News 01-15-2002

Blackboard to Acquire Prometheus from GW University

Blackboard Inc. said it would take over the Prometheus course management system from its developer, George Washington University. The agreement provides Prometheus, which had grown into a free-standing software development business at GWU, expanded resources to service partner universities and staff. The partners noted that about 30 percent of Prometheus' 65 university licensees run one of the three systems in Blackboard's e-Education suite -- Blackboard 5: Learning System; Blackboard 5: Community Portal System; and Blackboard: Transaction System. Blackboard was founded in 1997 at Cornell University and has become the largest e-education enterprise software company in the market.

Economist Art Laffer Joins Internet University Faculty

Economist Arthur B. Laffer will return to college teaching via an Internet-delivered course at Yorktownuniversity.com. Laffer, who held appointments in the Nixon and Reagan administrations, will teach a course on Supply Side Economics. The 16-week-long course, Econ103, Supply Side Economics, will be designed primarily for adults. It will be made up of lectures in digital stereo recorded by Laffer, asynchronous discussions, and a telephone conference with Laffer and students. "The convenience of the Web works both ways," said Laffer. "My students can take my course without disrupting their lives, and I can teach online while fulfilling my responsibilities to my clients and my family."

For more information, visit: <http://yorktownuniversity.com>.

Monster.com Parent Launches Web Enrollment Service

Monster.com parent company TMP Worldwide launched what it calls the first Web-based enrollment solution for higher education. Delivered via an application service provider method, Collegeware enables colleges and universities to manage enrollment operations and information via the Web. By automating both online and offline enrollment operations, including voice mail, email, letters and enclosures, the service allows schools to better communicate with and manage their "prospect and inquiry'' pool of applicants. The company said the University of Dayton will be the first college to use Collegeware as part of its enrollment operations.

For more information, visit: <http://www.udayton.edu>.

SMU, BU Join To Offer Project Management Training

TrainingTrack, Boston University's training network, said it would join forces with Southern Methodist University's Advanced Computer Education Centers to offer project management training in the Houston, Texas area. The TrainingTrack network, which is composed of regional training companies and schools that distribute and market Boston University's IT and management training programs, will provide area professionals with daytime and evening project management training beginning this month. Tom Bonesteel, director of SMU's training centers, said affiliating with BU's program will give the SMU subsidiary a turnkey project management offering that's flexible enough for area professionals.

For more information, visit: <http://www.engr.smu.edu/s'e_acec.html>.

Online Enrollment Nearly Triples for Commercial College

Corinthian Colleges, Inc., a for-profit, post-secondary education company, said registrations for its online courses for the quarter ending in December, 2001, rose 171 percent compared to the same quarter last year. Course registrations for the fall term increased to 3,456, setting a company record. The company also said it added 14 new online courses in accounting and criminal justice for the January term in response to rising demand. In addition, two new campuses started offering online courses during the January term, bringing the total number of locations to 19. Currently, the company offers 80 courses online. Corinthian's chairman David Moore said the growth "reflects the increasing popularity of this flexible learning alternative as well as the quality of our curricula and dedication of our faculty."

Other Deals, Contracts, Awards, in Higher Education

Department of Education/Ratheon Co.

The U.S. Department of Education awarded Raytheon Co. a contract extension for the National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS), a comprehensive database of selected federal financial aid history information on recipients of student assistance. The contract extension is valued at $16.8 million and will extend the period of performance through fiscal year 2003. The system contains 3 billion records for more than 140 million student loans and 33 million grants received by more than 45 million recipients. As the central collection point for student load data, NSLDS has prevented more than $4 billion in loans and grants from being received by ineligible applicants.

Youngstown State University/Jacada Inc.

Youngstown State University picked Jacada Ltd. to put its Student On-Line Registration application on the Internet as part of the school's Electronic Campus Infrastructure Technology Project. In December, the Ohio Controlling Board unanimously agreed to release funds to support the University's recommendation to award the software contract to Jacada, which provides interface and workflow solutions in the enterprise. YSU's Electronic Campus Infrastructure Technology Project will begin by making its student registration system available on-line with a graphical, point-and-click interface. Future plans call for developing the university's mainframe applications accessible over the Internet.

Quinnipiac University/Ingeniux Corp.

New York-based Quinnipiac University picked XPower, a content management and publishing system from Ingeniux Corp., to expand and manage the content on its Internet and intranet website. The XML-based system will help the university enforce a consistent look and feel throughout its site as well as enable non-technical faculty, staff and students to create, update and manage massive amounts of content. "The focus for Quinnipiac in choosing a content management system is a simple, easy-to-use interface that allows for collaborative Web publishing," said Christian Drucker, director of web management at the school. "We needed to be able to repurpose content based on specific campus audiences."

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