The rSmart Group, the leading full-service provider of open source software solutions for education, today announced a new partnership with Embanet, the foremost full service provider of online program design, development, marketing and enrollment and technology support services for postsecondary educational institutions. Together, the two companies will provide a full suite of support options for institutions wishing to power their online learning programs with Sakai, the premier open source course management and collaboration system for higher education. The rSmart/Embanet alliance combines the strengths of these two leading organizations, both of which are committed to providing comprehensive online learning systems via the most powerful open technologies available.
rSmart Group brings to the partnership the rSmart Sakai Collaboration and Learning Environment (CLE)—a feature-rich, fully scalable, enterprise-ready software application unique in its ability to support teaching and learning, project collaboration, group interaction, and ePortfolio construction. The CLE allows institutions to reduce the total cost of ownership of their online learning platform while enabling greater innovation and campus collaboration than are possible with proprietary course management systems.
Embanet adds to the rSmart Sakai platform its expertise in developing, running, and maintaining complete online learning programs. Embanet’s staff provides everything from online program design, course development, and enrollment services to end user (faculty/student) support and world-class technology hosting services. Together, rSmart and Embanet will provide institutions with comprehensive support and services around Sakai to ensure success with critical online learning initiatives.
“rSmart is excited to be working with Embanet to offer end-to-end solutions to the education market. rSmart works closely with the Sakai Community to provide a fully supported version of the Sakai CLE, and the opportunity to combine open source innovation with Embanet’s expertise in the areas of user support and hosting is ideal,” said Tom Chapman, CFO and VP of Business Development at rSmart.
“This solution builds on Embanet’s history of offering the highest quality of hosting and support services for online programs at the most reasonable price,” added Liam Cheung, COO of Embanet. “We are pleased to be able to work with rSmart to offer this comprehensive and open solution.”
About The rSmart Group
The rSmart Group is the leading open source application software company serving the education market. rSmart packages, certifies, deploys, and supports a suite of enterprise financial, collaboration and learning applications for colleges, universities, and institutions serving grades K–12. As an active member of open source projects like Kuali and Sakai, rSmart is able to provide its clients with software applications specifically designed to meet the unique needs of educational institutions. This collaborative approach allows rSmart to offer open source applications that break the dependence of educational institutions on traditional proprietary software vendors. Please visit www.rsmart.com for more information.
About Embanet
Founded in 1995, Embanet is an integrated, full service provider of online program design and development, marketing and enrollment, and technology support services for postsecondary educational institutions. The Company provides mission critical services that allow its clients to generate new revenue streams through the launch of online programs and to effectively deliver technology support services to maximize student satisfaction and retention. Embanet's services allow its clients to focus on their core expertise of building their reputation as leading institutions in higher education. Please visit www.embanet.com for more information.