July 2011

Reactions about the Blackboard acquisition from students and recent graduates at the Gilfus Education Group’s Education Research Center at George Mason University were mostly positive. Lauren Heimburg, a recent graduate with bachelor’s degrees in both mathematics and psychology from the University of Virginia provided the following insights: “I think Blackboard’s acquisition will cause UVA to intensify its focus on online learning initiatives in order to remain competitive in coming years. Enterprise Education Platforms can improve colleges and universities by enabling them to provide more efficient systems and facilities to their students and faculty and by simplifying their internal operations.”