

The YIMS Programme is scheduled to complete in September 2005 and will be selecting and implementing systems for Estate & Building Management, Hospitality and Conference Services and Space Management over the next few months.

3.6Library and Archive Systems

The Library implemented Ex Libris’ ALEPH 500 version 15.2 as its Library Management System in July 2002. A key consideration during the selection process was technical architecture which fitted with that utilised by the YIMS initiative: ALEPH runs on Solaris servers and utilises Oracle database software, the staff client operates under Windows 2000 and the public Catalogue is web-based. An upgrade to version 16.02 is planned for August 2004. Records comply with MARC 21 and AACR2 standards.

The Borthwick Institute for Archives (part of the University Library and Archives) uses the DS CALM Archive Management System. The system runs on Windows and uses a flexible and relational database structure. A variety of data formats are handled, including structured full text records, scanned images and original format files. Records creation conforms to national and international archival standards, including ISAD(G), EAD and ISAAR/CPF.

The Library and Archives have a close relationship with the NationalRailwayMuseum and their Library collections are being added to the ALEPH database. The Museum uses the Multi MIMSY Collections Management Software to manage its museum collections and some Library materials are included in this database. Multi MIMSY utilises Oracle database with the staff client operating under Windows. It is compliant with the following standards: Larger Scale Initiative (LASSI), mda SPECTRUM, Dublin Core and International Council of Museums (ICOM).

Internet access to other information resources and archives based on the standards indicated above and other related standards is provided, for example to bibliographic databases (such as Web of Knowledge), data resources (such as the Arts and Humanities Data Service [AHDS], British Atmospheric Data Centre [BADC], census and GIS data) and full text services (such as e-journals, e-books).

The next phase of the Library and Archive’s strategy is to integrate access to all its web-based information to provide users with seamless access, whether they start from the University Portal, the VLE or the Library’s own web pages. Integration with CALM and Multi MIMSY will also be desirable. The following systems are planned to provide the technical infrastructure to support this strategy.

SFX: to provide context-sensitive links between web-based resources so that the Library’s information resources are fully integrated regardless of where they are hosted. Such resources include: full-text repositories; abstracting, indexing, and citation databases; online library catalogues; citations appearing in research articles, e-print systems, and other web resources. SFX linking utilises the OpenURL protocol for interoperability between information resources and service providers.

MetaLib: to act as a portal to web-based information resources, particularly abstracting, indexing, and citation databases. It incorporates the SFX context-sensitive linking described above and utilises open architecture and support for industry standards such as MARC, Unicode, OpenURL, XML, and Z39.50.

Reading list management software: to manage course reading and bibliographies. Integration with the Library Catalogue, SFX, MetaLib and the centrally supported VLE will be very important. A specification is currently being developed.