CAMBRIDGE, MA–September 5, 2001–At Bluffton College, they have transformed the science of getting people together into an art. "Bluffton is committed to a 'people-first' approach to integrating technology, in that we are always working to implement strategies and tools that support our distinctive liberal arts mission and values," Hans Houshower, Bluffton's Director of Technology, notes. Given Bluffton's enthusiastic commitment to making technology an important part of the liberal arts experience and the fact that Yahoo! ranked Bluffton among the nation's top 60 most wired colleges, it's no surprise that the college turned to Jenzabar to support its core academic programs and a novel team-based learning program.

	Bluffton College

In the fall of 2000, the college acquired Jenzabar's Teams 2000 and Jenzabar.com uniquely integrated portal, course management, and administrative software. Indeed, Jenzabar, according to Bluffton faculty is one of the "great things" happening there today and an everyday practice in Bluffton's special Learning Circles Program, a team-based learning experience that integrates technology skills across the curriculum.

Team-based learning works this way. Faculty and students divide into teams of five (one faculty member and four students), who then use everything Jenzabar has to offer to develop their own learning programs. The college provides team members with a portable computer, which makes it possible for them to connect anywhere on campus. The small campus has more than 16,500 network connections in classrooms, residence halls, and common areas.

Dr. Peter Terry

Team members use discussion forums regularly. The Learning Circles forum is the recognized place to post questions and respond, and forum participation is a class requirement. "With this collaborative teaching-learning approach, all team members must register their thoughts online," Dr. Peter Terry, Bluffton's Director of Instructional Technology states. "Many bright, articulate people need time to think things over before participating. With the Jenzabar forum, they have time to come up with intelligent contributions that influence the entire class." In addition, Terry uses these student postings to develop additional topics for online and classroom discussion.

Peter Terry also notes that Jenzabar is a significant asset in helping Bluffton achieve its goal of engaging a new generation of students more effectively in the learning process. "We love to use Jenzabar with first-year students, because it's what they always dreamed college would be like - immediate access to information through media, web, audio, streaming right into the classroom.

"Before we purchased Jenzabar, we tested another online system," Dr. Terry remembers. "It was sluggish, and online discussions were not intuitive. We piloted courses using some other course management systems, but they didn't offer everything we were looking for. Jenzabar has met our needs in all major respects. It's difficult to get everyone to agree on one product, but I believe that our faculty members are realizing the value of one-click student access to standardized course resources integrated with our student information system. Jenzabar offers exceptional power for an affordable investment in both technical training and financial resources."

There really is no I in Team; at Bluffton College, however, there definitely is a J.

About Bluffton College
Originally known as Central Mennonite College, Bluffton was founded in 1899. Noah C. Hirschy, the first president, issued a call to action that has resonated throughout the past century in Northwest Ohio. "Let us expect great things!" Today, committed to both academic excellence and technology learning solutions, Bluffton College is ranked in the top tier of Midwestern liberal arts colleges by U.S. News and World Report. Bluffton students (just over 1,000) benefit from the school's intimate community atmosphere and values. Students enroll at Bluffton to pursue a wide range of interests, a total of 38 different majors.

About Jenzabar, Inc.
By improving the exchange of information through powerful business intelligence applications and services, Jenzabar's Internet enterprise software, e-learning solutions, and services deliver a competitive edge to higher education institutions. Dedicated to supporting and enhancing the educational community, Jenzabar's business units serve 700 higher education institutions worldwide, including students, professors, and administrators from private liberal arts, medical, law, state, and community colleges. Institutions employing Jenzabar solutions include The Claremont Colleges, Colby College, Daytona Beach Community College, William Mitchell College of Law, Governors State University, Bluffton College, Florida Southern College, Bay de Noc Community College, Berry College, and Harvard Medical School.

Jenzabar's offerings include Web-based enterprise software with student, institutional advancement, human resources, and financial applications; e-learning solutions; and a higher education enterprise information portal (EIP). Founded in 1998, Jenzabar is headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and currently employs more than 300 people in regional offices across the United States.