News 01-02-2002
Software Group Picks Best Education Product Finalists
The Software & Information Industry Association (SIIA) has picked finalists
for its 2002 "Codie" awards, honoring excellence in software products
and services. The awards will be announced at the SIIA annual conference on
April 15 and are the only peer-recognition program in the software industry,
says SIIA, which represents 1,200 companies.
In the category of "Best Postsecondary Instructional Solution," the
finalists were:
- Blackboard 5.5 from Blackboard Inc.
- EndNote V5, from ISI Research
- LexisNexis Current Issues Universe, from LexisNexis
- Mobile Mentor Software from Palm Inc.
- Office HoursLive.com, from HorizonLive
In the category of "Best Educational Total Comprehensive Solution,"
finalists were:
- Campus Pipeline 3.0 Web Platform from Campus Pipeline
- McGraw-Hill Learning Network from McGraw-Hill Inc.
- Netschools Orion from Netschools Corp.
- Plateau 4 Learning Management System from Plateau
- SchoolNet, from SchoolNet Inc.
In the category of "Best New Education Solution," finalists were:
- academic.com from Academic Systems
- KnowledgeBox from Pearson Broadband
- SchoolNet, from SchoolNet
- www.classroom.com, from Classroom Connect
- www.learning.com, Learning.com
For more information, visit: <http://www.siia.net>.
Kentucky Virtual University Names CEO, CIO
The Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education appointed Daniel A. Rabuzzi
as chief executive officer of the two-year-old Kentucky Virtual University.
Rabuzzi, appointed acting CEO in June, will continue to serve as the council's
vice president for economic initiatives. The cyber university has grown since
opening in the fall of 1999, with current enrollment at over 5,500 students
in 50 programs. Rabuzzi has been a faculty member at Luther College in Iowa,
where he was in a pilot group for teaching history and English online. Also,
Ling-yuh (Miko) Pattie, founding director of the Kentucky Virtual Library, has
been promoted to chief information officer at Kentucky Virtual University.
For more information, visit: <http://www.kyvl.org>.
SUNY Awards Services Package Contract
The State Unversity of New York awarded Lexent Inc. a contract to provide electrical,
security, cable television and voice and data services to its Old Westbury campus.
The announcement is the latest higher-education contract for Lextent, a broad-based
telecom solutions provider. The company currently has a project underway to
restructure the Boston-based Berklee College of Music's fiber-optic network,
as well as a project to install electrical wires and voice and data raceways
for the Charles B. Wang Asian American Center on the SUNY Stony Brook campus.
Accenture, PeopleSoft, Extend Education Alliance
Accenture, the business process consultants, and enterprise software developer
PeopleSoft Inc. extended an alliance first signed in 1993 to work together in
the higher education market. The current arrangment is geared to solutions based
on PeopleSoft 8 suite of pure Internet applications, including human resources,
financial management, student administration and customer relationship management
(CRM) applications. Among their higher education customers are: the University
of Massachusetts, Ohio State University, University of Michigan, University
of Queensland, University of New South Wales and Griffith Universities in Australia,
and Kanto Gakuen University in Japan.
Prepaid College Program Covers Computers
A Florida program to allow residents to prepay college costs will add an option
covering computer equipment and other extras. The Florida Prepaid College Program
offers a tuition plan, a dormitory plan and a local fee plan, which cover about
half the total cost of college. Next spring, it will introduce a new savings
plan for books, computer equipment, off-campus housing and other qualified college
expenses not covered by the current plan. The total cost of college in Florida
is projected to increase more than 150 percent -- reaching $121,125 -- by 2020,
according to Florida Prepaid College Program chairman Stanley Tate, who said,
"college costs are rising, and with the recent downturn in the economy,
saving for college has become more difficult."
For more information, visit: <http://www.floridaprepaidcollege.com>.