Blackboard is the leading provider of learner-success-focused technology solutions and services, serving over 16,000 clients across 90 countries reaching 100 million users. Its product portfolio spans teaching and learning, analytics, community engagement, campus transactions, and security solutions, as well as student services.

"We are proud that institutions around the world continued to select Blackboard as their partner in driving learner success," said Bill Ballhaus, Chairman, CEO and President of Blackboard. "We work hard every day to provide industry-leading solutions and are encouraged by the great results our partners are achieving."

Strong growth across North America

With excellent understanding of the world of the learner and great capacity for innovation, clients continued to select Blackboard as their preferred partner in change. Highlights in 2016 include

• Universities chose Blackboard Learn, the company's flagship learning-management system (LMS), as their preferred method to deliver a rich learning environment for students. One example of a new large client is the North Dakota University System, which serves over 47,000 students. Blackboard is also transitioning clients to the cloud, while simultaneously remaining committed to its self-hosted and managed-hosted deployment options. More than 100 clients are running live on SaaS (Software as a Service), with an additional 100 running tests and evaluations.
• Over a dozen new institutions selected Blackboard's Analytics solutions to help them identify and overcome barriers to student success and keep learners on track for graduation. These institutions are utilizing Blackboard's data and performance analytics to increase enrollment, student retention, and learner engagement. New customers include Chapman University, Northwest Florida State University, Texas A&M University–Corpus Christi, and Bellevue University.
• Blackboard's Student Lifecycle Services division helped over 250 higher-education institutions advance student success through student marketing, enrollment management, and student support and retention. Partners include The George Washington University, George Mason University, Georgetown University, Ivy Tech Community College, Kent State University, and Wichita State University.

Blackboard supports many of the largest K-12 schools and districts across the country, helping them to deliver a more personalized learning experience, provide safe and secure learning environments, and increase parent and community engagement. New and expanded partnerships include

• Washington Learning Source, a statewide program developed by Washington's nine regional Educational Service Districts, selected Blackboard Collaborate as one of its synchronous-learning solutions.
• Michigan City Area Schools in Indiana expanded their use of the Blackboard Personalized Learning Solution from their high schools to the lower grades and will leverage Blackboard Professional Development to ensure the success of their digital-learning initiative.

Corporate and government organizations continued to partner with Blackboard to transform their learning-and-development programs into an engaging experience. One such corporation is Arise Virtual Solutions Inc., which is using Blackboard Learn and Blackboard Collaborate to deliver on-demand virtual learning resources through enhanced browser-based capabilities.

In addition, the Blackboard Transact division continued to enhance the student experience and increase student engagement on and off campus through the delivery of leading transaction, security, attendance, and payments solutions. This year, Blackboard further expanded its commitment to education by acquiring Sequoia Retail Systems and Higher One Holding Inc.'s CASHNet business. These acquisitions added college-store management solutions and online tuition payment and related payment plans to Blackboard's portfolio of solutions. New clients include Austin Peay State University, Coppin State University, Pfeiffer University, University of California-Davis, University of the Cumberlands, and University of North Alabama, among others.

International expansion

Blackboard's international footprint continued to grow by adding new clients and renewing long-standing partnerships, including

• Norwegian University of Science and Technology, the largest public research university in Norway, selected Blackboard Learn as its new teaching and learning platform for all 39,000 students. Throughout the review process, Blackboard was the vendor that best met the institution's needs and requirements for openness, flexibility, and usability.
• Instituto Tecnológico de Buenos Aires, one of the leading engineering schools in Latin America, selected Blackboard Learn and Blackboard Collaborate in mid-2016 to enhance the educational experience for its students. Based on the successful results achieved, the institution further extended the partnership with the deployment of Blackboard Analytics later in the year.
• Universidad Mariano Gálvez, a Christian University and the largest private higher education institution in Guatemala with a focus on research, selected Blackboard to support its 80,000 students. The adoption of the managed-hosting deployment option of Blackboard Learn together with Blackboard Collaborate will enable learners and staff to achieve their academic goals.
• Teikyo University, based in Tokyo, with over 22,000 students, has renewed its partnership with Blackboard. On top of their implementation of Blackboard Learn, the institution is also moving to a managed-hosting deployment, leveraging Blackboard's expertise in providing superior customer support and services.

Blackboard's open-source-based LMS, Moodlerooms, continued to deliver rapid growth in 2016 and boasted a nearly 90 percent customer-satisfaction rate. New clients include Cancer Council Victoria, Copenhagen Business Academy, Opetustarvike Oy, Pompeu Fabra University, University of Warwick's School of Modern Languages and Cultures, and Lyceum of the Philippines University.