28 May North Dakota University System to be recognized for Blackboard work
Core Technology Services (CTS) was recently notified by Blackboard that the North Dakota University System will receive the 2019 Blackboard Catalyst Award for Leading Change. The award recognizes the multi-year effort to migrate all 11 institutions of the NDUS to a single learning management system (LMS).
According to CTS Chief Information Officer Darin King, the effort had roots in the State Board of Higher Education’s 2011 strategic planning process to adopt a single LMS. At that time, three LMS applications – Pearson eCollege, Blackboard Learn and Moodle – were all being used.
Five years later, CTS had begun working with the 11 public institutions to implement that vision. Now, the final steps have been taken to bring all the institutions into the systemwide instance of Blackboard Learn. That work has come from significant efforts made by CTS and the campuses.
According to King, the single instance of Blackboard Learn provides a standard and consistent end-user experience for all faculty, staff and students throughout the university system.
“This has been a tremendous amount of work across several years, and it couldn’t have happened without the dedicated effort by the campuses and CTS,” King said. “It offers a singular branded experience where students and faculty have the ability to log into just one site even if they are enrolled, or teach, at multiple institutions. In addition to improved efficiency at the system and user levels, and we’re already seeing new levels of collaboration and innovation among 11 campuses, which is really exciting.”
The award will be presented by Blackboard as part of the company’s national user conference on Thursday, July 25 in Austin, Texas.