Army awards giant distance-learning deal

From...

by Lisa Shuchman

(IDG) -- In the war being waged over the distance-learning market, the battle for the minds -- and pockets -- of the U.S. Army is over. Consulting company PricewaterhouseCoopers has won.

For months, distance-education providers have been competing for a lucrative contract that would give them the right to deliver distance-learning courses to U.S. soldiers. On Friday, Secretary of the Army Louis Caldera announced that the Army is awarding the $453 million contract to PricewaterhouseCoopers.

The project, dubbed Army University Access Online, will launch at three Army bases next month. Army officials estimate that 15,000 students will enroll in the program's online education courses next year, and that about 80,000 soldiers will take courses through the program during the next five years.

IDG.net INFOCENTER The Industry Standard Main Page The Standard's Commerce news Sign up for daily news from The Standard The Standard's Company Research Related IDG.net Stories Harvard, Stanford to enroll in e-learning Testing e-learning The ABC's of e-learning Features How to get discovered on the Web What broadband revolution? Napster won't remain the same Visit an IDG site Choose a site: IDG.net CIO Computerworld Darwin Dummies.com GamePro.com The Industry Standard ITWorld.com InfoWorld.com JavaWorld LinuxWorld Macworld Online Network World Fusion PC World Publish.com SunWorld IDG.net search

The Army, which along with other military branches, has had a hard time recruiting and retaining soldiers during this time of prosperity, created the distance-learning program as a recruiting and retention tool. Many prospects were rejecting military service, choosing instead to enter the workforce or go to college. The Army believes providing soldiers the ability to learn while they serve will be a strong incentive to enlist.

"This cutting-edge cyberspace program will provide unprecedented educational opportunities for our soldiers," Caldera says.

PricewaterhouseCoopers isn't a name normally associated with college education -- online or otherwise. But the consulting firm will serve as an "integrator" for the project, managing the technology and recruiting colleges to offer courses. The firm already has formed a team of 10 companies and 29 colleges that will work together on the initial offering.

Several other companies hoping to play the "integrator" role had vied for the lucrative contract, which is considered a standard bearer for distance learning and is potentially the largest online education program in the world. Among the losers are IBM (IBM), NCS Pearson, Computer Sciences (CSC) and Electronic Data Systems (EDS).

The PricewaterhouseCoopers team includes such companies as Blackboard, which will provide courseware; PeopleSoft (PSFT), which will coordinate the administrative system; and Compaq, which will supply laptops. Educational institutions that are participating in the effort include Florida State University, Indiana University, Northern Virginia Community College, Pennsylvania State University and the University of Washington.

U.S. Army kick-starts cyberwar machine
November 22, 2000
Navy sails high-tech seas
July 13, 2000
Navies showcase smart-ship technology
July 4, 2000
Army wants to harness power of the Matrix
May 2, 2000
Hacker-controlled tanks, planes and warships?
March 21, 2000

Harvard, Stanford to enroll in e-learning
(Network World Fusion)
Testing e-learning
(InfoWorld.com)
The ABC's of e-learning
(The Industry Standard)
Textbook publishers infiltrate the Net
(The Industry Standard)
E-learning helps truck dispatchers boost skills
(Computerworld)
IT pros give high marks to online universities
(Computerworld)
No more teachers, no more books ...
(The Industry Standard)
Setting the payment standards of online education
(The Industry Standard)

Army University Access Online

Note: Pages will open in a new browser window

External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.