WASHINGTON, Nov. 27, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- As part of an effort to boost enrollment and retention, Coker College has selected Blackboard Learn^™ to replace its current learning management system (LMS), Blackboard Inc. announced today. The decision followed an evaluation of multiple commercial and open source systems by officials at the small South Carolina liberal arts college.

A campus review rated the latest version of Blackboard Learn's features more robust and interface more intuitive than other options. In particular, faculty found valuable the system's mash-up tool, which allows users to embed media such as YouTube videos, SlideShare presentations and Flickr photos into courses. Institutional leaders also found the system best suited to meet the college's strategic initiatives to grow enrollment, which is currently around 1,200.

"We are a smaller school than many of our competitors and we must be very diligent about the allocation of our resources," said Tracy Parkinson, provost at Coker College. "So it's crucial to our recruitment and retention efforts to have the very best tools available for our students, and since Blackboard Learn is the gold standard in online learning, it really was an easy decision to bring them to our campus."

"Blackboard Learn is definitely easier to use than previous systems I've used," said Serena Hill, assistant professor of music at Coker College. "Things just work the way I expect them to, and grading with interactive rubrics is a massive timesaver."

Coker College officials plan on using Blackboard Learn to grow the number of online classes offered during summer and winter breaks, which will help keep students on track for graduation and tuition costs down. College leaders say these types of initiatives will help make Coker College a strong investment for current and prospective students.

"In an age where students are faced with unprecedented debt from college, we are doing everything in our power to make Coker College a strong investment," continued Parkinson. "By expanding our ability to offer classes between semesters, Blackboard is helping us give our students a great education for less time and cost."

Nearly 2,000 institutions have adopted the latest release of Blackboard's flagship learning management platform to take advantage of the platform's improved stability, social learning tools to drive student engagement, digital content integrations and greater workflow efficiencies for instructors and administrators.

To learn more information about Blackboard Learn, please visit, http://www.blackboard.com/platforms/learn/overview.aspx

About Blackboard Inc.
Blackboard Inc. is a global leader in enterprise technology and innovative solutions that improve the experience of millions of students and learners around the world every day. Blackboard's solutions allow thousands of higher education, K-12, professional, corporate, and government organizations to extend teaching and learning online, facilitate campus commerce and security, and communicate more effectively with their communities. Founded in 1997, Blackboard is headquartered in Washington, D.C., with offices in North America, Europe, Asia and Australia.

Any statements in this press release about future expectations, plans and prospects for Blackboard represent the Company's views as of the date of this press release. Actual results may differ materially as a result of various important factors. The Company anticipates that subsequent events and developments will cause the Company's views to change. However, while the Company may elect to update these statements at some point in the future, the Company specifically disclaims any obligation to do so.

SOURCE Blackboard Inc.