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Increase Enrollment and Revenue with Blackboard Collaborate

Heading Back to SchoolWhen the economy struggles, people are often underemployed or out of work entirely. Many head back to school to

acquire the new skills needed to keep pace in a rapidly evolving job market. As a result, enrollment rates at academic

institutions worldwide have grown considerably since the onset of the most recent recession.

This presents a real challenge: How can academic institutions accommodate steep increases in student populations

without adding new classroom space and hiring additional staff? Neither are a particularly attractive prospect given

today’s budget constraints.

One solution is Blackboard Collaborate™. With Blackboard Collaborate, schools can offer highly engaging online

courses that are as effective as those that meet face-to-face. Colleges, universities, K12, and technical schools can

accommodate more students—and increase their tuition revenue—without adding infrastructure or instructors.

Blackboard Collaborate enables students and faculty to meet from virtually anywhere with an Internet connection.

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Real-time Virtual Classrooms Help Manage—and Attract—Higher EnrollmentWhile asynchronous online education is nothing new, it’s the emergence

of synchronous learning technology that’s really making a difference

when it comes to boosting enrollment rates.

Today, a wide variety of web conferencing products are being used for

distance learning and virtual classrooms. However, a growing number of

educators are looking for a solution that is purpose-built for education,

rather than generic products designed for business meetings.1

Designed expressly for educators by educators, Blackboard Collaborate

offers a broad range of learning features, such as interactive whiteboard,

application sharing, web tour, breakout rooms, robust recording and

archiving, LMS integration, and ADA compliance.

In addition to accommodating new enrollees, schools that utilize

Blackboard Collaborate see fewer students drop out of their online classes.

That’s because their students feel more connected to their instructors and

classmates, and higher retention rates mean more tuition dollars stay-

ing in the schools’ coffers. What follows are just a few examples of how

Blackboard Collaborate has helped academic institutions increase enroll-

ment, retention, and revenue.

Blackboard Collaborate helps UMassOnline grow enrollment throughout its systemWith widespread acceptance of online education, providers such as

UMassOnline report higher enrollments and revenues, and continue adding

more programs. Revenues for UMass’s online programs increased 16%

during the 2011 fiscal year, to $65.2 million. Enrollment increased 12% from

45,772 to 51,097 year over year, marking the 10th consecutive year in which

UMassOnline reported double-digit growth in both enrollments and rev-

enues from online and blended programs offered through the University’s

five campuses. These programs rely heavily on Blackboard Collaborate.

Based on demand, UMassOnline launched 22 new online programs during

fiscal 2011, including graduate certificate programs, bachelor’s degree

programs, and continuing education for financial professionals, attorneys,

accountants, and regulators.

Schools that utilize Blackboard Collaborate see fewer students drop out of their online classes.

1 Jaim, Roopam, Nath, Pranabesh, and Popova, Elka, “Analysis of the Global Web Conferencing Market Strong Demand for Collaboration and Declining Prices Lead to Broader Adoption.” Frost & Sullivan analysis. September 2011.

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“There is a watershed of need for education in our

economy, and online learning plays an important role

in that,” said Dr. Ken Udas, CEO of the University of

Massachusetts’ online division, UMassOnline. “Jobs

in green technology, advanced manufacturing, bio-

tech — these are the future jobs of the Massachusetts

economy, and these all require degrees.”2

University of the Incarnate Word looks online to meet its strategic goalsThis same significant growth was regularly seen at

other schools as well, including the University of

the Incarnate Word (UIW) of San Antonio, TX. UIW

expanded rapidly in the last 25 years, watching its

enrollment grow from 1,300 students in 1986 to 7,000

students in 2011. But UIW’s executive administration

doesn’t want to stop there.

