Tomorrow’s Fashion Leaders Collaborate with Xythos
Fashion Institute of Technology Develops ePortfolios for Faculty and Students
SAN FRANCISCO – Oct. 15, 2007 – Xythos Software, a leading developer of document management and collaboration software, announced that the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) will deploy its software to help students and faculty better collaborate on projects. FIT will use Xythos Enterprise Document Management Suite to enhance the ability of faculty to evaluate prospective students and to collaborate with current students and staff. More than 10,000 enrolled students and hundreds of faculty and staff will have access to the school’s new Xythos-based web service.
Traditionally, prospective FIT students had to submit physical portfolios containing examples of their work. As a result, faculty had to meet in a room together to evaluate the students’ work. With prospective students applying from all around the world, the process of evaluating their work was expensive, time consuming, inefficient and costly. FIT needed a solution that would speed its ability to process the applications, while decreasing the burden on its faculty and staff.
“We reviewed a wide range of technologies, including SharePoint,” said Gregg Chottiner, vice president and chief information officer for the Fashion Institute of Technology. “We chose Xythos because it offers more flexibility and is easy to use. We are calling the first service we’ve developed with Xythos our “E-Portfolio.”
The Xythos system will allow faculty, staff and students to evaluate portfolios in real time. With Xythos, prospective students will upload their submissions as E-portfolios for evaluation by entire reviews committees. With this system in place, the student admission process will proceed more quickly with fewer manual processes as a result of integrated workflow capabilities. Xythos will also provide file sharing and secure access to network storage, allowing current students and faculty to use the system to submit homework assignments and share course documents.
FIT joins a growing list of both large and smaller institutions which have developed ePortfolio solutions using Xythos technology. Salve Regina University and the University of Wisconsin Madison both use Xythos as the foundation for ePortfolios shared by their faculty and students. Ease of customization and support for open technology standards has helped these schools respond to changing expectations regarding the purpose ePortfolios should serve and the features they need to offer.
“FlT is leveraging web technology to improve its own business processes and better prepare students to compete in the fashion industry of tomorrow” said Ed Miller, chief executive officer of Xythos. “We’re encouraged that institutions like FIT recognize that open standards-based document management systems can provide a flexible platform for ePortfolios and many other collaborative applications.”
About Xythos Software
Xythos Software is a leading developer of document management and collaboration software. Its online services and products are licensed to millions of users at commercial, education and government organizations around the world for managing and sharing content throughout its lifecycle. Try Xythos on Demand today at www.xythosondemand.com or visit www.xythos.com to learn more about how Xythos is making online document management safer and easier for everyone.
About The Fashion Institute of Technology
The Fashion Institute of Technology is a college of art and design, business and technology of the State University of New York (SUNY), with more than 40 majors leading to the AAS, BFA, BS, MA, and MPS degrees.