Continuing Education
PR Newswire | October 12, 2023
Venbrook Group, LLC ("Venbrook"), one of the largest independent insurance distribution and services firms in the U.S., today announced the formation of a national Higher Education division to bring a holistic approach to risk management solutions for K-12 schools, universities, faculty, staff, and students for all their insurance needs. The new division falls under Venbrook's Employee Benefits vertical, led by Alison Myers ("Myers"), Executive Vice President.
Venbrook's new Higher Ed division will tailor customized risk management solutions for campuses across the U.S., helping schools identify insurance needs and relieve staff from the complexity and administration of policy implementation. The new division brings together the expertise of Venbrook's risk management team for all lines of coverage for K-12, community colleges, and private and public universities nationally. The Division will also employ a fully integrated technology solution to assist with implementation, policy, and claims management, as well as providing an accessible member-facing portal focused on engagement and care management.
Assisting Myers is Mike Conway, long time industry veteran, who joins Venbrook as the new Head of Strategy & Business Development. Conway has more than 20 years of experience in student insurance and was part of the student insurance team at Aetna, as well as being part of Anthem's student division. Conway will focus on the strategic direction of the division and help grow the national footprint of the company's Higher Ed offering.
In my experience, one of the biggest challenges facing schools is reaching students to connect them to the right health, wellness and insurance programs they need, said Conway. We want to make health and wellness a priority, alongside school staff, so students reach their academic goal of graduation. And we want to make sure campuses and their staff's insurance needs aren't overlooked. This new program will bring a whole campus solution to schools and I couldn't be more thrilled to join Venbrook and bring this program to market.
"We are excited about the launch of our Higher Ed division and bringing Mike on board to grow our platform," said Myers. "The market is in need of a holistic approach to insurance for schools, students, and faculty. Our investments in infrastructure and the build out of our new technology platform will help alleviate the administrative burden for schools, while providing a seamless solution for students."
About Venbrook®
Venbrook Group, LLC is a holdings company with subsidiaries engaged in retail broking, wholesale broking, specialty programs, and claims services. Venbrook caters to a national client base across myriad industries with divergent needs. Venbrook's team of experts and industry specialists' partner with their clients to manage their risks, create security, promote growth and add value by delivering best-in-class insurance products and programs.
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Continuing Education
PR Newswire | October 05, 2023
Ellucian, the leading higher education technology solutions provider, today announced a strategic partnership with Portare Solutions, a leading change management consultancy in the United Kingdom with more than 32 years of experience, to accelerate, support and enhance the transition to Software as a Service (SaaS) student information systems for higher education institutions in the UK and Ireland.
Portare Solutions has extensive experience in leading change associated with student information system projects, and has designed a framework with Ellucian to focus on cultural change. It will play a pivotal role in transforming institutions' business processes to ensure they make the most out of new technology solutions, supporting staff in adapting the way they work and de-risking projects.
We're thrilled to partner with Portare Solutions, a standout leader in change management support. Their expertise and unique approach will play a crucial role in managing the change associated with student information system SaaS projects, said Jeff Dinski, Chief Strategy and Corporate Development Officer, Ellucian. This partnership underscores our commitment to providing the best possible service to our customers, helping them navigate transformation, support their staff, and get the most out of their technology investment.
"We are delighted to partner with Ellucian, a global leader in higher education SaaS solutions, to help institutions achieve their goals," said Krissi Sanft, Co-Founder and Managing Director, Portare Solutions. "This partnership is a natural fit, as we share a common vision for the future of higher education. We are confident that together, we can make a real difference in the lives of students and faculty."
"Through the partnership, Ellucian and Portare Solutions will together provide institutions with the tools and resources they need to leverage the best from new technologies," added Tilden Lamb, Co-Founder and Managing Director, Portare Solutions.
For more information about Portare Solutions, visit: https://portaresolutions.com/. For more information on Ellucian solutions, visit: https://www.ellucian.com/ or contact matt.searles@ellucian.com
About Portare Solutions
Portare Solutions is a leader in change and transformation helping organisations to mature change capability and management processes to enable strategic evolution. We are committed to tangibly assisting our clients to achieve the best results and put strategic initiatives into action. Everything we do is centred around change and transformation and we have significant experience in the implementation of education technology in the higher education sector. As well as this, we support our clients across a number of connected business areas including business technology and data strategy, organisational design and operating model, portfolio and programme design and delivery, change as a service, assurance services and we can help to build flexible and permanent skill sets and teams. We work through partnership and we live by our values; trust, integrity and transparency.
