WASHINGTON, July 7, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- In an effort to
provide its community with the best in technology, service and
support, Arizona State University (ASU)
has selected Blackboard (Nasdaq: BBBB) to provide support for
students, faculty and staff in all areas of campus life, from
financial aid and human resources to academic technology and IT,
the company announced today.
The partnership enables ASU to provide cutting-edge customer
service and increased operational efficiency while accommodating
continued enrollment growth. Working with Blackboard Student
Services(SM), ASU aims to resolve 50 percent of all support
requests through self-service – more than triple the industry
average. To reach the goal, the university community will gain
access to a wide range of on demand services that can help them
complete routine tasks more quickly and free up the institution's
administrative offices to continue to develop the kind of
innovative services that have led to its current record retention
and graduation numbers.
"We are always looking for ways to better serve our community
and improve the experience at ASU – and expanding our partnership
with Blackboard Student Services means our community will have
access to the highest quality support based on Blackboard's
innovative and progressive use of technology," said Gordon Wishon, chief information officer at
Arizona State University. "We are
pleased to have a partner like Blackboard that can help us manage
the costs of supporting a growing community over the
long-term."
With the new system, students can get updates on the status of
their financial aid applications or awards online or through a
fully automated phone system. An online helpdesk allows students to
access IT support information, search for guided tutorials and get
help through live chat. Students and faculty will also be able to
leverage a new system that greatly speeds the process of
identifying and dispatching assistance for issues with facilities
or equipment that may delay or cancel class – no small feat at a
university with four campuses that serve more than 70,000
students.
The expanded partnership will also enable key university
offices, including Human Resources, to provide better service to
faculty and staff, especially for high-volume, routine
administrative inquiries like employee verification
questions. Faculty and staff will also be able to access
information through a wide variety of channels, including Web
self-service and automated phone interactions.
ASU has also recently moved to Blackboard Learn™, Release
9.1 for its learning management platform, and will leverage
Blackboard Student Services to provide helpdesk support to
users.
ASU's selection of Blackboard Student Services was informed by a
proprietary evaluation process developed by the university that
goes beyond comparing competitive strengths, capabilities and
pricing to emphasize indicators that predict long-term, measurable
success. As part of the new partnership, Blackboard and ASU will
seek direct feedback from campus constituents to refine the new
services and tools to ensure that their adoption grows and that the
service experience on campus is constantly improving.
"We value our ongoing partnership with ASU, and through our work
together in using technology to provide support services to the
institution we are working to build a better education experience,"
said Craig Chanoff, general manager
of Blackboard Student Services. "This partnership is one of the
most comprehensive, technologically progressive support
partnerships in education right now, designed to the meet the high
expectations of the 21st century student in a scalable model."
Launched earlier this year with the acquisition of Presidium
Inc., a leading provider of administrative and academic support
services to hundreds of colleges and universities, Blackboard
Student Services supports all aspects of the student lifecycle,
including admissions and enrollment, financial aid, student
accounts and IT helpdesks.
For more information about Blackboard Student Services, please
visit http://www.blackboard.com/StudentServices.
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-K
filed on February 18, 2011
and Form 10-Q filed on May 9,
2011 with the SEC. In addition, the forward-looking
statements included in this press release represent the
Company's views as of July 7, 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 July 7,
2011.
SOURCE Blackboard Inc.