Single Platform Will Support Community Colleges & Public Universities
Across State
LAS VEGAS, July 16 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Blackboard Inc. (Nasdaq:
BBBB) today announced agreements with The University of North Carolina
(UNC) and the North Carolina Community College System that will create a
single, statewide e-learning platform for nearly all of the state's 74
community colleges and public universities and roughly 1 million college
students.
The partnerships will support a range of current and planned e-learning
initiatives, and enable 14 of UNC's 16 universities and 54 of the state's
58 community colleges to meet the ever changing needs of faculty and
students with best-of-breed technologies delivered through Blackboard's
system. The partnerships can also help to provide a stable and secure
alignment in e-learning across the state that can support North Carolina's
efforts to establish a true K-20 education infrastructure.
"We are excited about this partnership, and believe it has great
potential to have a major impact for faculty and students across the
state," said Russ Carlson, President of North American Higher Education at
Blackboard. "North Carolina's higher education leaders have demonstrated
genuine leadership and vision in their efforts to lay the groundwork, with
this partnership, for a true K-20 system that can transform the state's
academic and economic outlook."
With the agreements, North Carolina's entire public higher education
system will be more connected through a common, long-term partnership with
Blackboard that creates stability, scalability, and flexibility, and allows
campuses to work more collaboratively in their true mission of teaching and
learning.
For example, faculty at the university and community college systems
will be able to share courses and course materials developed and used on
the new e-learning platform through the Virtual Learning Community (VLC),
which will be housed within the Blackboard system and available to
instructors across the state.
"The North Carolina Community College System enrolls more than 800,000
students in 58 comprehensive community colleges. Internationally recognized
for the scope and quality of our programs, the system is North Carolina's
primary provider of workforce preparation and adult education. Therefore,
our partnership with Blackboard will allow us to increase the collaborative
work of faculty and administrators at the community college and university
levels, and support the design and development of courses and programs that
can increase success for students and institutions," said Dr. Saundra
Williams, Senior Vice President and Chief of Technology and Workforce
Development at the North Carolina Community College System.
The partnership will also help to establish a consortium of four UNC
historically black colleges and universities that will gain unprecedented
access to e-learning services, allowing the campuses to have greater
participation in various statewide e-learning initiatives such as The
University of North Carolina Online and NC Learn and Earn. The consortium
campuses include Elizabeth City State University, Fayetteville State
University, North Carolina Central University, and Winston-Salem State
University.
"I expect to see more collaborative efforts that will be a great boon
for students who can go to other campuses to get access to courses that
they could not otherwise participate in," said Dr. Thomas Kenan Miller III,
Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering and Vice Provost for
Distance Education and Learning Technology Applications at North Carolina
State University. "Learning management systems are now as central to
education as classrooms are. Working toward a shared infrastructure is
critically important to our vision for the future and ability to reach it."
The announcement was made in Las Vegas, Nevada, where more than 2,000
members of the global e-learning community convened at BbWorld(R) '08,
Blackboard's annual event focused on best practices and innovative
breakthroughs in education technology.
About Blackboard, Inc.
Blackboard Inc. (Nasdaq: BBBB) is a global leader in enterprise
technology and innovative solutions that improve the experience of millions
of students and learners around the world every day. Blackboard's solutions
allow thousands of higher education, K-12, professional, corporate, and
government organizations to extend teaching and learning online, facilitate
campus commerce and security, and communicate more effectively with their
communities. Founded in 1997, Blackboard is headquartered in Washington,
D.C., with offices in North America, Europe, Asia and Australia.
Blackboard
Educate. Innovate. Everywhere. (TM)
Any statements in this press release about future expectations, plans
and prospects for Blackboard and other statements containing the words
"believes," "anticipates," "plans," "expects," "will," and similar
expressions, constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of
The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Actual results may
differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements
as a result of various important factors, including the factors discussed
in the "Risk Factors" section of our Form 10-Q filed on May 9, 2008 with
the SEC. In addition, the forward-looking statements included in this press
release represent the Company's views as of July 16, 2008. The Company
anticipates that subsequent events and developments will cause the
Company's views to change. However, while the Company may elect to update
these forward-looking statements at some point in the future, the Company
specifically disclaims any obligation to do so. These forward-looking
statements should not be relied upon as representing the Company's views as
of any date subsequent to July 16, 2008.
Posted By: Kenyana Madison
Wednesday, July 23rd 2008 at 12:11PM
You can also
click
here to view all posts by this author...
