North Carolina Adopts Blackboard for Higher Ed
The University of North Carolina and the North Carolina Community College System have signed on with Blackboard to deploy that company's electronic learning platform across 68 individual campuses.
Through the implementation, according to Blackboard, campuses will be able to share courses and learning materials with one another and work in a more collaborative manner across institutions.
"Our partnership with Blackboard allows 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 Saundra Williams, vice president of administration at the North Carolina Community College System, in a statement released Wednesday.
"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 Thomas Kenan Miller III, a professor of electrical and computer engineering and vice provost for distance education and learning technology applications at North Carolina State. "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."
According to Blackboard, the platform will also allow four of North Carolina's historically black campuses--Elizabeth City State University, Fayetteville State University, North Carolina Central University, and Winston-Salem State University--to form a consortium and gain expanded access to electronic learning tools.
The combined 68 campuses represent around 1 million students.
Blackboard also announced today a similar deal with New Mexico, in which all of the state's public K-12 schools, colleges, universities, and adult education centers would migrate to Blackboard, replacing 22 other systems that had been in use.
