Blackboard Collaborate | Case Studies

Stories from the Trenches

Thousands of educational institutions from around the world rely on Blackboard Collaborate to reach their academic, administrative, and financial goals through more engaging, interactive, and cost-effective collaboration. But don't just take our word for it. Here are some additional client stories, demonstrating that the opportunities for learning and collaboration are almost limitless.

Higher Education

The University of Southern Mississippi Increases Online Enrollments Exponentially

Over the last few years, Southern Miss has been involved in strategic planning for the growth of its fully online programs. This effort includes expanding use of the Blackboard Collaborate platform: web conferencing, voice authoring, and enterprise instant messaging. Along with increasing enrollment by 25% and reducing travel costs, going online has yielded the university some unexpected benefits as well. Read case study >

Enhancing Outcomes in Virtual Learning Environments at the University of Warwick Language Centre

Teresa Mackinnon, senior language tutor at the University of Warwick, explains how she offers student feedback and support more easily using Blackboard Collaborate web conferencing and voice authoring capabilities. Techniques include giving audio feedback through the web conferencing tool, speaking whilst annotating a piece of work, and archiving as an MP4 for student review. As part of the preparation for oral assessment, Chinese, Japanese and French oral practice happens on voiceboards, and the teacher prompts can be re-used easily. View video >

University of the West of England Evolves as Agile Institution with Help of Blackboard Collaborate

At UWE, the Blackboard Collaborate platform is integrated with Blackboard Learn and used by many tutors across all faculties and academic departments in different ways. Blackboard Collaborate learning technologies enable tutors to add a more collaborative touch to the learning experience. As a result, students more readily engage and can develop the sophisticated group working skills they need to become competitive professionals. View video presentation >

Victoria University Connects Students From Around the World to Improve Foreign Language Skills

Using Blackboard Collaborate, Melbourne's Victoria University formed a partnership with three universities in China to create an online learning community emphasizing interaction and collaboration between Australian students and Chinese counterparts. Not only did the program facilitate English-language learning by using online collaboration in an immersive, social context, the high level of personal interactivity also increases cross-cultural awareness and knowledge of students in both countries. Read case study >

King Khalid University and Blackboard

In 2005, the university established its first eLearning centre and in 2008, chose Blackboard Collaborate to integrate with its primary learning management system, Blackboard Learn. As a result, KKU attained regional and global education and instructional excellence along with a more effective provision of their gender-divided campus for more than 65,000 students, half of which are women. Read case study >

Blackboard Collaborate Powers Virtual Open Days at University of Derby

Since 2009, over 600 enquirers from more than 30 countries have attended the University’s Virtual Open Days via Blackboard Collaborate. In fact, these Virtual Open Days have been so successful that the primary call-to-action in all of the University’s advertising is to invite prospective students to participate. It has become the key way in which the University converts enquirers through to students. Read case study >

The California Community Colleges System Saves Millions of Dollars while Increasing Student Grades and Retention Rates

Since the California Community Colleges System began using Blackboard Collaborate to hold live online classes in addition to virtual meetings, more than 800,000 users (staff, students, and faculty) have met or taken a class live online. Since live virtual classes are so engaging, the System has been able to annually retain more than 10,000 students who otherwise would have dropped out of less-engaging asynchronous online courses. In fact some online classes now regularly maintain a 90% retention rate. Read case study >

Online Conferences Benefit Troy University and University System of Georgia

How can you improve student retention in online programs and save tens of thousands of dollars all at the same time? Just ask the Instructional Design team at Alabama's Troy University. Across the state line, more than 30 universities across Georgia have had similar positive experiences. Read case study >

Mississippi Community College Board Ensures Flexibility for Students, Time Savings for Instructors

Imagine saving tens of thousands of dollars each year while also saving teachers up to 35 hours of grading time each semester. This dream is a reality for a system of 15 junior and community colleges in Mississippi. Read case study >

Southern Cross University Saves Money While Reducing Carbon Emissions

To re-engineer its whole approach to student learning delivery and support, Southern Cross University wanted to integrate its 6,400 external students with those on campus. By holding 26 virtual course-review meetings via Blackboard Collaborate, the University saved $41,000 AUD on fuel and associated costs and also eliminated 6.1 tonnes of greenhouse gases. Read case study >

Improved Student Outcomes at University of Utah Lead to Increased Retention Rates

