Education & Distance Learning Enthusiasts- Weber State University Deploys WebCT Vista to Grow E-Learning in Scope and Quality

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Weber State University Deploys WebCT Vista to Grow E-Learning in Scope and Quality

Business Wire - April 13, 2004

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

LYNNFIELD, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 13, 2004

Academic enterprise system will help e-learning pioneer sustain more

enrollments, collaborate across disciplines and tailor learning to

individuals

Weber State University, one of the country's most active e-learning institutions, has deployed the WebCT Vista(TM) academic enterprise learning management system to assist and improve an e-learning program already serving more than 9,000 e-learning students and more than 20,000 students overall.

With WebCT Vista, Weber State can scale its course offerings as the university grows, migrate e-learning to its new Oracle(R) enterprise database infrastructure, share courseware across courses or disciplines, and adapt education to individual learning and teaching styles. Weber State went live on WebCT Vista this fall and is currently serving several thousand students.

"WebCT Vista strongly supports our strategic goals for a campus-wide enterprise implementation that can scale as high as we need it to and flexibly support a broad range of learning styles, teaching methods and course formats," said Rene Weston-Eborn, Weber State's program administrator for online learning. "We chose WebCT Vista because it suits the demands of our student population and faculty needs and will also integrate with our SCT student information system. The implementation has gone well and we have every reason to expect more success."

Weber State is in the process of migrating to WebCT Vista from a course management system it developed and deployed in 1997. Six years later, Weber State offers seven fully online degrees, several partially online programs and more than 400 fully online courses. The institution has also proven that online education can be every bit as effective as classroom education. "It is obviously the case that good students are good students" and that "delivery method seems to make no difference," states a soon-to-be-published Weber State study, "The Quantitative Quandary: Paired Comparisons of Online and Classroom Learning." WSU Online Student Support Specialist Susan Smith, who conducted the study, points out that "online learning is not for everyone, but every course at Weber State University will be able to make use of WebCT Vista learning tools, especially the gradebook."

Weston-Eborn credits the success of its WebCT Vista implementation to four key factors:

-- The school had the interest and support of its top

administrators, including the provost and president.

-- It employed solid project management principles and executed

them aggressively.

-- It developed and executed a communication plan that sought

dean, department chair, and faculty input and reported key

decisions as they were made.

-- From the beginning, the implementation involved all

stakeholders, including faculty, students, administrators and

IT staff.

"Weber State University is a true e-learning pioneer and one of a growing number of institutions that are starting their relationship with WebCT as Vista customers," said Carol Vallone, WebCT president and CEO. "Since they have deep online learning experience, they have clearly identified their needs, and we are happy that WebCT Vista is meeting them all."

About Weber State University

Founded in 1889, Weber (pronounced Wee-ber) State University is a coeducational, publicly supported university offering professional, liberal arts and technical certificates, as well as associate, bachelor's and master's degrees. The university prides itself in its excellent teaching, extraordinary commitment to meeting the needs of students at every stage of life, and ongoing service to the community - a commitment that indeed "changes minds" in profound and lasting ways. For more information, please visit www.weber.edu.

About WebCT

WebCT has set the standard for e-learning systems in higher education. Based in Lynnfield, Mass., WebCT provides a highly flexible e-learning environment that empowers institutions across the educational spectrum with the ability to achieve their unique objectives. Thousands of colleges and universities around the world - from community colleges to large university consortia - are using WebCT to expand the boundaries of teaching and learning. For more information, please visit www.webct.com.

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

LYNNFIELD, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 13, 2004

Academic enterprise system will help e-learning pioneer sustain more

enrollments, collaborate across disciplines and tailor learning to

individuals

Weston-Eborn credits the success of its WebCT Vista implementation to four key factors:

-- The school had the interest and support of its top

administrators, including the provost and president.

-- It employed solid project management principles and executed

them aggressively.

-- It developed and executed a communication plan that sought

dean, department chair, and faculty input and reported key

decisions as they were made.

-- From the beginning, the implementation involved all

stakeholders, including faculty, students, administrators and

IT staff.

About Weber State University

About WebCT

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