Experiential Learning Inventory (ELI) vs Riipen

Experiential Learning Inventory (ELI) is web-based, open-source software for higher education internship management. It centralizes student placement information and supports workflows from internship setup through enrollment and reporting. For Out of State Learning Placements, ELI records the student, course, dates, faculty supervisor, site and learning objectives. It handles internship contracts, affiliation agreements, enrollment management and state-authorization reporting. Approval workflows can move through faculty, department and dean review before registrar enrollment. Soft alerts support data integrity, while automatic notifications help keep processes moving. ELI also stores emergency contacts, current physical location, supervisor contacts and placement start and stop dates for safety records. Reports cover internship counts and state-authorization information for administrators, employers, career centers, legal counsel and registrars. The platform integrates with existing ERP systems, although specific systems are not named. It is described as secure cloud software, mobile-browser and tablet friendly, and usable from anywhere.

Riipen connects colleges and universities, organizations, and learners through industry projects linked to education. Organizations can post projects, match them with educator-led experiences, and manage learner communication, deliverables, and feedback. Educators can create course experiences, find and match with projects, onboard learners, assign work, and run experiences again in later terms. Projects are mostly virtual and project-based, with learners completing organizational tasks as part of an academic program. Project management includes milestones, deadlines, team assignments, agreements, surveys, worklogs, and team status tracking. Educators can gather employer feedback, collect survey responses, award achievements, and report on outcomes, including through raw data export. Riipen supports LTI connections and deeper LMS integrations via API, along with SAML 2.0 single sign-on. It also offers a documented REST API, webhooks, a developer dashboard, and Zapier workflows. Students and employers can use the platform free; employer recruitment fees for hiring students after a project or course are not charged. Institutional pricing is shared on request.