Blackboard Unveils "Caliper"

Tuesday April 12, 2:00 pm ET Product Development Initiative Will Tackle the Assessment and Evaluation Needs of Institutions, Programs, and Instructors
BALTIMORE, MD--(MARKET WIRE)--Apr 12, 2005 -- 7th Annual Blackboard Users Conference -- Blackboard Inc. (NasdaqNM:BBBB - News), a leading provider of e-learning software and services, unveiled today a new product development effort, codename "Caliper." Caliper will address the growing assessment and evaluation needs of educators in both traditional and e-Learning programs. Caliper will enable instructors and administrators to better plan, measure and report on their instructional and programmatic objectives. The product codename and focus were unveiled by Blackboard Chairman Matthew Pittinsky during the 2005 Annual Product Strategy Keynote, at the 7th Annual Blackboard Users Conference.

"Caliper spawned from an obvious need across the educational spectrum to streamline the process of measuring course, program, and institutional effectiveness," said Pittinsky. "With policymakers and accreditation boards mandating the measurement of student outcomes, the time is ripe for a system like Caliper. We have a unique opportunity to translate the data tracked in course management systems and other technologies into a useful framework for all stakeholders in the education community."
A recent Blackboard survey of Higher Education institutions determined that 90% of administrators agree that they are interested in using web-based technology to support program assessment.

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