Higher One Announces Partnership with Blackboard Inc.
July 19, 2002, Washington, DC – Higher One, a leading provider of customized private label and one card banking solutions to higher education institutions, and Blackboard Inc., the leading software infrastructure company for e-Education, have signed a partnership agreement that will make the companies’ systems interoperable through Blackboard’s Building Blocks Program.
Under the agreement, the two companies are developing an interface between the Higher One system and the Blackboard Transaction System™ that will enable their joint clients to utilize both systems seamlessly. This new solution creates a simple one card solution for students, faculty and staff on campuses and allows them to extend the functionality and convenience of their student financial services, including checking and debit accounts to off-campus merchants.
“We are pleased to be working with Blackboard to provide this value added service to the higher education market,” said Walter Hinckfoot, National Sales Vice President of Higher One, Inc. “This partnership will greatly enhance the functionality of one card solutions for its users and provide universities with significant cost savings in areas such as financial disbursements. I look forward to speaking to all current Blackboard customer to explore our unique solution.”
“The integration of the Higher One system with the Blackboard Transaction System will be a significant benefit to our higher education clients,” said Jim Hermens, General Manager of Blackboard Transaction Systems. “We are very pleased to see Higher One join the increasing number of companies extending the functionality of the Blackboard platform and improving the range of services to all campus constituents.”
About Blackboard Inc.
Blackboard Inc. was founded to transform the Internet into a powerful environment for education. The company offers a complete suite of enterprise software products and services that power a total “e-Education Infrastructure” for schools, colleges, universities and other education providers. Blackboard solutions deliver the promise of the Internet for online teaching and learning, campus communities, auxiliary services and integration of Web-enabled student services and back office systems.
Blackboard’s Learning, Community Portal and Transaction Systems are consistently ranked by industry analysts as the market share and customer satisfaction leaders for thousands of academic institutions and a leading number of the Internet’s most popular consumer education sites. The company is headquartered in Washington, D.C., with offices and staff across North America, Europe and Asia. Visit www.blackboard.com for more information.
About Higher One
Higher One provides customized private label and one card banking relationships to higher education institutions. The company’s solutions help university partners reduce administrative costs, streamline business processes, increase revenue opportunities, improve the student experience, and strengthen the campus community. The company is led by a team of executives with backgrounds in higher education, finance, banking, and entrepreneurship. Fred Frank, Vice Chairman of Lehman Brothers, John Griswold, VP for External Communications for the Commonfund, and other leaders in higher education and finance serve as advisors to the company. David Cromwell, former CEO of JP Morgan Capital, and Greg Baroni, President Unisys Global Public Sector, serve on Higher One’s board.