Technology Professionals Win Global Campus Innovation Award

Caroline Chandler

Blake Ellison (second from left) and Kaleb Futch (holding award) accept the Global Campus Employee of the Quarter award from Cheryl Murphy, vice provost for distance education (far left) and Jamie Loftin, assistant vice provost for distance education administration.

The Global Campus presented its Lightbulb Award to two staff members who created an innovative electronic sign-in application that saves time and improves efficiency.

The app developed by Blake Ellison and Kaleb Futch, technology professionals at the Global Campus, eliminates the need for paper sign-in sheets and automates tasks once done manually by the Professional and Workforce Development team in Rogers.

When class or conference participants sign in digitally on a computer tablet, the app automatically prints their name badges and transfers attendance information to a database. The new system tracks enrollments by class, produces certificates, and catalogs how many continuing education units were earned.

Cheryl Murphy, vice provost for distance education at the University of Arkansas, presented the award to Futch and Ellison at a January staff meeting.

"Blake and Kaleb studied the current process and built a better way," Murphy said. "This type of innovation allows us to use resources wisely, focusing more staff time on mission-critical responsibilities and less on routine tasks."

In addition to being highly skilled in a variety of programming languages and development frameworks, Ellison and Futch manage multiple projects, analyze the true needs of a project, and develop comprehensive solutions.

Ellison, who began at the Global Campus in 2015, is a learning resources developer on the Learning Technology Support team in Fayetteville. He and other support staff collaborate with U of A faculty to create and improve online tools and programs that help students to better understand their class subjects.

"Learning resources developers like Blake are an incredible asset to the Global Campus team," said Shelly Walters, associate director of instructional design and support services and Blake's supervisor.

Futch, who joined at the Global Campus in 2015, is a learning resources developer for the Professional and Workforce Development team in Rogers. That team partners with U of A faculty to build and deliver non-credit education. Non-credit courses and programs from multiple colleges are showcased on the U of A Professional and Workforce Development website.

"A lot of what we do is in the background," Futch said. "It's really nice to build something to change the lives of the people in Rogers and all the students we see up here. It's a really good feeling."

Tara Dryer, director of training, corporate development and academic outreach, and Kaleb's supervisor, said of Futch, "Kaleb is able to take an idea or a vision and turn it into an innovative, valuable tool for Global Campus."

The Global Campus instituted the Lightbulb Award to honor two or more staff members for outstanding innovation above and beyond their routine job responsibilities. This award is open to appointed and hourly staff who work for Global Campus.

The Global Campus supports U of A colleges and schools in the development and delivery of online, distance and workforce education programs and courses. It provides instructional design services, technology services and assistance with marketing, recruiting and strategic academic development.

The Global Campus also supports the W.E. Manning Memorial Scholarship, which is open to undergraduate and graduate students studying in online degree programs.