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<p class="MsoNormal">Hi<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Yesterday we signed a system contract for the use of Blackboard’s Ally product for supporting accessibility in online course materials. Since it looks as if the legislature has helped us out with a budget, it appears that everything fell
in line at the right time for us to get this done. We think this is a great product that supports both our quality goals in digital instruction and our system goals in relation to our Accessible Technology Policy ecosystem. It’s also a relatively new product
and we look forward to working with you all and with Bb to make it even better as we move forward.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The cost of the contract is .90/FTE based on college IPEDS data. We were able to achieve a contract with no price increases for the initial term of the contract and two additional option years. For the first two years, SBCTC will cover
50% of the cost of the contract so you can calculate your costs for those years at .45/FTE. For those of you involved in the Ally pilot, there will be no interruption of service.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Jess Thompson, Mark Carbon and Paul Kreemer will lead the implementation from the SBCTC side – they’ll be working with a project manager assigned by Blackboard. Jess will follow up shortly with additional details about roll-out and training.
I also want to say –I haven’t had much opportunity to do so in my career – that working with Blackboard thus far has been a real pleasure. They seem genuinely excited to get this product in front of us.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Thanks, and have a good holiday.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Mark<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Century Gothic",sans-serif;color:#385623">Mark Jenkins<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Century Gothic",sans-serif;color:#385623">Director, eLearning</span><span style="font-family:"Century Gothic",sans-serif"> |<span style="color:#C45911">Open Education</span><span style="color:#385623"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Century Gothic",sans-serif;color:#C45911">Coordinator</span><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Century Gothic",sans-serif;color:#385623">, Accessible Technology Initiatives<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Century Gothic",sans-serif;color:#C45911">Washington State Board for Community & Technical Colleges<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Century Gothic",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Century Gothic",sans-serif"><a href="mailto:mjenkins@sbctc.edu">mjenkins@sbctc.edu</a><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Century Gothic",sans-serif;color:#385623">360-704-4363<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
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