The HBS Course Platform
The HBS Course Platform is a Web-based course management and delivery system used across all MBA, Executive Education, and Doctoral program courses. First introduced in 1996, this platform provides faculty and students with course information including:
Each HBS student has a customized, dynamically generated view of the Course Platform. They enter their "Headquarters" page for a quick glimpse of their week in the classroom, including a class schedule and important announcements posted by faculty.
Students can print or download schedule information into a handheld device or calendar program. The listing for each session includes class time and location, assigned reading, and study questions.
For more details about a specific course, the student can view a detailed syllabus, a general course overview, faculty information, and class lists. For a specific class session, students see detailed assignment information including assigned readings, study questions, and links to polls, videos, company Web sites, spreadsheets, or other electronic tools—even the case itself, if it's online.
A seating chart features a photo of each classmate, which links to the student's "classcard" for information about their background and experience.
Faculty and staff publish all of this content directly to the Web, using sophisticated, easy-to-use tools developed specifically for the HBS learning environment. They can use a simple "edit" mode to enter or change course information, post announcements, and add polls, review materials, and other tools to enhance class preparation and reflection.
In setting up their courses each term, faculty can easily copy content from previous course offerings or from planning areas created by themselves or other faculty. Access to the Course Platform is controlled so that students view content only for the courses in which they are enrolled.
The HBS Course Platform is a powerful course management system built by the HBS IT Group. Using Java and the Oracle-based HBS enterprise database system, the application is completely Web-based and accessible to all HBS faculty, students, and staff.
