Inside Higher Ed BlogU: Blackboard in 2015

2015:

•Blackboard is no longer Blackboard. Blackboard will be Microsoft Education Services, or Amazon Education Services, or Tata Education Services, or perhaps Baidu Education Services. Some large information conglomerate will purchase Blackboard from whatever investment firm bought it in 2011, paying a premium to gain expertise, market share, and intellectual property in the fast growing (and long-term expanding) global market for educationally related services.

•As emerging economies gear up to bring postsecondary education attainment levels in line with late 20th century developed economies, it will become clear that these countries will leapfrog past traditional place- (campus-)based bundled (living and learning) institutions. Higher education will be largely mediated via technology (in sheer numbers, if not in the popular imagination), with the mobile computer being the most important educational endpoint. (The smart phone and the tablet will be to higher education in the 21st century what the lecture hall has been to higher ed in the 20th). An integrated education services company, like what Blackboard should be, will be a valuable asset for companies wishing to participate in the growing global higher ed market.

•Blackboard will no longer be a company, although it will perhaps remain as a branded education product. The brand, however, is less valuable than the installed user base of annual fee-paying customers, and the suite of integrated educational products.

•The Blackboard LMS will no longer be the company's most important product (although it will account for the majority of revenues until at least 2020). Rather, the fastest growth product will be services, the ability to deliver an end-to-end educational infrastructure from analytics to mobile learning.

•Google's failure to seriously invest and focus on education will be remembered as the most serious strategic blunder in the company's young history.


By Joshua Kim June 27, 2011 9:15 pm EDT

Inside Higher Ed BlogU: Blackboard in 2015

University Business: University Of Louisiana At Lafayette Master Plan Under Development

AP via NOLA.com

A master plan that will guide the future growth of the University of Louisiana at Lafayette over the next 15 years is now under development by Architects Southwest.

The plan is expected to be completed by mid-December and focuses on development of the main academic campus and the commons area, which includes the research park, athletic complexes and intramural fields, Architect Southwest's Steve Oubre told The Advocate.

Potential uses for Our Lady of Lourdes Regional Medical Center will also be part of the master plan, ULL President Joe Savoie said in an email.


The hospital, for sale for $36 million, was to be vacated Saturday with the official opening of the new Lourdes hospital in south Lafayette.

University Business: University Of Louisiana At Lafayette Master Plan Under Development

Campus Technology eTextbooks: Open Textbook Groups Join Forces

Campus Technology eTextbooks: Open Textbook Groups Join Forces

Women in Academic Report Weekly Newsletter June 28, 2011

Women in Academic Report Weekly Newsletter June 28, 2011

"21 Jump Street" Movie to film on Dillard University's Campus

This is to inform you that movie personnel from “21 Jump Street” will be on Dillard’s campus beginning at 7 a.m. Wednesday, June 29, 2011 through Saturday, July 2 and again on Tuesday, July 5. A summary of the details of their activities on campus is below.



Synopsis of Movie
Based on a series that ran from 1987 -1991, the current film is scheduled for release in 2012 and is about an undercover unit of young-looking police officers who infiltrate high schools in an effort to combat youth crime. The scenes to be filmed at Dillard are of the police academy training and graduation ceremony.


Movie personnel and number of days on campus
During filming, the crew will consist of approximately 75-100 people on site at any one time. The production company will provide its own power generator and catering services. There are three basic stages to the film production process: Prep, Shoot, and Wrap. Although actual filming is one day, the other stages involved in the process add four days to the project.


Proposed dates for filming and locations on campus:


Prep: Wednesday, June 29th, Thursday, June 30th, and Friday, July1st


Filming: Saturday, July 2nd


Wrap: Tuesday, July 5th


Locations:


Filming will be in four locations:
1) Area near the tennis courts will be used for training;
2) Georges Auditorium will be used for the graduation ceremony;
3) DUICEF, Rooms 109 and 110, a will be used for classrooms; and
4) Williams Dormitory (first floor common areas and model dorm suite) will be used as dorm rooms; and
5) Use of space for the film company’s catering service and dining is being negotiated with facilities management.

