Small Colleges Unite: Edu1world Launches Expert Network for Small College and University Collaboration on Technology Issues

Edu1world announced today the launch of a Small College Collaborative community on edu1world.org specifically for institutions with less than 5,000 FTE. Small schools are greatly challenged by the need to upgrade technology without the resources to plan and execute a cost-effective technology solution. Members of the edu1world community can share ideas, resources and best practices and discuss their challenges with peers and technology experts from around the world. The Small College Collaborative, free to all full time higher education employees, is sponsored by Advantiv Solutions, Cajana, Collegiate Project Services, and The Tambellini Group. Known collectively as The Small College Coalition, the group is in the process of designing a budget-mindful, high ROI package of services designed to address the most pressing technology needs of small institutions.

Irvington, VA (Vocus) November 5, 2009

Edu1world, a Web 2.0 resource and expert network exclusively for higher education employees and vendors who develop, support and work with technology solutions, announced today that they have launched a new community on edu1world.org specifically for institutions with less than 5,000 FTE. Members of the edu1world Small College Collaborative can share ideas, resources and best practices and discuss their challenges with peers and technology experts from around the world. The online community is designed to meet the unique needs of small college and university management teams, most of whom are under enormous pressure to upgrade technology yet lack the resources to plan and execute a transition to a modern, integrated and cost-effective technology environment.

The Small College Collaborative, free to full time higher education employees worldwide, is sponsored by a coalition of four technology service firms committed to serving smaller institutions in a meaningful way. As an expression of their commitment to leave no school underserved, Advantiv Solutions, Cajana, Collegiate Project Services, and The Tambellini Group have formed the Small College Coalition. Not only is the Coalition financially sponsoring the new community on edu1world, but they are combining their resources to design a budget-mindful, high ROI package of services that addresses a broad range of the most pressing small college technology needs – a package that none of the four could deliver alone.

According to Dan Miller, CEO of Advantiv LLC, "Small school management teams face huge challenges, and yet they remain underserved by the consultants and other service providers who are otherwise equipped to help them. The Small School Coalition is comprised of small companies and great people who have decades of experience, a global perspective, and a deep desire to serve smaller institutions."

Without unique packaging and affordable pricing, coordinated and comprehensive technology efforts are practically impossible for small college management teams to achieve. Some of the biggest challenges reported by small colleges include insufficient and shrinking capital and operational budgets; difficulty attracting, training and retaining technical staff; difficulty keeping pace with technological advances and student expectations; excessive spend on software, hardware, and database maintenance; and lack of resources to plan and execute sustainable business process improvements.

“There has never been a greater need for collaboration in support of smaller colleges and universities. As a former Registrar and Director of Admissions, I have seen firsthand the challenges which are unique to small institutions. It is my hope that our coalition will provide opportunities for networking and problem solving,” said Jann Haskins Gillingham, Vice President for Business Development at Collegiate Project Services.

The initial focus of the Small College Coalition will be on cost reduction, revenue enhancement, and ROI optimization. Initial services will include capital and operational budget review and optimization, service and maintenance agreement review and renegotiation, professional development planning, IT performance management planning, technology training design and delivery, IT strategic planning, IT best practices assessment and implementation, and technology application hosting and support.

Says Dan Miller, “So many small schools face growing problems with shrinking budgets. We've succeeded in defining an integrated set of budget-friendly solutions that can be marketed efficiently and delivered in a highly effective way."

Brian Ellis, CEO of Cajana, concurs. “The obstacles to technology adoption and modernization are staggering for small schools, yet it is absolutely necessary for them to compete for and educate top-quality students. Our goal is to reduce or eliminate these barriers to the best of our collective abilities to help small institutions become more efficient and effective.”

Meanwhile, the Small College Coalition will be hosting and actively participating in the edu1world Small College Collaborative online community – providing insights and resources to members, keenly listening for the needs of small college management teams, and looking for ways to reduce costs and support leveraged procurement.

Vicki Tambellini, CEO of The Tambellini Group, is not only a Coalition member but she also founded edu1world.org. “I started edu1world with a vision for cooperation, collaboration and transparency among higher education technology professionals and the vendors who serve them. The Small College Collaborative is the perfect expression of that vision. Our intention with the online Collaborative is to give small colleges a voice and a venue for sharing what works and finding practical solutions to what doesn’t. Our intention with establishing the Small College Coalition is to give small colleges true vendor partners who will respond effectively to their unique challenges.”

Membership in the edu1world Small College Collaborative is free of charge to full time employees of colleges and universities worldwide with 5000 FTE or less. Higher ed members from all institutions, regardless of size, can participate in other communities on edu1world as well including Open Source, Best Practices, Daily Insights, Global News and Market Pulse. They also have access to the edu1world Higher Education Institution Technology Profile Database where they can search for information on peer institutions. Registration is open on edu1world.org 24/7.

For more information about edu1world or the Small College Coalition, contact Vicki Tambellini.

About edu1world
Edu1world LLC is a Web 2.0 resource and expert network exclusively for higher education CIO’s, professionals, faculty, associations, and vendors who develop, support and work with technology solutions. It is a community where members from around the world share lessons learned, research best practices and vendor solutions, learn about technology trends, and access the expert content they need to succeed. The edu1world mission is to deliver a state of the art web 2.0 SaaS application that builds transparency between technology vendors and educational institutions and unites the vendor community with the education industry for the benefit of all.    edu1world.com

About The Tambellini Group
Edu1world is a project of The Tambellini Group, a consultancy providing trusted market insights through innovative tools, high-quality research and industry expertise that minimizes the risks associated with technology purchase decisions, improves vendor-customer relationships, and enables breakthrough results for decision makers who work in or serve the education, government and not-for-profit markets. TTG specializes in Budget Reviews and Service and Maintenance Review and Renegotiation. The Tambellini Group, founded and led by Vicki Tambellini, is headquartered in Irvington, Virginia. TheTambelliniGroup.com

About Advantiv Solutions, LLC
Advantiv Solutions, LLC is a Phoenix-based software and consulting firm. Advantiv provides ERP, CRM, and other enterprise system assessment, requirements definition, and vendor selection tools and services to Public Sector, Higher Education, and Healthcare organizations. Advantiv provides DecisionDirector 3.0, a web-based brainstorming, requirements gathering, stakeholder voting, and vendor evaluation platform that reduces the time, cost and risk of enterprise software and other projects by actively and efficiently involving all project stakeholders throughout the life cycle of the project. Advantiv.com

About Cajana
Cajana provides low-cost, high value technical solutions for enterprise applications exclusively to the public-sector and higher-education environments that reduce both cost and risk associated with enterprise application initiatives. Whether our customers want to maintain their applications in-house or leverage a hosted solution, we provide the technical expertise, best practices, and world-class infrastructure to meet their needs through our application hosting and managed services, education services, and CIO Advisory services. Our unique “Application Incubation” model gives customers the flexibility of hybrid solutions, combining short-term hosting with technical services, allowing our clients to onboard large-scale applications into their environments at their own pace. We are truly Taking Quality to the Next Level. Cajana.com

About Collegiate Project Services
Collegiate Project Services is a project management organization specializing in the higher education market. Collegiate Project Services is unique in its ability to apply both modern project management tools and state-of-the-art organizational development processes in managing information technology and other projects for higher education institutions. Now in its twentieth year, Collegiate Project Services is a group of motivated individuals all sharing a common vision to dramatically improve the use of professional project management tools to manage complex technology projects in higher education. Collegiate Project Services is a division of Cornelius & Associates. CollegiateProjectServices.com

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