The London Business School (LBS) teaches its students to challenge conventional wisdom and change the way the world does business. It’s no surprise then that this leading business school rejects the conventional approach of a home-grown faculty information system and instead embraces the efficiency and data insights of Interfolio’s Faculty Information System.
A constituent college of the University of London, with more than 100 core faculty avand nearly 100 affiliated faculty serving over 2,000 degree students and 10,000 executives, LBS started with Faculty Search and has since added Interfolio’s Review, Promotion & Tenure and Faculty Activity Reporting.
These tools have helped administrators transform their operations.
Themes Discussed
- A strong advantage in attracting top faculty
- Fulfilling diversity reporting obligations
- A window into faculty accomplishments
A Strong Advantage in Attracting Top Faculty
LBS makes a strong first impression with prospective faculty members by having faculty applicants apply through Interfolio’s Faculty Search. The module enables applicants to use a free (and likely familiar) Interfolio Dossier experience to apply.
“Faculty Search helps LBS stand out as a business school that operates in a sophisticated way,” explains Siân Smith, Assistant Director for LBS’s Research and Faculty Office. “Instead of submitting an application to an email address, prospective faculty go to a site to work through a clear digital process, which makes requirements clear.”
I have nothing but praise for Interfolio. Everything works brilliantly, faculty love the experience, and we have much greater capabilities across the full spectrum of faculty affairs work.
Siân Smith
Assistant Director
Research and Faculty Office
London Business School
Fulfilling Diversity Reporting Obligations
Before LBS adopted Interfolio, creating diversity reports was a slow, labor-intensive process, involving hard-copy forms with collected information that administrators had to manually enter into spreadsheets.
“It wasn’t an efficient process,” says Siân. “With Interfolio, we created a digital form that collects diversity data, which then allows us to easily pull a diversity report. We’ve used that report for so many things, including our annual, required diversity report and diversity reports for accreditation. The Interfolio capabilities make reporting so much easier.”
A Window into Faculty Accomplishments
LBS uses the reporting capabilities of Interfolio’s Faculty Activity Reporting to answer various questions about faculty, such as how many faculty were journal editors in a particular year.
“Normally that would involve me looking through CVs or faculty bios one by one, but because faculty now enter their activities into Faculty Activity Reporting, I’m able to easily pull a report with this information,” explains Siân. “I can answer so many questions like this now with the click of a button.”
Faculty search helps LBS stand out as a business school that operates in a sophisticated way.
Siân Smith
Assistant Director
Research and Faculty Office
London Business School
About Interfolio
Interfolio launched its academic-decision making platform in 2012 as a response to user feedback about the need for better systems to support shared governance and committee decisions. Today, Interfolio has grown to support the entire lifecycle of faculty activity, decisions, and data, from hiring through tenure. With the addition of system for faculty activity reporting and accreditation, Interfolio now offers the most comprehensive, user-friendly, and faculty-focused technology in higher education to over 275 clients worldwide. To learn more about what your peers are saying about Interfolio, visit www.interfolio.com or contact team@interfolio.com
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