Abstract
For the last few years, academic departments at U-M have gradually transformed the way they administer placement exams, particularly for languages: from proctored paper exams (think penciled-in bubbles on Scantron forms) to digital ones taken on demand -- with the learning management system Canvas serving as a popular choice for delivery. Accelerated by the pandemic, this shift introduced new opportunities and demand for automating the flow of scores from Canvas to M-Pathways, the student information system responsible for informing advisers of results and granting enrollment privileges. In early 2020, ITS staff from the Student Administration and Teaching & Learning teams took an existing integration (that only supported Spanish exams) and began work to generalize the process, using a custom endpoint in the UM API Directory as the connective tissue. Battle-tested and improved since its initial launch in August 2020, the pipeline now supports 20 different exams for 17 languages — with the Language Resource Center driving adoption — and this year enabled the transmission of around 5000 scores since May 1. This effort has resulted in time savings for staff in the language departments and the Registrar's Office, faster responses for students, a simpler process for departments in reporting placements, and an ITS system that is easier to monitor and maintain. With contributions from multiple groups, this poster will describe the integration in detail and examine the project as an example of university-wide collaboration and a possible model for how UM technologists can make vendor solutions "talk to" core institutional systems.