WASHINGTON, Feb. 8, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Blackboard Inc.
(Nasdaq: BBBB) today opened a major focus in data analytics with
the launch of a business intelligence solution for higher education
and a commitment to accelerating innovation to help them make
better use of data to inform important decisions across the
institution.
The Company's newest platform offering, Blackboard
Analytics™, is a suite of applications that supports leaders
with deeper insight into their institutional performance and
analytical dashboard applications to help them view progress
against goals in real time. The platform maps to the most common
data sources on campus, integrating with the leading student
information, human resources and financial systems.
In contrast to typical data warehousing projects which can be
expensive, time consuming and risky, Blackboard Analytics can be
implemented in a matter of weeks to help institutions quickly and
cost-effectively turn complex data into actionable information. As
a result, leaders can better understand and improve performance in
areas including student enrollment and retention, financial aid,
institutional financial performance and fundraising and human
resources.
The new platform is available to all institutions regardless of
whether they already work with Blackboard. The effort, which builds
upon work that the Company had already begun in education
analytics, was strengthened by the acquisition of new technology
and a development team from iStrategy, LLC.
"This isn't just a new product – it's a major commitment of
resource over the long term to really innovate in bringing data
warehousing applications to the market," said Ray Henderson, President of Blackboard Learn.
"We're opening the lens to help solve a wider range of problems in
education with greater speed by helping leaders analyze and act on
real time data. With better access to more reliable information,
they can improve programs and institutional performance and be in a
better position to deliver learning and services at scale over
time."
A growing number of clients already rely on the platform to
improve student recruiting, retention and completion, optimize
class schedules and faculty resources and grow new programs. The
platform is also used to help campuses get the most out of student
aid programs, better understand spending across the institution and
inform fundraising and development efforts.
"Amid challenging economic realities, our institution must make
the most of every resource while operating with a high degree of
transparency and accountability," said Karl
E. Burgher, Special Assistant to the President for Strategic
Planning at Indiana State University.
"The Blackboard Analytics platform helps us do that by making
important information available to decision maker’s campus-wide. It
allows us to make informed decisions based on a single source of
truth in areas including student retention and enrollment
management, helping us make a positive impact on programs vital to
our future."
In addition to giving institutional leaders access to accurate
information to better measure and improve institutional
performance, the Blackboard Analytics platform also puts current
and reliable information into the hands of administrative and
departmental leaders throughout the organization to help them
better measure performance and act to improve it.
"By implementing the Blackboard Analytics student module we
saved years of development time and have introduced a proven,
pre-built system for data, measurement and reporting," said
Matthew Bonilla, Interim Chief
Information Officer at Pace University.
"The platform has received an excellent response from our
leadership including deans and budget directors from different
schools who are very enthusiastic about the ability to have greater
access to reporting and a trusted source of student data."
"Institutions don't lack for available data, but they don't
often have an easy, timely or cost-effective way to harness and act
on it to improve performance," said Jim
Hermens, Senior Vice President at Blackboard and General
Manager of Blackboard Analytics. "We want to give leaders across
the institution easier access to data as well as statistical
analysis and predictive modeling that can help them better gauge
which are their fastest growing programs or where they may have
courses and faculty resources that are underutilized."
For more information about Blackboard Analytics, please visit:
http://www.blackboard.com/Platforms/Analytics/Overview.aspx.
About Blackboard Inc.
Blackboard Inc. (Nasdaq: BBBB) is a global leader in enterprise
technology and innovative solutions that improve the experience of
millions of students and learners around the world every day.
Blackboard's solutions allow thousands of higher education, K-12,
professional, corporate, and government organizations to extend
teaching and learning online, facilitate campus commerce and
security, and communicate more effectively with their communities.
Founded in 1997, Blackboard is headquartered in Washington, D.C., with offices in North America, Europe, Asia
and Australia.
Any statements in this press release about future
expectations, plans and prospects for Blackboard and other
statements containing the words "believes," "anticipates," "plans,"
"expects," "will," and similar expressions, constitute
forward-looking statements within the meaning of The Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Actual results may differ
materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements
as a result of various important factors, including the factors
discussed in the "Risk Factors" section of our Form 10-Q filed
on November 5, 2010 with the SEC. In
addition, the forward-looking statements included in this press
release represent the Company's views as of February 8, 2011. The Company anticipates that
subsequent events and developments will cause the Company's views
to change. However, while the Company may elect to update these
forward-looking statements at some point in the future, the Company
specifically disclaims any obligation to do so. These
forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as
representing the Company's views as of any date subsequent to
February 8, 2011.
SOURCE Blackboard Inc.