“One of our strategic goals is to grow this school to

12,000 students, so we have significant growth goals

over the next few years and those goals—as we look

around the campus we see it’s pretty landlocked—are

going to have to come from non-traditional enroll-

ments, such as adult degree completion and virtual

university programs. Those programs will benefit from

these online collaboration tools,” says Marshall Eidson,

CIO of the University of the Incarnate Word.3

Central Michigan’s online covers over 40 course disciplinesMerodie Hancock, vice president and executive direc-

tor of Professional Education at Central Michigan

University (CMU) says online registration growth is

around 20% at CMU and about 10% nationally. “We

really look at online as a tool to reach all students.”

CMU now averages over 6,000 online course registrations

per semester, and Hancock reports that there were a total

of 7,168 online course registrations (where each course

registration is counted independently, not via undupli-

cated headcount) during the fall 2010 semester. Projected

online enrollments for the spring 2011 semester were close

to 8,000 when registration for spring II was still open.

The number of online course offerings has also increased

greatly since the beginning of the program, Hancock says.

CMU now offers about 330 to 340 online courses each

semester. “We now represent over 40 course disciplines,”

she adds. “Every academic college is involved.”

Some of the most popular disciplines online are politi-

cal science, math, psychology, sociology and master’s

of science in administration. New biology and English

classes have recently been offered and are growing in

popularity as well. Hancock says there has been a sig-

nificant increase at CMU because the university has

invested resources in online education. She says the

Student Government Association has emphasized online

development in recent years. “The university as a whole is

embracing online. We continue to grow and we add new

courses every year.”

2 Botelho, Bridget, “Online degrees: Delivering new skills for tech workforce.” Mass High Tech. October 26, 2011.

3 Eidson, Marshall, “Blackboard Collaborate Saves Time and Money” (video). Blackboard Collaborate website. Fall 2011.

Jobs in green technology, advanced manufacturing, biotech — these are the future jobs of the Massachusetts economy, and these all require degrees.2

Dr. Ken UdasCEO of the University of Massachusetts’ online division

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According to Hancock, online courses, many of which

are powered by Blackboard Collaborate, also are

becoming more popular because students and fac-

ulty members have more confidence in the technol-

ogy. Many new faculty members have taken online

courses and are comfortable with the format, she says.

“Students trust it, and faculty trust it.”

Blackboard Collaborate web conferencing allows

faculty to communicate with students through audio

recordings, Hancock says. “We’re seeing a blending

of technology in classrooms. We see more faculty do

hybrid classes.”

Hancock explains that online courses often appeal to

students because they solve time conflicts and bring

together people from around the world. For example,

freshman Tim Malter enrolled in his first online course

for the spring II semester, taking ART 126: Introduction

to the Visual Arts online because it is more convenient

for him. “I don’t have to get up at 8 a.m. to go to class,”

he says. “You have more resources on the Internet and

you can do whatever you want in your free time.” 4

Blackboard Collaborate helps boost enrollment at Northeastern State UniversityEnrollment figures at Northeastern State University

(Oklahoma) continued to rise in the spring 2011 semes-

ter, with the university announcing a combined enroll-

ment of 8,994 at its Tahlequah, Muskogee, and Broken

Arrow campuses.

“Northeastern is hosting its largest spring enroll-

ment in 16 years,” says NSU President Don Betz. “Our

focus remains on the quality of education and help-

ing students learn and graduate. We are pleased to

serve the people of Oklahoma and others pursuing

their education and their dreams here.” Spring enroll-

ment shows an increase of 2.2% over the spring 2010

number of 8,785.

Provost Martin Tadlock says the university administra-

tion was pleased with the enrollment increase and that

every effort was being made to ensure that students

succeed at NSU.

“We have added educational support services and

technologies for students such as SmarThinking,

Map-Works and DARS along with instructional sup-

port and technologies for faculty such as Blackboard

Collaborate, iTunesU, OpenSource and Quality Matters,”

he says. “We are growing programs dedicated to work-

ing adults, expanding co-curricular activities, placing

additional value on quality teaching and engagement

in our region, and providing unprecedented interna-

tional opportunities for our students, faculty and staff.

