WASHINGTON, DC, September 19, 2006 - Blackboard Inc. (NASDAQ: BBBB), a leading provider of enterprise software and services to the education industry, today announces that the Bloomsbury Consortium (UK) has selected Blackboard's ASP (application service provider) Services to host learning services across four institutions of the University of London. The Bloomsbury Consortium promotes collaboration, shared services and co-operation to improve educational outcomes and manage cost.
The four institutions which will have their Virtual Learning Environments (VLE) hosted by Blackboard, all use the Blackboard Academic Suite. Through this new hosting agreement, the VLE of these institutions will be housed in a state-of-the art facility equipped with advanced tier 1 infrastructure and 24x7x365 support. This partnership will provide unparalleled security, greater financial flexibility and greater operational freedom for faculty and administration of these institutions. Partnering with Blackboard ASP Services will give the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), The Royal Veterinary College, The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and The Institute of Education the time and flexibility to focus on core education initiatives.
Mandy Bentham, Head of Learning and Teaching Strategy, SOAS, and lead for the Bloomsbury Consortium, says: "The move to hosting in Blackboard's European data centre will allow us to concentrate our time and resources on developing collaboration across the Consortium in the areas of pedagogic good practice, multimedia development and staff and student support, confident in the knowledge that our platform is robust and secure."
In addition to the Bloomsbury Consortium, several other European and U.S. academic institutions have also signed up to have their virtual learning platforms hosted by Blackboard, including University of the Arts, London, Pole Universitaire Leonard De Vinci, University of Derby, Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, Emerge Consortium, Amersham & Wycombe College, the Colorado Community College System, North Idaho College and the University of Southern Mississippi, among others.
"We are delighted to partner with the Bloomsbury Consortium to maximize the effectiveness of its campus operations with Blackboard. Blackboard products and services will help model future ways of learning both locally and globally," said Michael Chasen, president and chief executive officer of Blackboard.
Blackboard is a leading supplier of enterprise e-learning solutions for colleges, universities and schools around the world. More than 3,650 institutions currently license Blackboard® software products and services, hundreds of which are located throughout the United Kingdom.
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