SkillSoft Announces Reseller Agreement With 10 California State University Schools

SkillSoft Corp. (Nasdaq: SKIL) recently announced it has signed a two-year reseller agreement with a consortium of 10 California State University schools. Under the agreement, the schools can include 450 SkillSoft courses in certificate programs and other offerings as part of their ongoing continuing education services.

The schools participating in the agreement include the following California State University institutions: Long Beach, University College and Extension Services; Bakersfield, Extended University; San Luis Obispo, Extended Education; Los Angeles, Division of Extended Education; Pomona, College of Extended University; Fresno, Division of Extended Education; Stanislaus, University of Extended Education; Dominiquez Hills, Extended Education; San Diego State University, College of Extended Studies; and Sonoma State, School of Extended Education.

The agreement, spearheaded by the University College and Extension Services for California State University Long Beach, was based on an extensive evaluation of business skills courseware that included factors such as instructional design, overall content, assessments, and cost. California State University, encompassing 23 campuses across California, is the largest senior educational system in the United States.

“As we made plans to include web-based learning in our continuing education programs, we realized it didn’t make sense to spend the time and money developing courses on our own when we could take advantage of SkillSoft’s extensive course library. It’s an intelligent product that meets our rigorous academic requirements and offers good value for the investment,” said Robert Behm, dean of the University College and Extension Service for California State University Long Beach.

Long Beach, which first initiated a separate agreement with SkillSoft last fall, is already offering SkillSoft courses in areas such as project management, finance, and business writing as part of its continuing education offerings. “We’ve earned back our investment through enrollments over the last eight months,” said Behm. Although Long Beach and other schools in the consortium will initially focus offerings locally, Behm does see the potential for increasing the national visibility of California State University.

“We are also exploring ways to combine instructor-led courses, mentoring, and discussion forums with the web-based courses to offer students the advantages of a blended learning environment,” said Inna Lisker, program administrator for distance learning, University College and Extension Service for California State University Long Beach.

“We are very pleased to have been selected for the innovative educational programs in progress at California State University schools,” said Chuck Moran, president and CEO of SkillSoft. “We believe that by making a wide range of business skills training available to individual students and local companies, these schools are providing a valuable service to their communities.”