Each year, Blackbaud holds informative conferences for The Raiser's Edge and other conferences for nonprofits in North America - one in Ottawa, Canada on May 13-15 and the other in Charleston, South Carolina on November 15-18.

Sessions for these events are either general in nature, directly related to Blackbaud donor management and enrollment management software solutions, while others are developed around specific issues nonprofits face.

Attendees of these conferences travel from across the United States and Canada. The Ottawa conference is expected to draw 300+ attendees while the Charleston conference is expected to have around 1100 people attend.

We're looking for energetic speakers, those who are interactive in their presentation, involving the audience in their session. Speakers are encouraged to attend the entire conference - a complimentary ticket to all events is provided to the speaker at no charge.

To learn more, visit our speaker's resource page and fill out an application.

Deadline to apply for submissions to this year's conference is March 27th.

Simplify administrative tasks and make grading a breeze with teacher grading software and online student information solutions from Blackbaud.

Registrar's Office software from Blackbaud is a comprehensive student information system for both teachers and administrators, who can easily look at attendance, discipline and academic records all in one place. Criteria can be pre-determined to automate class scheduling.

A good report card software component makes short work of printing grade reports. And, this K-12 information system integrates with other Blackbaud products, avoiding duplicate information.

This integration also allows certain components of this online student information system to be used over a network. Teachers can access a web version from anywhere with an Internet connection and avoid full licensing fees.

Check out these and other benefits of Blackbaud's Registrar Software solutions...effective management of your school can free up time and resources to do the most important job, educating.

Interact with developers and other users of education management solutions from Blackbaud and keep up to date with goings on at the company while enjoying your favorite social networking utility.

Informative technical posts from strategic education software blogs managed by Blackbaud are linked to Blackbaud's home on Facebook. But it's mixed in with happenings at the company, such as their charitable activities at company headquarters in Charleston, South Carolina.

Pics from company events and Blackbaud employees helping to make the world a better place around the world, from Charleston to Sydney to Indianapolis to London are there.

But the biggest benefit of all is the opportunity to interact with other Blackbaud users and developers and get to know their lighter side too!

Next time you're on Facebook, become a fan of your favorite enrollment management software company.

The current global financial crisis is trickling down to the individual states' strategic enrollment management and education budgets. The situation varies around the country but "...not so many at one time" according to William T. Pound of the National Conference of State Legislatures.

Falling tax revenues and rising budget deficits have caused many states to cut their education budgets this year. The situation is particularly bad in California where frozen credit markets have made it more difficult to borrow operating cash through bonds. The state has been able to meet its current needs but has signaled that it may need to ask for a $7 billion loan from the federal government.

Maryland Governor Patrick O'Malley is trying to plug a $1 billion budget deficit and has resigned that education cuts will have to be made. In Hawaii, $46 million had to be cut from a $2.1 billion K-12 budget. For 2008, Florida had to cut its education budget by $182 million and further cuts are anticipated.

Other states such as Virginia have been able to avoid cuts to education thus far but as the financial crisis drags on, they are looking at some tough decisions. Governor Tim Kaine has avoided education cuts as he tries to close his $1 billion deficit but may be looking to the K-12 budget for the 2010 budget year.

The one bright spot is Texas, where high natural gas and oil prices have buoyed that state's economy. "I suspect we are in better shape than some states," said Debbie Ratcliffe, a spokeswoman for the Texas Education Agency.

The economic situation across the United States is making itself known is very real ways. School administrators need effective enrollment management solutions that can help maintain quality on a leaner budget, which could get even leaner before things improve.

Soon, campuses across the U.S. will be bustling with thousands of freshmen and new graduate students that were successfully recruited by your institution. If you’re like this graduate admissions administrator, seeing the end product of that effort is a rewarding thing.

With the U.S. economy on shaky ground, many people are looking to enhance their skills through going back to school or continuing on. 2009 may well be a record year for applications in many disciplines.

The Education Edge school admissions software is a great tool to have, including such valuable benefits as:

- Easily identify your best applicants, where they are in the process, and how many "open" applications you have.
- Track demographics, test scores, transcripts, and compile financial aid information in one easy to access, central location.
- A professional image through networking with colleagues communicating with applicants and prospects online seeking information regarding your institution.

Admissions recruiting and processing can sometimes be a mundane and grueling task. School admissions solutions from Blackbaud can make the process easier and more rewarding in the end, however.

The Associated Press is reporting the U.S. Department of Education's decision to allow six states to develop their own plans when dealing with failing schools in order to comply with the No Child Left Behind Act, a key part of President Bush's education policy.

The six states, which include Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Illinois, Maryland, and Ohio, presented plans to the Education Department that were tailored made to focus on individual schools' problems and direct resources to where they're needed most.

Education Secretary Margaret Spellings commented that up to 10 states will be allowed to participate in the pilot programs. Other proposals are planned to be reviewed this fall.

In an interview, Spellings commented that activities in these states will be closely monitored and will be used to shape any future reauthorizations of the No Child law.

With this new flexibility, school administrators in these 6 states and any others approved in the future will be able to better utilize various enrollment management and online learning solutions to improve their schools.

