Continuing Education
PR Newswire | September 28, 2023
Today, Vernier Science Education, a leading provider of innovative science and STEM education solutions, announced a significant organizational shift that will chart the course for its mission and values for the foreseeable future. The company will evolve from partner-owned to being owned by a Perpetual Purpose Trust. This allows Vernier Science Education to ensure values-aligned ownership succession and uphold its core mission and values indefinitely, ensuring that its social and charitable objectives remain a priority in perpetuity, securing the futures of its valued employees, and reinvesting profits back into the business while sharing benefits with employees, customers, and communities alike.
The Perpetual Purpose Trust is a bold and innovative approach that aligns perfectly with Vernier's vision of serving educators, students, the STEM community, and communities at large. The decision to reevaluate and reimagine Vernier's ownership model and long-term commitment to its mission comes as John Wheeler, the CEO of Vernier Science Education, prepares to step back from day-to-day activities, ushering in a new era of innovation and purpose-driven sustainability for the company.
"Our decision to reevaluate our business and establish a Perpetual Purpose Trust stems from our unwavering commitment to STEM education and sustaining the values and principles that have defined Vernier for decades. This transformational shift will enable us to secure the future of our employees, reinvest in our business, and continue our mission of creating a STEM-literate society," said Wheeler. "I am honored to continue to guide our work during this transition, and I look forward to the remarkable achievements that lie ahead for Vernier Science Education."
Wheeler will remain in his position as CEO until a nationwide search identifies a replacement. He will continue to be active in Vernier Science Education providing guidance and leadership to the organization and supporting the new CEO.
The transition from partner-owned to Trust-owned will be funded by both gifting and purchase of shares from current Partners. Dave and Christine Vernier, the company's co-founders and key figures in its success, will remain actively engaged in the Vernier Science Education family, offering their invaluable insights and support as the company embarks on this exciting new chapter.
"Vernier Science Education has always been driven by a deep commitment to advancing STEM education. As we transition to a Perpetual Purpose Trust, we're reaffirming our dedication to our mission and values, and commitment to staying a local independent Oregon-based company for generations to come," said Dave Vernier. "Christine and I are excited to continue contributing to the Vernier family and witnessing the positive impact this strategic move will have on educators, students, and the STEM community. This is how we pay back the years of success our organization has had and give back to our community."
By establishing a Perpetual Purpose Trust, Vernier Science Education joins other socially-conscious organizations, foundations, and companies committed to long-term sustainability, fostering a sense of purpose that extends far into the future.
About Vernier Science Education
Vernier Science Education is a leading provider of innovative solutions for STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) education. For over four decades, Vernier has been dedicated to supporting educators and inspiring students to explore and understand the world of science. With a commitment to quality, Vernier's comprehensive range of data collection and analysis tools, along with its educational resources, empowers educators to facilitate engaging and hands-on learning experiences. To learn more, visit vernier.com.
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Education Technology
PR Newswire | September 12, 2023
Meazure Learning, a premier provider of full-service test development and delivery solutions for higher education and professional testing, announced today the acquisition of Examity, a leader in online proctoring for academic and credentialing programs. The acquisition allows Meazure Learning to expand its global footprint and strengthen its position as a leading provider of secure, user focused exam administration solutions.
Meazure Learning and Examity share a common commitment to creating the most innovative testing solutions and providing an exceptional client experience. The combination of the companies' extensive expertise in the higher education and credentialing verticals paired with industry-leading secure proctoring technologies and global operational footprint gives Meazure Learning the opportunity to bring a new level of proctoring scale and flexibility to testing programs around the world. By combining these strengths, the company seeks to set a new standard in exam security and provide a better user experience for its clients and test takers.
"I am thrilled at the opportunity Meazure Learning's acquisition of Examity will bring to our clients and the broader industry," said Jim Holm, CEO of Examity. "Examity clients will now have access to leading test development and psychometric services, exam delivery solutions, and a global network of test centers in addition to the powerful combination of our proctoring technologies."
"The acquisition of Examity goes beyond combining the resources of two companies," said Tim McClinton, CEO of Meazure Learning. "Unifying our two companies can position us to set a new standard for security, scalability, and innovation in the testing industry. In addition to the business opportunities created through this transaction, Meazure Learning and Examity share an inherent culture of excellence that makes us a good fit to move forward together. Our teams have been, and will continue to be, maniacally focused on our clients, providing exceptional service and building long-term relationships founded on integrity and innovation."
