—Stephanie Johnson
Project Manager and Enterprise Systems Coordinator
Ball State University
Success Story
Field Experience Management at Scale: Lessons from Ball State University Teachers College
Learn how Ball State University's Teachers College centralized placements, evaluations, and competency tracking, reducing spreadsheet reliance and improving standards-aligned reporting for CAEP readiness.
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Use Case
Leveraging CORE ELMS & CORE CompMS for Field Experience Management and Accreditation Reporting
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Institution Type
Public, Non-Profit
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Location
Muncie, IN
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Academic Programs
Teachers College
The Setting
Managing Field Experiences at One of the Nation’s Largest EPPs
Ball State University is the largest educator preparation provider in Indiana and the fifth largest in the nation. The program serves more than 5,300 candidates across 30 licensure tracks, spanning undergraduate, graduate, doctoral, minor, and post-baccalaureate pathways.
The university maintains SPA, state, and CAEP accreditation, most recently completing a successful CAEP review in Spring 2025. At this scale, field experience management is foundational to accreditation, risk mitigation, and institutional credibility.
The Challenge
Reducing Friction Across Fragmented Systems
Ball State University was already operating at significant scale, but the systems supporting clinical experiences were built on fragmented legacy infrastructure.
- Data lived across legacy platforms
- Reporting was limited
- Spreadsheets were necessary to bridge gaps
Students did not always have clear visibility into application status, and staff spent time verifying information across systems rather than advancing placements. Leadership needed consistent, accurate data and workflows that could support both daily operations and accreditation requirements.
The Solution
Centralizing Placements and Competency Tracking with CORE ELMS & CORE CompMS
Ball State turned to CORE by PeopleGrove. Through weekly onboarding sessions, workflows were configured to reflect their existing processes. Applications were refined, terminology was adjusted, and reporting structures were aligned to CAEP documentation needs.
With CORE ELMS Ball State University:
- Centralized placements, applications, evaluations, and communications into a single, structured system
- Delivered ease and transparency for students with real-time status visibility and editable submissions
- Reduced administrative burden by replacing spreadsheet-based tracking with configurable, automated
workflows - Enabled consistent, reportable data to support daily operations and oversight
With CORE CompMS, Ball State University:
- Connected evaluations directly to defined competencies and program standards
- Unified performance evidence and outcomes data within a centralized framework
- Strengthened accreditation readiness with structured, standards-aligned reporting
- Provided leadership with consistent, accessible competency data for program oversight
Everything is in one place, which is really nice and convenient.
The Results
Greater Transparency, Structured Reporting, and Institutional Confidence
The implementation of CORE ELMS and CORE CompMS strengthened both daily operations and accreditation readiness across Ball State’s Teachers College. Students gained clearer visibility throughout the placement process, with centralized applications and real-time status updates.
Staff reduced reliance on spreadsheets and manual verification by working within structured, reportable workflows. Leadership gained centralized documentation and more consistent access to standards-aligned competency data, supporting accreditation reporting and program oversight.
Together, CORE ELMS and CORE CompMS provided a unified foundation that reinforces confidence in data accuracy, reporting consistency, and long-term scalability.
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