How University of Texas at Arlington scaled social work placements with Experiential Learning Cloud

Introduction

As one of the largest social work programs in Texas, the University of Texas at Arlington (UTA) manages over 2,400 students and 1,500 agency partnerships across multiple degree pathways. Chris Clark and his team are responsible for assigning students to agencies for their clinical placement experience—a required part of the social work curriculum—and for supporting both students and agencies throughout the entire placement process. But until recently, their placement process was held back by a cumbersome legacy system—one not designed for clinical education.

With the Experiential Learning Cloud, UTA gained the tools they needed to operate at scale—streamlining everything from placing students with agency for their clinical placement experiences to accreditation reporting. The software’s mobile optimization, intuitive interface, and customization capabilities allowed the team to work smarter, faster, and with greater confidence—while providing more responsive, accessible support to students throughout their placement journey. As a result, they not only eliminated barriers that once frustrated users but also rebuilt relationships with agency partners and dramatically increased internal efficiency.

The challenge

Before Experiential Learning Cloud, UTA relied on a rigid student information system that wasn’t built for placement management. It lacked customization, wasn’t mobile-friendly, and forced UTA staff and agency partners to jump through multiple tabs just to complete simple tasks.

Chris and his team spent 20–25 minutes just to assign a single student to an agency, juggling multiple browser windows and re-entering information repeatedly—an inefficient and frustrating process. Onboarding and support were nearly nonexistent, leaving staff with no documentation and little guidance. The system’s limited mobile access further constrained users, preventing students, admin, and supervisors from managing placements on the go. Data issues added to the challenge, with duplicate entries and error-prone workflows making accurate reporting difficult.

These inefficiencies didn’t just waste time—they directly impacted relationships. Some of UTA’s agency partners became so frustrated they stopped accepting UTA students altogether. The compounding issues made the program hard to manage, harder to scale, and increasingly misaligned with the expectations of students, faculty, and partners. With 600–800 students in placement each semester, UTA urgently needed a platform that could streamline operations, adapt to ongoing changes, and rebuild confidence with their partner network.

The solution

Designed to support large, complex programs, Experiential Learning Cloud offered the scalability UTA desperately needed from day one. With more than 680 practicum applicants in their first implementation cycle alone, the system handled the volume with ease—proving its strength in high-capacity environments.

Flexibility was a major win for UTA. The social work program frequently revises its structure and terminology, and Experiential Learning Cloud’s powerful customization tools—like the form editor and site placement builder—made it easy to keep the system aligned with those changes. Best of all, the team could make updates on their own, without needing technical support.

The user experience also improved significantly. What once required multiple tabs, full desktops, and excessive clicking could now be done in seconds. With strong mobile optimization, students, admin, and supervisors could log hours, approve forms, and manage placements right from their phones or tablets—giving them the freedom to work when and where it’s most convenient.

The transition itself was just as seamless. Backed by Lumivero's responsive implementation team, UTA migrated thousands of users in just four weeks—two weeks ahead of schedule. That rapid deployment minimized disruption and allowed the program to hit the ground running.

The results

Since adopting Experiential Learning Cloud, UTA has achieved at least an 80% reduction in student placement time, cutting the process from 25 minutes to just 3–5 minutes per student. With hundreds of placements each semester, this translates into weeks of staff time reclaimed. The platform’s 100% workflow consolidation means tasks that once required six browser tabs or seven menu layers can now be completed in one place—with 1-click access to critical placement data.

Reporting has improved just as dramatically. What once took a full day to compile for stakeholders or accreditation bodies now takes just one to two hours—a remarkable 88% reduction in reporting time. With a unified platform for students, staff, and agency partners, Experiential Learning Cloud has transformed UTA’s placement program into a streamlined, mobile-friendly operation that’s more accurate, scalable, and responsive to the needs of its growing community.