Blackboard Inc. Partners with Educational Directories Unlimited to Offer its Users Instant Access to Higher Education Programs
Chester, PA, April 23, 2001 -
Educational Directories Unlimited, Inc. (EDU), the leading provider of online academic program directories targeted toward prospective students, today announced it has reached a co-branding partnership with Blackboard Inc. to provide its comprehensive directory of academic data to users of the Blackboard Resource CenterSM, an online aid to academic research, designed to enhance and enrich the learning experience in more than 250 academic areas. Blackboard is the leading provider of Internet infrastructure technologies to the academic market.
The deal allows users of Blackboard 5TM, Blackboard's comprehensive e-Education software platform, and Blackboard.comSM, Blackboard's free course creation site service, in more than 100 nations to access EDU's Web sites, Gradschools.com and Studyabroad.com, through the Blackboard Resource Center (http://resources.blackboard.com). Gradschools.com and Studyabroad.com will power the Blackboard Resource Center's search engines on co-branded pages within the Resource Center to provide users with information about the top worldwide graduate, undergraduate and certificate programs.
"Our relationship with Blackboard is a natural fit between two online educational services pioneers who have leveraged the power of the Internet to deliver a suite of online academic resources to millions of students worldwide," says EDU President Mark Shay. "By joining with Blackboard, millions of registered Blackboard users around the world will have access to the strength of Gradschools.com and Studyabroad.com, the premier gateways toward taking the next step in continuing their educations. At the same time, this deal extends to us greater exposure to colleges and universities to come to view us as a compelling means of communicating their message to prospective students."
The EDU Web sites are virtual "yellow pages of higher educational programs" that provide free listings for academic programs and offer brief overviews of each program's offerings along with contact information. Schools can advertise on the sites by purchasing a link to their Web page so prospective students can further explore the school's offering. Blackboard will wrap the Gradschools.com and Studyabroad.com "yellow pages" within its own Web site navigation in the Blackboard Resource Center.
"Our partnership with EDU creates the perfect conduit for students to find the academic programs they desire," says Matthew Pittinsky, chairman of Blackboard Inc. "The Internet is a leading information source for students to find quality academic programs. Our relationship with EDU provides a valuable tool for our users to discover a broad range of academic resources."
About Blackboard, Inc.
Blackboard Inc. was founded to transform the Internet into a powerful environment for teaching and learning. The company offers a complete suite of enterprise software products and services that power a total "e-Education Infrastructure" for schools, colleges, universities and other education providers. Blackboard solutions deliver the promise of the Internet for online teaching and learning, campus communities, auxiliary services and integration of Web-enabled student services and back office systems.
Blackboard's two major lines of business, Course & Portal Solutions and Commerce & Access Solutions, are consistently ranked by industry analysts as the market share and customer satisfaction leaders for thousands of academic institutions and a leading number of the Internet's most popular consumer education sites. The company is headquartered in Washington, D.C., with offices and staff across North America, Europe and Asia. Please visit www.blackboard.com for more information.
About EDU
Educational Directories Unlimited, Inc. is a unique, college-oriented marketing firm that connects students with programs. EDU's online directories provide in-depth and current information on college level academic programs. Among EDU's computer-based recruiting tools are several comprehensive directories: GradSchoolFairs.com, Business.Gradschools.com, Distance.Gradschools.com, Gradschools.com, Studyabroad.com, English.Studyabroad.com and Studyabroadworldwide.com.
EDU offers online co-branding partnerships allowing any Web site to incorporate generic versions of Gradschools.com and/or Studyabroad.com. This no-revenue option allows partners to display EDU content without redirecting traffic from their sites, thus increasing page counts, stickiness, and sponsorship opportunities, as well as encouraging return visits.
For more information on EDU, please contact Matthew Ulmer at 484-766-9200 or email mulmer@edudirectories.com.