In the News

Department of Education’s inspector general says Western Governors University’s competency-based courses do not meet distance education rules. What does finding mean for online learning? Experts weigh in.

NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) has entered into a partnership with Blackboard, in an effort to improve employee learning.

WCET is pleased to announce the recipients of the 2017 WCET Outstanding Work awards— University of Central Florida, Blackboard Inc., Oregon State University, and Healthcare Learning Innovations, a division of American Sentinel University.

The Education Department’s Office of Inspector General wants the agency to claw back $713 million in loans and grants from Western Governors University, claiming that the limited role of faculty in courses makes the online university ineligible for federal student aid.

This month's episode of the Pulse Podcast features an interview with Jim Chalex, vice president of product management at Blackboard. In the conversation with the host Rodney B. Murray, Chalex discusses the company's plans for Blackboard Learn, its learning platform, amid other topics.

A couple of days before Hurricane Harvey devastated much of southeast Texas, administrators at the University of St. Thomas in Houston gathered to talk through contingency plans. On the list was a discussion of online options for face-to-face classes that could be affected by flooding and adverse weather. The team decided to encourage faculty members reach out to students about the possibility of conducting class remotely on Blackboard.

A new white paper on the future of higher education predicts artificial intelligence, analytics, augmented and virtual reality, robotic telepresence and cyber defense will be driving forces in digital-learning at colleges and universities over the next 20 years.

Blackboard Inc. this year celebrates 20 years of existence. Over those two decades it has been one of the few consistent winners in education and eLearning, generated hundreds of millions of dollars in funding and shareholdings, and generally dominating the way schools from K-12 to college and beyond function online.

With the polarizing debate continuing to swirl, “Inside Digital Learning” had a few questions for experts in the field: Does the fact that Harvard has turned to 2U for this certificate program contradict the assumption that the OPM business is on the ropes? Are there elements of the Harvard-2U arrangement that make this exceptional rather than a barometer of market trends? What is your prognosis for the five- to 10-year outlook for the OPM industry?