NSU is truly a remarkable place. We are not sitting still,

and this enrollment increase suggests we are getting

the word out.” 5

4 Harrison, Annie, “Over 40 course disciplines represented in CMU Online Programs, registrations projected to reach 8,000 for spring.” Central Michigan Life. January 26, 2011

5 Purtell, Keith, “NSU enrollment increases 2.2 percent.” Muskogee Phoenix. February 11, 2011.

We’re seeing a blending of technology in classrooms. We see more faculty do hybrid classes.Merodie Hancock Vice President and Executive Director of Professional Education at Central Michigan University

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The University of Arizona helps struggling math students—onlineIn terms of specific disciplines, math is a struggle for

many students, and some do not test into university-

level math when they start college. This increases a

student’s likelihood of dropping out because he or she

will likely struggle in other math courses. To combat

this, the University of Arizona fully implemented a

mathematics class that allows students who have not

tested into college-level math to take a preparatory

course. Math 100 allows students to work in an online

environment that is self-paced, peer-tutored, and inter-

active, while meeting two to three days a week with

the Math 100 staff.

“We have a lot of students who don’t place into uni-

versity-level mathematics when they come in, and we

wanted to have a way for them to refresh materials here

at the U of A,” says Michelle Woodward, the Math 100

coordinator. The Math 100 course hit its stride in the fall

2010. The intent is to expand the seating from 360 seats

to 900 seats.

Completing math within the first year or so of beginning

college is an important indicator of whether or not a stu-

dent will stay in college, she says.

“If you don’t have a solid algebra foundation, you’re [in

trouble],” says Manny Villegas, a junior studying agri-

cultural and biosystems engineering. Though Villegas

placed into Math 122 as a freshman, he says he didn’t feel

prepared at that time and would have taken the Math 100

course if it had been available. Villegas thinks it is a great

option for students to have so they don’t have to go to

Pima Community College for their math credits.

The Math 100 class is online-based and uses Blackboard

Collaborate as an online classroom with virtual white

boards and virtual chat. “I think what’s been really excit-

ing about Blackboard Collaborate is the opportunity

to have it be as much like a real classroom as possible,

where we actually talk with people three days a week

and we’re engaged with them,” Woodward says.

Woodward adds that most online classes generally do

not allow for a lot of interaction between teachers and

students, unlike Math 100 where they meet two to three

days every week in Blackboard Collaborate. “What I

have found really great is that meeting with students

frequently like you would in a regular class is really

important, even if you’re online.” 6

We’ve been able to triple our course offerings...and being able to connect everyone through audio, video, and chat, Collaborate has allowed us to maintain the quality.Wendy Kraglund-Gauthier Instructional Designer St. Francis Xavier University

6 Weiss, Michelle. “Math 100 Offered The Daily Wildcat. April 28, 2011.

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With Blackboard Collaborate, St. Francis Xavier University expands its reach and maintains high quality. St. Francis Xavier University in Canada is a good exam-

ple of the astounding results that schools can achieve

with Blackboard Collaborate. “What Collaborate has

done for us is level our geographical playing field, so

we’re accessible to our learners regardless of geogra-

phy and even regardless of time. We’ve been able to

triple our course offerings in a time of declining enroll-

ment. And being able to connect everyone through

audio, video, and chat, Collaborate has allowed us to

maintain the quality of education on which we pride

ourselves,” Wendy Kraglund-Gauthier, Instructional

Designer at St. Francis Xavier said at the CAN-BUG

Conference in 2011. Tripling a school’s enrollment cer-

tainly helps its bottom line. 7

Real-time Virtual Classrooms Help Retain StudentsWhile Blackboard Collaborate is helping schools increase

enrollment, it’s also helping them retain their students.

California Community Colleges use Blackboard Collaborate to keep thousands of students learning“Imagine what Blackboard Collaborate resource could

do statewide?” wondered Patt McDermid of Sierra

College’s (California) Online Writing Center when

commenting on the fact that his school’s writing

programs retain significantly more students in those

courses that use Blackboard Collaborate. “We lose tens

of thousands of students per year… unconscionable.

