The planned acquisition of Instructure by Thoma Bravo might not take effect as expected. In this uncertain scenario, the Salt Lake City-based educational software company would continue in the stock market, evaluating new strategic options in March – sources told IBL News.
The group of four opposing investors, led by Praesidium Investment, might get a majority vote on the special meeting at Salt Lake City headquarters on February 13.
The dissident shareholders, with over 20% of equity at Instructure, are decided to derail the deal unless they see an improved proposal from Thoma Bravo. They all defend that the $2 billion deal – which is about six times Instructure’s expected 2020 revenue – undervalues Instructure.
Currently, equity firm Thoma Bravo offers $47.60 per share in cash in a transaction valued at 2 billion.
The dominant speculation is that unless Thoma Bravo increases the pricing per share and reaches an agreement with opponents the sale won’t go through.
If a new offer is made before the vote, the February 13th meeting could be postponed for a period of time to give shareholders time to review the new offer.
ASU registered this week the first coronavirus case among universities in the nation. The institution is now trying to dispel all concerns, an Arizona State University’s (ASU) top official told yesterday IBL News.
The case is creating a huge controversy in the ASU community, which has been on edge since the Arizona Department of Health Services announced on Sunday that someone at the school had been diagnosed with the 2019 novel coronavirus.
It’s not clear if the patient involved— who recently traveled to Wuhan, the epicenter of the outbreak — is a student, faculty or staff member, but school’s officials noted the patient “does not live in university housing, is not severely ill and is currently in isolation to keep the illness from spreading.”
In the days since, there’s been a Change.org petition with over 24,000 signatures to cancel classes. “Until proper precautions have been taken to ensure the wellbeing of the students, such as disinfecting areas the student with Novel Coronavirus was present, ASU students want their classes canceled. (…) We do not want to risk our lives by attending class,”reads the petition.
In addition, Asian students at ASU are saying that they are being treated differently facing xenophobic looks whenever they cough or sneeze. Surgical face masks have sold out at stores near campus.
ASU Provost Mark Searle on Monday said the school would not cancel classes.“We have received many inquiries about university operations in light of this case. The university remains open and classes are not canceled,” Searle wrote in an email to the ASU community, according to AZ Central.
The news came after the University of Southern California (USC) was forced to respond following an erroneous social media-fueled claim that a student was diagnosed with the novel coronavirus.
George Mason University student cleared of coronavirus
On the other hand, test results for a George Mason University student who was being tested for the novel coronavirus have come back negative, the Virginia Department of Health said on Friday.
That person was identified by the university as an off-campus George Mason student who had been self-isolating while awaiting results.
University of Wisconsin, Miami University, NYU, Duke, UB
In addition, two undergraduate students from Wuhan, China, at the University of Wisconsin-Platteville were moved into a special dorm room and told to frequently take their temperatures.
Basketball games at Miami University in Ohio were postponed after two students reportedly showed possible symptoms.
Duke University has also postponed the start of the semester at its campus in Kunshan, China, until Feb. 17 and has restricted access to the campus.
University at Buffalo (UB), with about 1,500 students from China, sent an alert on Thursday with general advice on how to monitor their health. This warning happened after an official estimated that about half of those students traveled to China for winter break and returned before classes started Monday.
UB officials are now holding a press conference on precautions the university is taking reacting to the #coronavirus outbreak. There are no known cases at UB or in Erie County. @WGRZpic.twitter.com/Mio1a9j3M1
It is expected that given the fact that college campuses can be grounds for infectious diseases, university officials will be prompted to take urgent measures.
Regarding this anxiety in classes and dorms, TheNew York Timeselaborated today a report about how the fear of the Coronavirus is coming to U.S. colleges.
When in mid-November the first activist investor put its eyes on Instructure/Canvas LMS, the edtech startup entered a phase of uncertainty.
It happens. When Wall Street smells serious money on a potential buyout, soulless executives emerge, trying to control the narrative.
No surprise that quiet workers at Canvas in Salt Lake City are still in shock.
Now, they see how their company is publicly portrayed as a rigged machine, riddled with conflicts of interest, and setting a dishonest process to avoid superior offers.
On February 13, 2020, at the special meeting of stockholders in Salt Lake City, Utah, shareholders will vote on the proposed transaction with Thoma Bravo. At that moment we will discover what the play of many opposing shareholders is and what’s real vs. distracting smoke.
In the meantime, an attentive reading of the filings to the SEC can provide us with an immediate clue.
Indeed, the December 23, 210-pages proxy statement about the proposed acquisition is a gold mine. It allows anyone to understand what’s going on beyond the negative public messages towards Instructure’s management team.