"21 Jump Street" Movie to film on Dillard University's Campus

Innovative Educators Webinar: 7 Emerging Trends Impacting Higher Education

Wednesday, July 27 ~ 2:00-3:30pm CDT


Registration includes institutional access to the live webinar and the recording for 1 year!

Webinar Description

What will be the real impact of demographic shifts on your institution? More importantly, how will your institution mitigate threats and seize opportunities in the midst of environmental changes-increasingly diverse students, heightened competition, and mounting fiscal constraints? During this webinar, we will debunk common misconceptions and explore the potential impact of environmental changes as well as seven profound emerging trends expected to impact how colleges and universities will teach tomorrow's students and provide needed services. Knowing what's around the bend allows institutions to innovate and adjust their programs and services in order to meet the ever changing demands of the educational environment.

Objectives

Participants will:
Develop a deepened understanding of the changing students entering higher education

Gain a holistic picture of emerging trends and ways in which the academy may be affected

Explore strategies for thriving in this fluid educational context

Who should attend?
2-year institutions & 4-year institutions

President

Vice President Academic Affairs/Instruction

Dean of Instruction

Dean of Student Services/Affairs

Faculty (full and part-time)

Student Services Staff:

Admissions

Advising

Counseling

Career Services

Cashiers

Disabilities Services

Enrollment Services

Financial Aid

Recruiters

Registrar

Residence Life

Retention Specialist

Student Life

Veteran Services


Who is the Speaker?

Jim Black, Ph.D., President and CEO

The president and CEO of SEM Works, Dr. Jim Black, is an internationally recognized expert in enrollment management as well as in change management. He has published a monograph titled, Navigating Change in the New Millennium: Strategies for Enrollment Leaders, and four books, The Strategic Enrollment Management Revolution, considered to be a groundbreaking publication for the enrollment management profession, Gen Xers Return to College, Essentials of Enrollment Management: Cases in the Field, and Strategic Enrollment Intelligence. Among his other published works are numerous articles and book chapters including a feature article in College & University, Creating Customer Delight; a chapter, Creating a Student-Centered Culture, for a book on best practices in student services published by SCUP and sponsored by IBM; a chapter on enrollment management in a Jossey-Bass book on student academic services; as well as a bimonthly feature in The Greentree Gazette.


Dr. Black is the founder of the National Conference on Student Retention in Small Colleges and cofounder of the National Small College Admissions Conference and the National Small College Enrollment Conference. He formerly served as the director of AACRAO's Strategic Enrollment Management Conference.

Black was honored as the recipient of the 2005 AACRAO Distinguished Service Award. He has been interviewed by publications such as The Chronicle of Higher Education, Converge Magazine, The Enrollment Management Report, The Lawlor Review, and was interviewed for AACRAO's Data Dispenser. Black also was featured in an international teleconference on enrollment management sponsored by The Center for the Freshman Year Experience at the University of South Carolina, and a PBS broadcast on "Blending High Tech and High Touch Student Services." In 1999, Jim Black was named an IBM Best Practices Partner, one of only twenty-three in the world. He was invited by The College Board to Heidelberg, Germany, to evaluate the APIEL Exam and most recently was invited to lead conferences on enrollment management and student services in the United Kingdom and the Netherlands.

Dr. Black has served on the boards of several technology companies and has consulted with companies such as Microsoft, Blackboard, and the SAS Institute. Higher education clients have included over 400 two-year, four-year, public, and private institutions.

Jim earned a B.A. in English education and M.A. in higher education administration from the University of South Carolina, as well as a Ph.D. in higher education curriculum and teaching from The University of North Carolina at Greensboro. His doctoral experience provides our clients with unique perspectives into innovative pedagogical, curricular, and program opportunities that impact enrollment outcomes. Leveraging his educational background along with his many years as an associate provost, dean, and faculty member in a higher education environment, Dr. Black will provide your institution with strategic insights that are grounded in theory and are actionable.

Innovative Educators Webinar: 7 Emerging Trends Impacting Higher Education