"We're trying to set the table for a strong and sensible reauthorization," Spellings said. "We're going to learn some things."

In the 2009-10 school year, public school enrollment will surpass 50 million students for the first time in the nation's history according to The Condition of Education 2008, a recently released report from the National Center for Education Statistics at the U.S. Department of Education.

The center is projecting through 2017, expecting numbers of elementary and secondary school students to grow to just over 54 million. Educational software solutions will need to keep pace with this growth in order for their to be effectiveness in administering the education system

At a May 29 news conference, NCES commissioner Mark S. Schneider provided a summary of the report's finding, one of which is the growing diversity of the student population.

In 1972, 22% of public of school students were considered to be from an ethnic or racial minority group. That number had nearly doubled to 43% by 2006. And while the number of students whose second language in English swelled from 9% of the school-aged population in 1979 to 20% in 2006, the proportion of those that has difficulty speaking English outside the home decreased from 34% in 1979 to 25% in 2006.

Another highlight of the report was the decrease in students enrolled in special education programs, private schools, but an increase in the proportion of students whose parent(s) has obtained at least a Bachelors degree.

While the report is strictly figures and numbers and does not address the issues surrounding the state of the education system, it can be helpful for school administrators and school management software professionals in developing technology solutions to meet growing demands.

Whether you have just joined the Blackbaud family or need a refresher on the numerous features of our software, many classes and resources are available. Being properly trained through one of the following options is the best way to ensure you get the most from your investment in Blackbaud's educational software solutions.

1. Classroom training at Blackbaud Headquarters in Charleston, South Carolina

Courses are available in a wide range of Blackbaud educational, fundraising, and data management software products. Plus you will have the benefit of visiting one of the most leisurely and historic cities in the United States.

2. Regional training available in 50 cities across the United States and Canada.

Just like traveling to our facility in Charleston, regional training sessions are held in state-of-the-art facilities. Each student is provided with their own workstation for hands-on learning.

3. Distance learning options available for busy professionals.

Can't travel anywhere? Distance learning can help you just like our in-class options. Instructor-led classes are available in an interactive, live group setting along with the eLearning library which provides self-paced online software lessons.

While these courses and resources can be purchased individually, Blackbaud recognizes organizations have budget constraints but also need a well-trained, passionate staff. For one affordable yearly fee, Blackbaud Training Pass offers unlimited classroom, regional, and distance learning courses along with unlimited access to the eLearning library.

Users of Blackbaud school administrative software or any of their other services can connect with other users through the Blackbaud User Society. Maintained by volunteers, it was developed by Blackbaud users to provide an informational resource separate from the company itself.

The user society includes many items that help school and non-profit administrators maximize the usefulness of their software products. Forums are available for each of Blackbaud's products, including the Raiser's Edge, Education Edge, Intelligence Edge, etc. Users can post questions regarding specific issues that are then addressed by others.

For instance, one recent post was from a college administrator having a difficult time importing test scores into their Blackbaud database. With a quick post to the forum, they received many helpful responses to their inquiry.

The Blackbaud User Society also includes news releases from the company and other topics of interest - with RSS feed capability so users can have those directly downloaded to their desktops.

Another great feature of the society is the user suggestion area. Each year, members from the society meet with developers from Blackbaud to share their insights and suggestions for making their products better. Suggestions are organized into several different categories and ranked by other users.

While the user society is free, you must create an account to fully utilize the site.

Students today rely almost entirely on the Internet to search for schools, submit applications, and communicate with prospective professors and student peers. And with the economic slowdown resulting in budget reductions for many institutions, more cost-effective avenues to recruit students must be considered. In addition, it can help students relate to your school better when you show up right where they go to find information.

Improve organic search engine rankings through Search Engine Optimization

Incorporating search engine optimization (SEO) into admissions and recruiting websites provides an edge when potential candidates are beginning to examine their options. To take advantage of the benefits of SEO, important keywords should be identified that are incorporated into the text along with consistent updating of content, which can be helped by using blogs, press releases, and/or newsletters.

Pursue in-bound linking relationships in an organic manner, to demonstrate to the search engines that your site is considered an authority. In addition, you will need to ensure the architecture of your web site is optimized, or all that wonderful content you are adding will not even be indexed.

Depending on your site, you may begin seeing higher search engine rankings for your relevant keywords within a couple weeks - or it could take 6 months or longer.

For faster visibility, pay-per-click (PPC) ads listed through Google or Overture can be a good tool during peak recruiting times.

Network where today's tech savvy youth hangout, on social networking sites

Another method for schools to increase their Web presence is through the ever-growing social networking medium. A profile for a particular program or institution as a whole can be created on MySpace or Facebook for no cost, giving you the ability to reach thousands of high school and undergraduate students.

One particular social networking site, Zinch, is specifically made for students and admissions counselors to interact slightly more in-depth than traditional name, GPA, and test score environments. Recruiters can better narrow their searches rather than sending thousands of e-mails, resulting in open rates 3 times higher than blanket e-mail campaigns, as reported in one recent effort at Butler University.

SEO and social networking can be valuable components for admission recruiting along with student recruiting software solutions, to help your institution draw the best and brightest to fill the ranks.