Dive Brief:
- Blackboard has acquired Blue Canary, a predictive analytics company that helps higher education institutions access data-driven insights to address student outcomes.
- The Washington Business Journal reports the acquisition is the second this year for Blackboard, which acquired X-Ray Analytics in July, even though the company had a second round of layoffs this fall.
- Blue Canary focuses on collecting data to aid in student retention, adding power to what Blackboard CEO Jay Bhatt calls a “robust analytics portfolio.”
Dive Insight:
The latest acquisition bulks up Blackboard’s already growing analytics division as the company works to help colleges and universities take greater advantage of big data in the name of student success. In many cases institutions are being forced to pay more attention to student outcomes because of scrutiny by state and federal government officials. More money is tied to outcomes, meaning colleges and universities have to figure out what leads to student success. Early warning systems are becoming common on campuses, giving them ways to alert students and on-campus supports about academically dangerous habits before it’s too late to recover. Ivy Tech and Purdue are among the schools taking advantage of data, both in different ways.