Blackboard Enables LIM College to Launch Distance Learning Since 1939, LIM College—Where Business Meets Fashion—has set itself apart from other fashion colleges by focusing on the business of fashion. While other institutions prepare aspiring designers for artistically creative careers, LIM College prepares its graduates to assume leadership roles in fashion and visual merchandising, marketing, and management. As the demands of the industry have changed, so have LIM The Challenge: College’s course offerings. What Cost effectively started as a certificate program support the has grown to include Associ- continuing ate’s and Bachelor’s degrees, as education needs well as a Master’s of Business of alumni Administration degree program with concentrations in manage- ment and entrepreneurship. This as Bachelor’s degrees. However, our enrollment to be traditional, is all in addition to liberal arts, even if such programs were onsite students. This was a unique math and humanities courses. To made available, there were two opportunity to reach out to adult better accommodate its student challenges preventing students learners in a new way.” from attending classes: body of approximately 1,300, the Blackboard LearnTM Addressed college has expanded its physical • They were already juggling All of LIM College’s Needs facilities several times, including busy work schedules in Although other distance learning centralizing and improving its locations all over the country. systems were considered student housing—no small feat in and reviewed, the choice of • Middle- and senior-level the heart of midtown Manhattan. Blackboard Learn for LIM executives’ reputations could be College’s learning system Alumni Advanced the Case damaged if colleagues learned was a “foregone conclusion,” for Distance Learning that they had not already according to Adam Rosen, LIM As undergraduate and ad- earned the degrees usually as- College’s Director of Academic vanced degrees have become sociated with their positions. more common pre-requisites Administration. “We don’t have In addition to wanting to con- for advancement in fashion a lot of in-house expertise or tinue to serve the educational and retail, LIM College gradu- technical infrastructure, so we needs of past graduates, Senior ates who received Associate’s chose to have Blackboard host Vice President for Academic and degrees began contacting the the entire system. We can rely Student Affairs Dr. Jo-Ann Rolle college to request post-degree on Blackboard Managed Hosting said, “We had always considered training and education, as well Services to provide and maintain www.blackboard.com/careercolleges 650 Massachusetts Avenue N.W. Washington DC 20001 1.888.719.6123 all the software, hardware, and • Reinforced relationships with “We had always support—the whole package,” he said. alumni as potential donors considered our Other factors that influenced LIM The availability of online classes has also improved student satisfaction enrollment to College’s decision were the number of successful Blackboard implemen- by freeing them from having to be be traditional, tations at a broad range of academic onsite during the “prime time” 9 am on-site students. institutions and a 90-day trial period to 4 pm timeframe. This is a critical This was a unique that allowed faculty to experiment factor in metropolitan New York with the system. City, where students may commute opportunity to several hours to and from school, reach out to Blackboard Managed Hosting making early morning, late afternoon adult learners in Solution Meant a Trouble-Free and evening classes difficult to a new way.” Launch and Immediate Results attend. An additional benefit is that Once the decision to implement the online classes have increased the Blackboard solution was made, room capacity for other students it took only 30 days to develop the who prefer to attend classes in a Dr. Jo-Ann Rolle LIM College Prior Learning Assess- traditional face-to-face setting. Senior Vice President ment and Portfolio Development for Academic In response to the successful course, which assesses students’ and Student Affairs launch and benefits, Dr. Rolle said, work experience and awards rigor- “Blackboard Learn has helped us ously evaluated academic credit drive additional revenue streams and through distance learning. Shortly define strategies that would not have thereafter, several hybrid courses been possible otherwise.” were also developed. “We had students online within weeks of launching the solution,” said Rosen. He added that even though the college has had problems with its own internal servers, because LIM College is taking advantage of Blackboard Managed Hosting, the learning system has remained unaffected. “Blackboard Learn has helped us The online and hybrid offerings have created numerous benefits: drive additional • Expanded reach without revenue streams additional “bricks and mortar” and define • Immediate access to a new strategies that revenue stream (continuing adult education) with minimal expense would not have • The ability to provide learning been possible opportunities to students unable otherwise.” to attend traditional classes onsite To learn more about Blackboard’s Professional Education Solutions, visit www.blackboard.com/careercolleges or call (888) 719-6123. www.blackboard.com/careercolleges 650 Massachusetts Avenue, NW 6th Floor Copyright © 1997-2010. Blackboard Inc. All rights reserved. Blackboard, the Blackboard logo, BbWorld, Washington, DC 20001 Blackboard Learn, Blackboard Transact, Blackboard Connect, Blackboard Mobile, the Blackboard Outcomes 1-888-719-6123 System, Behind the Blackboard, and Connect-ED are trademarks or registered trademarks of Blackboard Inc. or its subsidiaries in the United States and/or other countries. U.S. Patent Numbers: 6,988,138; 7,493,396, 7,558,853..