News 08-20-2002
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Online Only Law School Graduates First Class
With the graduation of its inaugural class, the first wholly Internet law school
said it has already hit several milestones for growth. In less than four years,
the Concord University School of Law has grown from 33 students to more than
1,000 today enrolled in the school's Juris Doctor, Executive Juris Doctor, and
Master of Health Law programs. The school's faculty has also grown, from six
at the school's launch in 1998 to more than 60 currently. Concord said more
than 42 percent of its current students already have one or more advanced degrees,
including 67 MDs, 33 Ph.D.s and 23 CPAs. Moreover, its students recorded a 50
percent pass rate on California's rigorous First Year Law Student's Exam, compared
to the statewide first-time takers' rate of 30 percent.
For more information, visit: http://www.concordlawschool.com
Sponsor: Syllabus fall2002 Conference Coming to Boston November 3-5
In its fourth year in the Boston area, Syllabus fall2002, a conference for
faculty, administrators and IT professionals who want to explore the application
of information technology in higher education institutions will be held November
3-5 at the Boston Marriott Newton Hotel in Newton, Mass. Highlights include
keynote speakers, breakout sessions and featured track sessions and a vendor
fair. Syllabus fall2002 will provide you with new insights into cutting edge
technology and pedagogy, as well as ample opportunity for networking.
For more information and registration details, go to: http://www.syllabus.com/fall2002/
Firm Claims Test Assessment Speed Record
An Internet-based student assessment service claims it delivered more than
1.2 million student assessment transactions online in a single day, making it
the most frequently visited education destination on the Internet. Vantage Learning
said its IntelliMetric scoring engine administers and scores responses to open-ended
questions over the Internet using artificial intelligence technology. An individual
can enter a response to a question posed, submit the response, and receive an
immediate score with feedback in seconds. The company said it achieved the scoring
milestone by successfully delivering tests to students to college-level and
K-12 students in 49 states, Europe, Asia and the Middle East. Vantage Learning
chief operating officer Scott Elliot said the company had "fulfilled the promise
of anywhere-anytime delivery with immediate test results reporting for education
agencies and testing organizations."
Campus Pipeline Unveils Platform Upgrade
Campus Pipeline last week unveiled the latest version of its digital campus
suite, Web Platform 3.
2, which its says delivers increased system and application
performance, simplified integration with student information systems, and enterprise
application integration (EAI). The company said the update would provide faster
page renderings; upgrades of Sun ONE directory, messaging, web, and calendar
servers; and simplified integration of student information or EAI systems. Schools
"want to create a connected campus experience that integrates academics, administration
and community life into a central network of people and services," said Campus
Pipleline chief Tom Lewis in unveiling the new suite. Based on open standards,
the platform can be integrated with third-party systems including, Blackboard,
Datatel, e-College, JA-SIG uPortal, Jenzabar, Oracle, PeopleSoft, Poise, SCT,
WebCT, as well as homegrown applications
Service Links Jobs, Grads in a Slow Economy
Since launching in April, Pubet-based CampusPoint Corp. has helped students
and recent college grads find jobs and internships with local employers in a
slow economy. The service allows area employers to offer prescheduled "Intent
to Interview Announcements" to grads at every school in the state. By linking
all community colleges, technical schools, four-year colleges, and universities
in Washington with local employers, the service enables graduates to find interviewing
opportunities for fulltime jobs and internships. For employers, the service
streamlines campus recruiting by offering the equivalent of on-campus recruiting
without actually visiting campus. "We make it easier and far less time consuming
for employers to screen and pre-qualify potential applicants ... The result
is a more efficient model for connecting employers with students and recent
graduates that is unlike anything ever done before," said CEO Jason Granlund.
Awards, Deals, Contracts, in Higher Education
-- The University of Twente in the Netherlands purchased 450 licenses of three-dimensional
(3D) computer-aided design (CAD) software from SolidWorks Corp., bringing the
school's total number of installed licenses to 600. SolidWorks has become the
standard 3D CAD software for the university's mechanical engineering and industrial
design departments. With the increased number of licenses, the university can
give all 800 of its mechanical engineering students access to the software both
on campus and from their home PCs.
-- Arizona Western College, a two-year community college, purchased Cisco
Catalyst desktop switches for its rollout of data, video and voice services
to its main campus and five satellite campuses spanning 10,000 square miles.
The deal makes AWC an end-to-end Cisco campus, which will help it offer full
degree, remote learning programs and deliver contact via a broadcast television
channel and two educational cable TV channels. The school is also planning to
make distance learning services available at satellite campuses through IP video
conferencing and provide remote-Virtual Private Network (VPN) services to faculty
and staff.
