Platform will Help Students Create a Personalized Plan to Graduation
that Encompasses the Entire Academic Journey.
BASKING RIDGE, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
BNED
LoudCloud, a Barnes
& Noble Education, Inc. company (NYSE:BNED)
and Portland State University ("PSU"), today announced a strategic
partnership to co-develop a degree planning solution. Using insights
generated by PSU's reTHINK
initiative and leveraging BNED's analytics platform, the solution will
ultimately help more students graduate on time with better pathways to
employment and provide the university with long-term demand planning
tools.
The co-development of a degree planning solution aligns with PSU's goals
to improve the student experience through digital services innovation
and most importantly, improve degree completion. This partnership is an
integral part of the reTHINK PSU presidential initiative and enabled by
PSU's participation in the Frontier
Set, convened by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation with
partnership from the Association of Public and Land Grant Universities
and other partners. This select group of 29 colleges and universities
and state systems from across the nation is committed to significantly
increasing student access and success, and eliminating racial/ethnic and
socioeconomic disparities in college attainment.
"This is a problem worth solving to benefit millions of students across
the country," says PSU's vice provost for Innovation, Planning and
Student Success, Sukhwant Jhaj, "and stems from our extensive research
and design thinking work to revamp advising. Our institutions and the
higher education ecosystem can do more to help the new non-traditional
majority. We can minimize silos that send students running around
campus. And we can create more transparency with costs and financial
aid. We are excited to partner with BNED LoudCloud because of their
eagerness to tackle the challenges students face, particularly around
academic and financial planning, and how their analytics expertise can
improve degree planning. This degree planning platform will be
transformational in helping students save time, save money and reduce
stress."
The degree planning solution helps answer many of these challenges. It
will allow students to chart a path to graduation, track progress,
understand the impact of their choices on financial aid, and adjust
their plans to changing majors. The solution will provide students with
the insights they need to better understand their academic and career
paths.
"Degree planning is a vital piece of the academic journey," said Kanuj
Malhotra, Chief Operating Officer, BNED Digital Education. "We believe
expanding our current analytics portfolio to include a degree mapping
tool will greatly enhance our ability to drive positive student outcomes
both within and outside of the existing BNED footprint."
BNED LoudCloud embedded a team within PSU to build on the insights that
PSU generated through their extensive academic
and career advising research. The co-development process allowed the
teams to rapidly prototype and begin developing the solution. This
practice will continue during the full development phase, working with
students and advisors to refine the user experience.
Drawing on BNED LoudCloud's extensive background in learning
analytics, the solution will ultimately provide students with
dynamically driven degree pathways. Using analytics, BNED LoudCloud will
provide students with insights based on their academic
context/performance and career goals, so that they can work with
advisors to identify degree paths that will maximize their chance of
success.
"This partnership lays the foundations for degree planner to tackle a
number of student challenges, such as how to link degree paths to an
ever-changing job market and how to provide a clear credit-taking path
from community colleges to universities," said Kanuj Malhotra, Chief
Operating Officer, BNED Digital Education. "And more broadly, our degree
planning solution will enhance our institutional analytics to help
partners enrich student-advisor interactions and tackle the challenges
around demand planning. We are thrilled to partner with PSU on this
forward-thinking initiative."
"This is a much-needed personalized advising tool for our students that
not only puts each one on a direct path to a degree but also supports
them in tracking the progress of their major, grades, financial aid and
other vital information," says Sukhwant Jhaj, PSU's vice provost for
Innovation, Planning and Student Success. "Over time, this tool will
help bolster PSU's retention and graduation rates and ultimately will
reduce costs for students by enabling them to stay on a more efficient
course to graduate."
ABOUT BARNES & NOBLE EDUCATION, INC.
Barnes & Noble Education, Inc. (NYSE:BNED), a leading provider of
educational products and services solutions for higher education and
K-12 institutions, enhances the academic and social purpose of
educational institutions. Barnes & Noble Education operates 1,495
physical and virtual bookstores serving more than 6 million students and
their faculty, and offers a suite of digital software, content and
services including direct-to-student study tools. The Company also
operates MBS Textbook Exchange, one of the largest textbook wholesale
distribution channels in the United States. Barnes & Noble Education
acts as a strategic partner to drive student success, provide value and
support to students and faculty, and create loyalty and improve
retention, while supporting the financial goals of our college and
university partners.
BNED companies include: Barnes
& Noble College Booksellers, LLC, MBS
Textbook Exchange, LLC, BNED
LoudCloud, LLC, Student
Brands, LLC, and Promoversity,
LLC. General information on Barnes & Noble Education may be obtained
by visiting the Company's corporate website: www.bned.com.
ABOUT BARNES & NOBLE EDUCATION LOUDCLOUD
Barnes & Noble Education LoudCloud, a Barnes & Noble Education company
(NYSE:BNED), builds software that improves learning. By focusing on four
key areas - Learning Analytics, Competency Based Education, Learning
Management, and Next Generation Learning Materials including advanced
OER Courseware, BNED LoudCloud serves educators and students in higher
education, and increasingly, K-12 institutions to address the challenges
of affordability and retention.
General information on BNED LoudCloud can be obtained by visiting the
company's website: www.BNEDLoudCloud.com.
ABOUT PORTLAND STATE UNIVERSITY
Oregon's urban research university, recognized by U.S. News & World
Report as one of the nation's top 10 "Most Innovative" universities, is
located in the heart of downtown Portland. PSU's motto is "Let Knowledge
Serve the City" and is known nationally for civic engagement and
community impact. PSU offers more than 200 degrees with opportunities to
work with businesses, schools and organizations on real-world projects.
View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20171017005046/en/
BNED Media:
Barnes & Noble Education, Inc.
Carolyn
J. Brown, 908-991-2967
Vice President
Corporate Communications
cbrown@bned.com
or
Portland
State University Media:
Portland State University
Christopher
Broderick, 503-725-3773
Associate Vice President for Communications
and Marketing
christopher.broderick@pdx.edu
Source: Barnes & Noble Education, Inc.
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