NC Community Colleges and SAS Launch Pilot Program for Online Learning in Higher Education

Business Wire, Oct 23, 2006

All 58 Public Community Colleges in the State to Receive Access to SAS inSchool([R]) Curriculum Pathways([R]) for Higher Education

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- SAS, the leader in business intelligence, and the North Carolina Community College System announced an innovative online learning pilot at the Conference for Information Technology today, held by the League of Innovation for Community Colleges. The pilot will provide Curriculum Pathways for Higher Education, a newly released, robust array of digital learning content for e-learners in colleges and universities, to the state's 58 public community colleges. Curriculum Pathways provides Web-based educational content that adult learners can access from any place with an Internet connection.

Martin Lancaster, North Carolina Community College System President, said this program will vastly improve the learning potential of students. "The SAS inSchool Curriculum Pathways higher education resources are ideal for community colleges. They are a good fit for developmental, basic skills and GED courses - areas that are a current focus for online course development and support," said Lancaster. "Our curriculum instructors are excited about the ease of use and ability to quickly integrate Curriculum Pathways resources into online and hybrid courses."

Community colleges will use these online resources in developmental classes and in traditional courses in core subject areas. To support the rollout of the program, SAS began a series of training workshops for community college staff developers across the state last month.

Curriculum Pathways offers a wealth of resources in developmental courses and covers the core disciplines of English, mathematics, history, science and Spanish. Key features include innovative integration of technology and curriculum; research-validated instructional techniques; learner-centered activities with measurable outcomes; and InterActivities, online simulations, multimedia resources and innovative tools that engage learners and target critical thinking skills.

With thousands of customers in more than 33 states, Curriculum Pathways is now in use in K-12 education, universities, and community and technical colleges throughout the country.

"Curriculum Pathways is widely used in leading districts across the country because it appeals to the digital natives in this computer-savvy generation through its interactivity, ease of use and accessibility," said Kathy Lee, General Manager, SAS Education and Medical Practice. "Technology and the Internet are so integrated into our lives that it only makes sense that we use them to improve the education process."

About the NCCCS

The North Carolina Community College System is the state's primary provider of technical and occupational training and adult education, enrolling 800,000 students in 58 comprehensive community colleges. The colleges are conveniently located throughout the state to support economic growth through education, and the use of distance learning has grown exponentially over the last few years.

About SAS

SAS is the leader in business intelligence software and services. Customers at 40,000 sites use SAS software to improve performance through insight into vast amounts of data, resulting in faster, more accurate business decisions; more profitable relationships with customers and suppliers; compliance with governmental regulations; research breakthroughs; and better products. Only SAS offers leading data integration, intelligence storage, advanced analytics and business intelligence applications within a comprehensive enterprise intelligence platform. Since 1976, SAS has been giving customers around the world THE POWER TO KNOW([R]). www.sas.com

SAS and all other SAS Institute Inc. product or service names are registered trademarks or trademarks of SAS Institute Inc. in the USA and other countries. [R] indicates USA registration. Other brand and product names are trademarks of their respective companies.[c] 2006