About Ellucian
Ellucian powers innovation for higher education, partnering with more than 2,900 customers across 50 countries, serving 22 million students. Fueled by decades of experience with a singular focus on the unique needs of learning institutions, the Ellucian platform features best-in-class SaaS capabilities and delivers insights needed now and into the future. These solutions and services span the entire student lifecycle, including data-rich tools for student recruitment, enrollment, and retention to workforce analytics, fundraising, and alumni engagement. Ellucian's innovative solutions, vast ecosystem of partners and user community of more than 45,000 provides best practices leading to greater institutional success and achieving better student outcomes.
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Talent Development
PR News Wire | August 31, 2023
Instructure, the leading learning platform and maker of Canvas, today announced that the Alabama Community College System (ACCS), the system of public community colleges in Alabama, has selected the Canvas learning management system (LMS) as part of a major statewide initiative to transform and modernize its learning experience and increase student success. By unifying the learning experience on Canvas LMS along with Canvas Studio, Impact by Instructure and Canvas Credentials, educators across the state can access foundational, evidence-based edtech solutions to support their instruction.
Comprised of 24 community and technical colleges, ACCS offers 2-to-4-year transfer, dual enrollment, technical training, adult education and community education for Alabama residents. In 2021 ACCS expanded its usage of Canvas to 12 member institutions. After a successful implementation, increased student access due to a robust mobile application, increased reliability due to decreased downtime and an improved user experience, ACCS now expands its investment by choosing a statewide deployment of Instructure Learning Platform solutions.
The proposed solution, which is backed by research and ensures a consistent learning experience across the state, provides a proven approach to extending access at scale. The statewide implementation of the Instructure Learning Platform solutions will be available to all ACCS students by fall of 2024.
The statewide implementation is a key milestone for Chancellor Jimmy H. Baker, whose efforts to modernize and streamline operations has improved the department's focus on the needs of higher education students. By scaling operations, including information security, IT and a consolidated approach to edtech, ACCS can now address challenges in a more effective and efficient manner.
"Anything that Alabama's community and technical colleges can do to consistently deliver higher education and training in an accessible way that leads our residents to finding their best success is why we exist," said Baker. "We have seen through our academic programs and work-based learning programs, such as Skills for Success and Alabama Career Essentials, that a resident's ability to start their student experience on one platform opens the door to a wealth of other training opportunities throughout our community and technical colleges across the state."
"ACCS and the state of Alabama are taking a giant leap forward with accessibility as they address learning deserts, or areas where students traditionally have less access to educational resources and opportunities," said Steve Daly, CEO of Instructure. "We're honored to play a significant role in elevating student success and amplifying the power of teaching throughout Alabama."
Alongside Canvas, ACCS students will benefit from Impact by Instructure, a data and analytics solution that improves adoption and evaluates the impact of edtech. Educators and administrators can use these insights to make informed decisions and evolve educational offerings to best suit the needs of students. With access to this timely data, ACCS can help students accelerate the completion of programs and enable them to take any program at any institution statewide. Extending needed educational moments to students in every circumstance will lead to a new generation of educated learners previously excluded. "As a unified system of community colleges, utilization of a common Learning Management System makes sense," said Cynthia Anthony, President of Lawson State Community College. "One of our goals is to eliminate barriers that hinder seamless student experiences. I think a single LMS is a win-win for our students and colleges. We must look at the big picture and remain laser-focused on student success."
The ACCS investment further magnifies the impact of the ACCS Innovation Center, an ambitious effort bringing together the state's community colleges, business, industry and community partners to deliver rapid, industry-recognized non-credit training within some of the state's most in-demand career fields. Adding Canvas Credentials to the training programs will play a key role in allowing learners to demonstrate skill mastery in a competitive workforce.
"The strategic decision for the Alabama Community College System to have a standardized Learning Management System will simplify the learning process for students that take classes at different community colleges or transfer to another system college, which is significant," said Todd Shackett, President of Southern Union State Community College. "Additionally, it will allow colleges to more easily share faculty and curriculum across schools for better service and more efficiency."
This far-reaching program serves as a model for other states seeking to address complex problems prevalent in modern learning environments, such as equitable access and student engagement. By implementing an all-Canvas Higher Education system throughout the state, Alabama promotes continuity and a consistent mobile-ready learning experience which shrinks learning deserts. The Instructure Learning Platform brings together students, instructors, and tools for a familiar digital learning environment in the physical, blended, or online classroom.
ABOUT INSTRUCTURE
Instructure is an education technology company dedicated to elevating student success, amplifying the power of teaching, and inspiring everyone to learn together. Today the Instructure Learning Platform, comprised of its flagship product Canvas LMS and several products serving K-12 and higher education, supports tens of millions of educators and learners around the world.
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