Timecruiser introduces ad-supported portals for K-12 and higher ed

Internet Strategies for Education Markets: The Heller Report, Jan, 2000

Timecruiser Computing Corp.(TCC, Fairfield, NJ) has taken their experience with web-based scheduling and community utilities into two free portals for education markets: SchoolCruiser (www.schoolcruiser.com) for K-12 schools and Cam pusCruiser (www.CampusCruiser.com) for colleges. Both services provide secure environments hosted on TCC servers. Advertising revenue supports the offering.

Both products serve as an intranet with school news, information and activities, as well as integration with some administrative systems. TCC is partnered with Datatel, and the deepest administrative integration is available to campuses' using Datatel systems.

CampusCruiser also allows for class management with course information and interaction for activities such as online tutoring via one-on-one session and virtual office hours. There are also areas for clubs and teams. The service also offers personalized pages, chat on campus or with other students using CampusCruiser, news, lifetime e-mail, and to-do lists. TCC aims to relieve pressure on school information systems by having the majority of information reside on remote TCC servers.

Allen Wang, president, says he strives to offer a universal point of entry for students and will be partnering with content and utility providers. He also intends to have the portals serve as distribution channels for online educational content. The most notable content partner to date is the New York Times for a news feed. He is currently in talks with a company he identifies as a high profile educational publisher. For SchoolCruiser, Wang says the company plans to work with Honor Society students to provide online academic assistance.

Pages carry clickable banner ads, and Wang says the company's approach to revenue sharing is unique. SchoolCruiser and Cam pusCruiser ad revenue is dependent on usage, and the system can track clicks per institution. Each school gets a share of revenue back that is proportional to their collective number of page views. Wang can not disclose the percentage rebated to schools. Both services carry national and localized advertising reached through a combination of internal sales people and other media sales channels. Ads can be targeted by age group. Schools are encouraged to find local sales leads.

Wang estimates that 30% of K-12 schools are opposed to banner ads, 40% are unsure, and 30% are readily receptive. He'll focus on the quick win early on. Higher education is more receptive. Both audiences will have an option of licensing a commercial-free version. Wang believes that advertising policies and a growing recognition that schools are crowded with commercial messages on playing fields and bulletin boards will broaden acceptance of ad-supported web services.

E-commerce is a likely future revenue source, says Wang, but he doesn't want to overwhelm users early on. Use of the products beyond pilots will begin with the spring semester. Participation in the SchoolTone alliance will help the product reach K-12 schools, and the co-marketing partnership with Datatel provides TCC's strongest reach into higher education.

Timecruiser was founded in 1995 and launched Timecruiser, a web-based scheduling utility, in 1997. Sales of that product led them to an understanding of needs within educational environments. TCC plans to extend the portal model to other Timecruiser markets, particularly corporate, travel, government and healthcare. The company is privately funded.