Montana University System Closes Access Gap With Interinstitutional Digital Course and Program Sharing to Expand Learning Opportunities

August 10, 2021 — GAINESVILLE, Fla. —Partnership with Quottly [now Parchment] enables online course discovery, registration, and equivalency across the vast state

The Montana University System (MUS) has partnered with Quottly [now Parchment], the largest and most comprehensive course and program sharing platform, to create a statewide digital campus that expands learning opportunities for all Montanans. The partnership is increasing access to course and program offerings for students across the vast state by deploying Quottly’s [now Parchment’s] comprehensive, easy-to-navigate platform for enrolling in online courses.

With Quottly’s [now Parchment’s] system-wide digital platform, the MUS is able to address key challenges related to the state’s unique characteristics. The sixteen MUS campuses, which include six four-year and ten two-year institutions, serve approximately 40,000 students over 147,000 square miles. The course and program sharing facilitated by the Quottly [now Parchment] platform is helping these Montana colleges and universities share their strengths with other institutions around the state so that, collectively, they can provide greater access to key academic programs for placebound Montana students. Currently, a Montana student might have to drive five hours each way to attend a program in person if it is not offered at their local campus. Now, the MUS can extend reach and accessibility to these students by offering classes in an online or hybrid format from institutions across the state, with a simple process for students and institutions to complete registration, billing, and transfer.

“Quottly [now Parchment] will be instrumental in helping the MUS address the significant hurdles we face in scaling our programs and improving educational access in rural communities; allowing our colleges and universities to better serve the state,” said Joe Thiel, Director of Academic Policy and Research at the Montana University System. “Quottly [now Parchment] proved to be deeply skilled at working with our large, multi-institutional teams to find creative solutions for Montana’s specific challenges, and all in the name of improving the experience for our current and prospective students. I could not be more pleased with our partnership.”

Quottly [now Parchment] is a fully-configurable digital solution that enables institutions to align course discovery and registration experiences by combining class schedules, transfer rules, integrated student information systems (SIS) and one-click registration. Tapping into the unique offerings of each campus, Quottly [now Parchment] has enabled Montana’s public colleges and universities to offer courses to new cohorts of students, including adult learners and career-oriented students.

“Quottly’s [now Parchment’s] seamless course and program sharing capabilities allow university and college systems like Montana’s to provide students with the courses they need,” said Alicia Policinski, of Quottly [now Parchment]. “Ultimately, this enables institutions to grow enrollment, close access and opportunity gaps, and meet state workforce needs.”

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