News 07-09-2002
Sponsor: Sophos Anti-Virus FREE Web Seminar
Why should schools use Sophos Anti-Virus Solutions? Find out, join us for
a free web seminar. You'll hear from Michael Hodges, University of Hawaii, about
why Sophos Anti-Virus Solutions, which were designed specifically for networks,
offer an easily updated, flexible solution for managing the complexity of educational
environments.
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Cornell Hotel School Unveils Online Curriculum
eCornell, the distance-learning subsidiary of Cornell University, said it
added an online program from its prestigious School of Hotel Administration.
The program is composed of courses from the Hotel School's executive education
courses, and leads to a certification in the Essentials of Hospitality Management.
"Our mission at the Hotel School has been to deliver the most relevant educational
opportunities available to the hospitality industry," said Thomas J. Kline,
director of executive education, Cornell School of Hotel Administration. eCornell
will introduce six new online hospitality management courses between now and
November. The first course, available now, is "Managing People More Effectively."
Additional courses in the areas of Hospitality Marketing, Management of Hospitality
Human Resources, and Hospitality Accounting will follow.
For more information, visit: http://www.ecornell.edu
What's in the Future for Course Management Systems?
A special panel discussion on course management systems featuring four experts
on open source initiatives is one of the highlights at the ninth annual Syllabus2002
conference July 27-31 in Santa Clara, Calif. Oakley Thorne, Chairman and Chief
Executive Officer, eCollege; Matthew Pittinsky, Chairman of Blackboard; Barbara
Ross, Chief Operating Officer of WebCT, and Phillip D. Long of MIT will discuss
the successes and challenges of course management systems, the possibilities
for the future, and implementation issues for new software. This interactive
session with the audience will focus on possibilities and priorities. Don't
miss out on this summer's education technology conference for faculty, administrators
and IT professionals in higher education.
For the complete schedule and to register, go to http://www.syllabus.com/summer2002/index27.asp
Opnix Joins Internet2 to Advance IP Measurement
Tech Opnix Inc., whose technology helps gauge IP route optimization, joined
the university-led Internet2 research and development consortium. As an Internet2
corporate sponsor, Opnix will work together with the Internet2 community to
take the first detailed look at the overall performance of the Internet2 network
infrastructure. The collaboration will contribute to the Internet2 routing working
group and the Internet2 End-to-End Performance Initiative. The Internet2 infrastructure
includes national backbone networks, regional high-performance network aggregation
points, called gigaPoPs, and campus networks deployed by Internet2 members.
Opnix's Orbit 1000 Routing Intelligence System will help provide a consistent
measurement systems across domains via real-time data gathering on network performance
across each path of the infrastructure.
For more information: http://www.opnix.com
Online Student Loan Applications Almost Triple
Student loan provider Nellie Mae said applications for higher education loans
received via its online system have jumped more than 170 percent in just one
year. The company, which is entering its fourth year of offering online student
loan applications, said new applicants can pre-qualify for a Nellie Mae private
or Federal PLUS loan and receive an online credit decision. The company has
also worked on improving ways its students renew private loan applications for
subsequent academic years. Repeat borrowers can access a new online application
pre-populated with information from their most recent loan record. Other feaures
include: debt- management tools and calculators, student loan counseling applications,
downloadable federal and private loan applications and loan-processing tools
for financial aid administrators.
For more information, visit: http://www.nelliemae.com
WebCT Expands Course Management System
WebCT released a version of its Campus Edition course management system with
updated content management, cross-listing and multi-language capabilities. WebCT
Campus Edition 3.8 includes drag-and-drop content acquisition, enabling users
to upload course content by dragging files across the desktop. The new release
automates management of cross-listed courses. Previously, cross-listed courses
required duplicate WebCT environments. WebCT Campus Edition 3.8 also supports
the Unicode (UTF-8) standard for presenting foreign languages. So an anthropology
course professor can create a Web page containing both Russian and Japanese
text, all within an English language WebCT interface.
For more information, please visit http://www.webct.com
Awards, Deals, Contracts in Higher Education
-- Wayland Baptist University signed a contract with SCT to produce a campus-wide
student- and administrative-information system. The school will be equipped
with SCT's PowerCampus, which incorporates admissions, student affairs, student
records and accounts, and advancement applications. Microsoft Great Plains finance
and human resource software and the College Board's PowerFAIDS financial aid
system are also part of the solution.
-- Corinthian Colleges said it acquired of all of the outstanding stock of
Wyo-Tech Acquisition Corp. for approximately $84.4 million. WyoTech offers automotive
and diesel technology programs to approximately 1,500 students under the Wyoming
Technical Institute name, with two campuses located in Laramie, Wy. and Blairsville,
Pa. Corinthian is one of the largest for-profit, post-secondary education companies
in the U.S.
