The George Washington University and Blackboard Inc., have signed an agreement for the transition of the Prometheus project, a course management system developed at GW and adopted by 65 postsecondary institutions, from the University to Blackboard. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Having grown into a freestanding software development operation managed within GW, the agreement with the Washington, D.C.-based Blackboard provides Prometheus with expanded resources to better serve its partner institutions and staff.

The combined company provides educators with expertise in ease-of-use, open systems, community developer relations, enterprise technology and expanded client services.

In addition, approximately 30 percent of Prometheus' university licensees run one of the three systems in Blackboard's e-Education suite -- Blackboard 5: Learning System; Blackboard 5: Community Portal System; and Blackboard: Transaction System.

"We are very pleased to have found Prometheus a home within Blackboard, a Washington, D.C., neighbor and market leader that shares Prometheus' roots in higher education and open systems," said David G. Swartz, chief information officer of The George Washington University. "We have always committed to our partner institutions and internal users that the University would ensure the proper support of Prometheus as the operation grew. We are confident that with 2,200 clients in more than 140 countries, Blackboard has the ideal infrastructure, experience and vision necessary to fulfill that promise."

In addition to GW, institutions using Prometheus include Fathom Knowledge Network Inc., London Business School, Middlebury College, New York University School of Continuing and Professional Studies, Rochester Institute of Technology, Stanford Graduate School of Business, University of Utah, and The Wharton School.

Like Prometheus, Blackboard's product roots are in academe. The company was founded in 1997 at Cornell University and has become the largest e-Education enterprise software company in the market by focusing on enterprise technology, pedagogical effectiveness and ease of use.

"We are confident that this acquisition will deliver value in excess of the sum of the parts to clients, staff, partners and investors," said Steve Hoffman, president and chief operating officer of Blackboard. "This acquisition advances our Building Blocks initiative, expands our client service and technology resources, and adds marquee e-Learning ventures into the fold."

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