As an industry, higher education has been especially hard-hit by the pandemic. Not only have they had to address the immediate issues of health concerns and continuing instruction for students, they also face growing financial concerns as the fall semester quickly approaches. Without the certainty of a definite end to the pandemic in the foreseeable future, many universities are reassessing their needs and cutting expenditures in search of the most cost-effective and efficient measures to keep essential processes moving.
Faculty affairs management is one of such imperative processes in higher education, and it deals with the appointment, promotion, and tenure (APT) of all faculty within an institution. Managing APT processes poses myriad challenges for schools and many institutions still rely on manual workflows. This generates thousands of pages of paperwork and significant time delays in communication—difficulties that are magnified in the current era of virtual work.
Mountain Pass is leading the way in simplifying the complexities of faculty lifecycle management with SmartPath™. This web-based software automates the entire APT process and streamlines workflows to fit the needs of each institution. For higher education, there has never been a greater need for such affordable, accessible technology that reduces work effort—all while increasing efficiency, accuracy, and transparency in the faculty management process.
“SmartPath makes remote work on faculty workflows extremely easy, so our value proposition is more compelling for schools than ever before,” explained Tom Simon, CEO of Mountain Pass. “The need to harden practices against the unknown is especially relevant in the face of tightened budgets and the financial uncertainty ahead. Mountain Pass is devoted to delivering solutions that drive efficiencies, save cost and time, and put in place a structure that will serve higher education faculty affairs, not just today but beyond the pandemic.”
Ann Arbor SPARK’s in-house strategic services team has been working closely with the Mountain Pass team throughout this time to help accelerate marketing efforts. Together, the team has refined value proposition messaging, focusing on creating collateral that highlights the full value that SmartPath adds to faculty workflows.
“With a new buying guide, a revamped case study with the Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine, and a renewed blog and social media presence, we’ve been able to showcase the capabilities of SmartPath and the difference it makes for managing the faculty lifecycle,” Simon continued. “SPARK’s contribution has been critical to the team’s development of these key assets.”
These efforts coincided with the current time where many are beginning to realize the importance of having an online infrastructure for essential processes, and they have culminated in a number of successes for the Mountain Pass team. Since securing a contract with Wayne State University last December, the team is busy at work deploying workflows for 13 different colleges.
“Having close ties to the great academic institutions right here in our Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti communities, we absolutely recognize the significance of the work Mountain Pass is doing,” commented Bill Mayer, vice president of entrepreneurial services at Ann Arbor SPARK. “It’s great to be able to support technology solutions for higher education, and we’re looking forward to the team’s continued success working with institutions across the country.”