About Meazure Learning
Meazure Learning provides secure, reliable, and convenient test development, administration, and delivery solutions for academic and professional credentialing programs. The tech-enabled services company combines human expertise with end-to-end software solutions to provide its suite of services and achieve the optimal testing experience. With remote, test center, hybrid, and event-based delivery capabilities, it adapts to the unique needs of each exam program and test-taker. Meazure Learning empowers its clients, test-takers, and industry leaders through its mission to move people forward in their educational, professional, and personal lives. To learn more, visit Meazure Learning at meazurelearning.com.
About Examity
Examity was founded to meet the needs of colleges, employers, and certification providers looking to ensure integrity. Since its founding ten years ago, Examity has partnered with hundreds of institutions and certification programs worldwide to provide a cost-effective and flexible online proctoring and learning validation solution. For more information, visit examity.com.
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Education Technology
PR Newswire | October 19, 2023
D2L, a global learning technology company, today highlighted enhanced Brightspace product features — developed over the past six months — that can help global learners and educators simplify the learning experience by bringing learning solutions together in one place.
I'm thrilled to share that D2L continues to invest in its existing solutions and broaden its portfolio of products, partner solutions and services to assist educators, organizations, and learners in their readiness for the future, said Rajesh Talpade, Senior Vice President of Product Management at D2L. D2L's new and enhanced product features can make it easier than ever to offer effective learning in online and blended environments to help see that learners have the opportunity to succeed.
New D2L Solution for Businesses
Announced in September 2023, D2L introduced a new, all-in-one solution for businesses: D2L for Business. This integrated, easy-to-use corporate solution combines the benefits of an existing network of world-class education providers, skill development solutions, and expert consulting services as an learning experience platform (LXP).
Empowering Learners, Educators and Administrators
Brightspace functionalities and offerings that can provide customers with tools and resources to help enhance outcomes and save time. Brightspace now offers:
Even more Creator+ tools for educators, including: new accessible layouts, expanded types of interactive elements, and a fully accessible hotspot practice question type. This can help enable educators to continue building beautiful and instructionally sound content using familiar Brightspace workflows.
An AI-driven, first line of contexual help and support embedded within Brightspace Brightspace Virtual Assistant.
More datasets and improved data dashboards to help make it easier for educators and businesses to gain insights and understand metrics in their organizations.
Simplifying Workflows
Recent Brightspace updates continue to make workflows more intuitive, efficient, effective and consistent. This includes:
An improved Quiz experience that can offer support for high-stakes exams with strict time limits, support for synchronous quizzing windows, and other improvements.
A familiar and upgraded Discussion experience with workflows to help bring new functionality to educators.
New content authoring functionality to help make it easier to manage both the required and optional course materials. In addition, enhancements to the Media Library are now more user-friendly, with new time-saving indicators to track progress and surface common actions. And, new changes to course merging options that can empower educators and save administrative time.
New self-enrollment enhancements for Brightspace customers that offer professional development opportunities and allow educators to see that learners are enrolling in the right courses.
Uniting a Stronger Ecosystem
D2L has also enhanced its robust learning ecosystem by simplifying access to Brightspace and encouraging new interactions among educators, administrators, and learners. These updates, features and tools include:
An easier, course registration process through Course Merchant, a modern e-commerce experience, whose front-end course catalog and payment and enrollment system is now offered as a D2L product after more than nine years as a key integration partner.
Visualized Brightspace Analytics within Ellucian Experience, help advisors to quickly identify at-risk learners by aggregating Brightspace data with external data to holistically determine appropriate intervention.
Early access to D2L Link, which can connect Brightspace with the systems of record clients use every day. The integrations enabled through D2L Link can help minimize manual tasks and see that data is synchronized between systems.
D2L's new IntegrationHub, built on LTI 1.3. and launched as a new catalog site that lists partner solutions that are available for integrations with Brightpsace. The IntegrationHub makes it easy for Brightspace users to browse D2L's extensive list of integrated technologies and solutions, such as accessibility tools, student information systems, secure proctoring assessment platforms, and many other partner solutions.
For more information on the latest features and updates, please visit What's New at D2L.
About D2L
D2L is transforming the way the world learns—helping learners of all ages achieve more than they dreamed possible. Working closely with clients all over the world, D2L is supporting millions of people learning online and in person. Our growing global workforce is dedicated to making the best learning products to leave the world better than they found it. Learn more about D2L for K-12, higher education and businesses at www.D2L.com.
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