Especially since now we’ve found an answer with CCC

Confer (The California Community Colleges System’s

self-branded version of Blackboard Collaborate).”8

Similarly high retention rates are seen at another

California Community Colleges System member

institution, Los Medanos Colleges. “In our two-year

study of student performance in online classes, we

looked at student retention and persistence and real-

ized there was no difference in terms of face-to-face

and online courses in performance,” says Spanish

language instructor Laurie Huffman . “In the second

year, for the courses that were taught online with a

synchronous component, the study showed that the

instructors that integrated CCC Confer into a portion

of their learning…had a higher retention rate, success

rate, persistence rate, and more As and Bs. They had a

90% retention rate in those classes.”9

7 “Canadian Academic Institutions Benefit Widely from Blackboard Collaborate.” YouTube (video). May 3, 2011.

8 Patt McDermid, Sierra College Online Writing Center Instructor. MEET: Modeling Effective Education Technology Meeting. 2010.

9 Laurie Huffman, Los Medanos College Spanish Language Instructor, Department Chair MEET: Modeling Effective Education Technology Meeting g. 2010.

10 Wasowski, Matt, “University of Derby case study.” Blackboard Collaborate website. Fall 2011.

11 Kauss, Bruce, “The Success of Collaboration.” Blackboard Collaborate Distinguished Lecture Series (webcast). November 10, 2011.

The University of Derby has seen a “significant improvement in the overall retention figures”—from 60% to 75%. That’s 15% more students who remain enrolled and pay tuition dollars to the school.

blackboardcollaborate.com

Lower student attrition adds up to higher return-on-investmentIn the UK, according to the instructional design

team at the University of Derby, the University

has seen a “significant improvement in the overall

retention figures”—from 60% to 75%. That’s 15%

more students who remain enrolled and pay tuition

dollars to the school.10

And in Oregon, Blue Mountain Community College,

too, has been able to keep more students by adding

collaborative elements to its online courses. “Faculty

from our business department and from our math,

social sciences, and criminal justice programs have all

told me that for their classes using Collaborate both

online and in a blended version on campus, there’s a

lower attrition rate compared to classes that don’t.

That’s a powerful way to look at Collaborate in terms

of return on investment and what it can do for you.

We can show our administration these results,” says

instructional technologist, Bruce Kauss.11

Retention rate: a strategic goal at Troy UniversityEven with the growing enrollments that have come about

in response to the current economic times, the educa-

tional landscape is highly competitive—so competitive

that some institutions are making student retention their

number one goal, even ahead of growing enrollments.

One such school is Troy University (Alabama).

Troy relies on Blackboard Collaborate as the technol-

ogy to drive its retention strategy. In fact, Troy holds

an annual online conference for its online instructors

during which it updates them about new technologies,

policies, and procedures. Its eColloquium conference

homepage, in Spring 2011, read “Faculty members are

on the front lines when it comes to student retention at

Troy University” as it promoted its annual conference.

“Join us online April 12 to 14 for eCampus eColloquium

2011, as we explore online classroom strategies aimed at

preventing students from dropping out. The theme of

the three-day training event, which is open to all TROY

faculty and staff, is Retention—YOU Are the Key.”12

Attracting students, managing students, retaining studentsSynchronous learning plays an increasing role in stu-

dent enrollment. For a growing number of schools,

Blackboard Collaborate is the key to their growth

plans and retention goals.

For their classes using Collaborate both online and in a blended version on campus, there’s a lower attrition rate compared to classes that don’t. That’s a powerful way to look at Collaborate in terms of return on investment and what it can do for you. Bruce KaussInstructional TechnologistBlue Mountain Community College,

12 Wasowski, Matt “Online Conferences at Troy University and University System of Georgia.” Blackboard Collaborate website. Fall 2011.

To learn more about how you can reach your academic, administrative, and financial goals through more interactive and cost-effective collaboration, visit blackboardcollaborate.com, contact us at collaboratesales@blackboard.com, or try our solution free for 30 days at bbcollaborate.com/try.

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