Information Systems DivisionThe Information Systems Division (ISD) supported the core operations of the Council throughout 2014 while strengthening its internal capacity to deliver the level of service expected by its customers. A major accomplishment this year was the successful delivery of E-Marking Phase I when eleven CSEC® papers were marked in June/July session, on time and within budget. Similarly, the first sitting of the CAPE® Digital Media examinations were delivered through electronic media, completely paperless! Internal to the division was the strengthening of the operations functions with the deployment of better monitoring tools and self-service portals. Following on the MOU signed with FLOW last year, negotiations were completed for a comprehensive hosting agreement with Columbus Business Solutions (FLOW) that will see the Council benefiting from a stronger core infrastructure and more resilient business continuity plan. ISD spent the latter half of the year preparing for the relocation to the new CXC Headquarters at the Pine St. Michael, Barbados. Recognizing the need to be operational at multiple locations with minimum downtime, inter-building connectivity was established that supported a ‘seamless migration’ strategy. We were thus able to support staged relocation of divisions without disruption to regular business operations. In response to feedback via the Customer and Engagement surveys, the Team ISD has agreed to continue to improve communications and timely provisioning of solutions in the coming year. A major pillar of this process will be the development of a Service Catalogue in keeping with the ITIL framework over the next 6 – 9 months. Team ISD shall continue to support the Council’s core operations and strategic priorities and looks forward to piloting e-Authoring, Online Examinations and the Stakeholder Management solutions in 2015. Quality Assurance UnitIn 2014, the leveraging of ICT was primarily to facilitate meetings, to train staff and to monitor consultants assigned to the USAID/CXC Strengthening Second Chance Education Project. New procedures and policies were distributed electronically allowing for greater economy and ease of version control. Technical support provided by the Quality Assurance Unit extended to areas including - but not limited to - organizational job evaluation and web site redevelopment project, and representation on local projects such as the development of a national qualification framework by the Barbados Accreditation Council. Syllabus and CurriculumIn 2014, the Syllabus and Curriculum Development Unit was charged with harnessing the powers of the various ICT tools to enhance syllabus development and maintenance activities. In an effort to increase the amount and quality of data used to inform syllabus maintenance, a number of electronic tools were used by syllabus officers to collect data on their syllabuses. Additionally, each officer conducted at least one of their Review Committee or Panel meetings using various ICT tools. Columbus Communications
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