The university’s Technology Assisted Curriculum Center, which works closely with the statewide Utah Education Network (UEN), has relied on Blackboard Collaborate for several years, using it to hold virtual meetings across the state to reduce travel and time spent out of the office. With such demonstrable success for online meetings, the decision to utilize Blackboard Collaborate for online courses was a no-brainer. Read case study >

Marshall University Raises Retention Rates, Offers Lecture Capture, and Saves Time and Money

For this university, use on Blackboard Collaborate is mission critical and includes hybrid instruction with faculty in an equipped video conferencing classroom, online office hours via instant messaging and virtual classrooms, lecture capture for on-demand review by students, and departmental meetings. Read case study >

University of the West England Satisfies Appetite for Collaborative Software

Just a few short months after implementation, Blackboard Collaborate was quickly adopted, becoming an integral part of many courses. Why the immediate success? First, there wan an "appetite" among the academic staff for collaborative software, and second, Blackboard Collaborate is "so easy to use." Read case study >

SIMITA at the University of West England: Developing Excellence in Professional Skills through Simulation

The University of the West of England has embarked on a wide-ranging initiative to embed the development of professional skills across all areas of study offered by the institution. One of the first projects under this initiative is SIMITA (SIMulations In Transactional Activities), which provides a seamless expereince via Blackboard Learn and Blackboard Collaborate. Read case study >

Adoption of Blackboard Collaborate at University of Findlay Spurs Growth

The University’s Center for Teaching Excellence team initially purchased Blackboard Collaborate thinking that it would be used primarily by its most forward-thinking instructors. However, within 12 months, Blackboard Collaborate was made available to every course. The result: improved outcomes, increased enrollments, and satisfied faculty. Read case study >

K-12 Traditional and Virtual Schools

blendedschools.net Facilitates Virtual Language Teaching and Learning

The blendedschools.net Language Institute has helped school districts deliver live instruction of 9 languages in 59 courses to over 30 schools in 4 states with teachers located worldwide. With Blackboard Collaborate web conferencing, the virtual school’s students learn through interaction by listening, speaking, reading, and writing the language. Read case study >

Florida K-12 Schools Succeed with Blackboard Collaborate

Many K-12 schools and districts in Florida—both face-to-face and virtual—are on the leading edge when it comes to effectively using instructional technologies. As a result, Pinellas County Public Schools, School District of Clay County, and Florida Virtual School are improving learning outcomes, saving significant time and money, and fostering more meaningful connections between students. Looks like Florida and Blackboard Collaborate are onto something. Read case study >

21st Century Cyber Charter School Maximizes Student Achievement

21CCCS is arguably the highest performing cyber charter school in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and a large part of its success is attributed directly to its pervasive use of Blackboard Collaborate. Ultimately, it’s the flexibility that Blackboard Collaborate offers that makes 21CCCS so appealing to its diverse student base. Read case study >

Broward County Public Schools Meet the Needs of Today's Adult Learners

One of the largest school districts in the country, Broward County (FL) Public Schools not only educates K-12 students, it also serves the local adult population. Since 2007, the school district’s Sheridan Technical Center has conducted countless online workshops via Blackboard Collaborate to help educate thousands of adult students, with lifechanging results. Read case study >

North Carolina Virtual Public School Improves Student Outcomes and Saves Money

How can a 700-square-foot office make an enormous positive impact on the entire K-12 educational system of North Carolina? Just ask Bryan Setser of the North Carolina Virtual Public School (NCVPS), who, through an aggressive distance learning program featuring Blackboard Collaborate, has helped improve student achievement throughout the state while also saving the state hundreds of thousands of dollars. Read case study >

Somerset County Council Successfully Re-integrates Pupils

For the Somerset County Council’s Alternative Provision programme, Blackboard Collaborate has been invaluable. The key reasons? It's a stable platform, easy to use, and an online version of a physical class. As a result, pupils with many unique needs and who are living in many different situations can continue with their education. Read case study >

Idaho Saves Thousands of Dollars in Travel Time and Man Hours by Training Teachers

Traditionally, K-12 teachers throughout Idaho drove up to eight hours one way to participate in professional development seminars. But with recent state budget shortfalls, travel time and costs had to be reduced. The state turned to Idaho Digital Learning Academy's (IDLA), whose Blackboard Collaborate license allows teachers from throughout the state to meet live online. After a year of online meetings, a survey of 300 teachers revealed tremendous positive data and savings. Read case study >

Client Stories