State University of New York and WebCT Announce System-wide Licensing Agreement
ALBANY, NY and LYNNFIELD, MA – January 15, 2002 –The State University
of New York (SUNY), and WebCT (www.webct.com), the world’s leading provider
of integrated e-learning systems for higher education, have signed a three-year
agreement which allows all of SUNY’s 64 campuses and programs to license
WebCT, higher education’s top course management system. The State University
of New York, a unified statewide system of 64 campuses, enrolls 382,000 students
and employs more than 75,000 faculty, administration and staff.
SUNY joins WebCT’s global customer network of more than 2,300 institutions
worldwide. Under the terms of the agreement, WebCT will provide SUNY with a
full course management solution for three years, including a WebCT license,
implementation consulting services, technical support and faculty and administration
training. The contract may be renewed for up to two additional three-year terms.
As part of its commitment to the agreement, SUNY will facilitate regional informational
meetings targeted to a variety of stakeholders, ranging from faculty interested
in using the WebCT software to enhance their courses, to the staff that support
technology integration, to campus administrators who decide how such tools fit
within their institutions’ missions. SUNY will also provide updates to campuses
on the options included in the agreement and will do so through a variety of
face-to-face and web-based forums.
State University provost Dr. Peter D. Salins said, "As university faculty
increasingly put their course materials and communication online, it is important
that we encourage the adoption of the best kind of software tools that make
this possible. WebCT is one of the most widely used course management systems
in the e-learning universe. Therefore, I am very pleased our agreement will
allow the SUNY campuses to make this available for their faculty."
"WebCT, as a company, has shown remarkable flexibility and the patience
and determination to put together an agreement that reflects what SUNY required.
We applaud their efforts to accommodate our needs,” said Eric E. Fredericksen,
assistant provost for advanced learning technology.
“WebCT is pleased to expand its long-standing relationship with the State
University of New York,” said Carol A. Vallone, president and chief executive
officer of WebCT. “SUNY’s national leadership in online learning is demonstrated
by the SUNY Learning Network program which is the ‘gold standard’
of distance learning programs and a model for other state systems of higher
education to emulate. We look forward to working with SUNY to build an equally
robust e-learning system infrastructure across its 64 campuses.”
"It is anticipated that many campuses will use WebCT to enhance their
classroom-based instruction through the creation of “hybrid” courses
which combine online learning resources with face-to-face instruction.”
Summing up the usefulness of WebCT for enhancing the classroom, Virginia Goately,
associate professor of reading in the School of Education at the State University
of New York at Albany said, "WebCT is an extremely useful tool for keeping
in contact with students throughout the semester between class meetings. The
bulletin board allows us to continue our discussions during the week, rather
than waiting for the next class to share an idea from the readings. I also set
up small group discussion areas for certain students to discuss a book of their
choice. When we discuss an idea in class and students want more information,
WebCT is a great place to share this information by using links to web sites,
uploading handouts for students, or posting references for further reading.
Students appreciate the various features of WebCT, including an internal e-mail
system to easily contact me, a calendar that clearly lists course readings and
assignments, an area to post handouts and additional information about course
topics, and a place to check on grades for course projects. I also find that
WebCT is a valuable and easy way for my graduate students, who are primarily
classroom teachers, to learn how to use this technology (e.g., e-mail, bulletin
boards, chat rooms). They appreciate the opportunity to learn these tools and
to think about how they might use this technology with their own students."
About WebCT
WebCT is the world’s leading provider of integrated e-learning systems for higher
education. More than 2,300 colleges and universities in 77 countries worldwide
are using WebCT’s products and services to transform the educational experience
of their students. Consortia in 23 American states, four Canadian provinces,
the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities, the French National Center
for Distance Learning and the Japanese National Institute of Multimedia Education
(NIME) have licensed WebCT for their member institutions, making it the de facto
standard in higher education. More information about WebCT can be found at www.webct.com.
About State University of New York
The State University of New York is a unified statewide system of 64 campuses,
committed to serving New York with pride and academic excellence. It includes
30 community colleges, five residential campuses that comprise the University
Colleges of Technology, five specialized colleges, five partnership colleges,
13 arts and sciences colleges, four research universities and two academic health
centers. The nation’s largest comprehensive system of higher education,
the State University enrolls more than 382,000 students. More information can
be found at http://www.suny.edu
For More Information, Contact:
Karen Gage
781/309-1147
Eric Fredericksen
WebCT SUNY
518/443-5166
Brenda Wheeler
Wheeler Baird Group
973-762-8683