Investors and analysts who said the process is unfair and obscure will find on pages 26 to 43 plenty of details showing that the Board ran a rigorous and transparent process, evaluating dozens of proposals. The transaction took into account the evolution of the industry and possible alternatives. There were 55 contacted parties; early 20 went under NDA. And Thoma Bravo’s $2 billion all-cash bid was superior in value.
The speculation that the deal is pierced with conflicts of interests and CEO Dan Goldsmith was hired to primarily sell the company and to benefit Thoma Bravo doesn’t seem too accurate. In fact, Goldsmith [in the picture above] wasn’t part of the transaction committee and did not have a role there, according to the proxy. The statement also shows that he regularly talked to many bidders over the course of many months, reporting such interests to the Board.
Inevitably, the CEO of an NYSE or Nasdaq traded company is always under suspicion when high compensations are on the table. However, in this case, the decision to proceed with the transaction with Thoma Bravo came unanimously from the Board.
Dealing with the SEC is no joke and Instructure reflects on their documents (pages 27, 42-46) that to avoid the appearance of impropriety, on multiple occasions Dan Goldsmith left the room, being excused from the Board’s deliberations or debates where conflicts existed. The Company’s secretary kept track of inbound logs to ensure that the process was overseen by the board.
In the end, the market dictates the price, while the SEC regulates and protects investors.
Soon we will see whether or not Instructure finally goes private, and whether Thoma Bravo decides to grow the company as a whole or break it into multiple pieces, extracting value from the Bridge corporate platform, the leading position of Canvas and especially the hidden wealth of users’ data.
The reality detailed by the SEC filings doesn’t show any deceptive or misleading tactics played by Instructure Inc.
It looks like some high-profile investors are not willing to accept the price of $47.60 in cash per share. They might believe that winning the public perception battle will enhance their position in negotiations to obtain a higher price.
edX.org announced yesterday the launch of the so-called MicroBachelors Program, intended to adult Americans who cannot afford a traditional Bachelor’s degree and cannot take the time away from work to pursue one.
These fully online programs consist of three to five courses, without admission requirements or application, and are priced between $500 and $1,500 (roughly $166 per credit).
Once learners complete the full program and pass, they will earn a MicroBachelors program credential from the university offering the program. This stackable credential can be applied toward a full bachelor’s degree.
The first two MicroBachelors are IT Career Framework, from Western Governors University (WGU), and Computer Science Fundamentals, from NYU. A third one, Professional Writing, from Arizona State University (ASU) is forthcoming.
The NYU’s Computer Science Fundamentals is a 6-month program with three courses and costs $500. However, this program is pending recognition for credit by Thomas Edison State University (TESU).
In the whole MicroBachelors program, learners will be able to apply credits from one of edX’s university credit partners toward a full Bachelor’s degree.
“This is the first credit-backed stackable credential, marking a significant milestone in online learning,”Anant Agarwal, co-CEO at edX wrote in a blog post.
“These programs are a significant step towards making a key academic milestone — the Bachelor’s degree — accessible and doing so in a way that positively impacts the members of our workforce most at risk to be displaced by automation and other changes in the workplace,” he added.
In addition to WGU, NYU, ASU, TESU, edX is collaborating in its MicroBachelor program with organizations such as SunTrust Foundation (now Truist Foundation) and Walmart.org.
In this regard, the Truist Foundationannounced yesterda that it has awarded a $1 million grant to edX to support the initiative.
“Our participation in the edX MicroBachelors Program Skills Advisory Council, a group bringing together the key stakeholders in this arena, is a fundamental part of creating these conversations,” said Lynette Bell, President of the Truist Foundation.
edX plans to continue adding more MicroBachelor programs and new credit pathways that stack into full degree options with other university partners in the future.
Esri, the Redlands, California-based company that manages the GIS mapping software, has been quietly developing a successful and free MOOC program, setting a reference in the corporate world for digital education at scale.
Esri’s MOOCs, now part of the Top 100 Free Online Courses list provided by Class Central, has attracted over 150,000 enrollments worldwide, as mentioned in an interview with IBL News. [Watch the interview below].
The most successful open course has been “Cartography”, with 80,000 learners.
So far, they have developed five MOOCs, ranging between 4-6 weeks long, and include certificates of completion, free of charge.
A sixth course, titled Spatial Data Science, is currently in the works. Esri’s passionate subject matter experts teach those online classes.
The completion rate numbers on these courses are as equally impressive, varying between 25% to 30%. “Our students must be more motivated than others,” Adena Schutzberg, MOOC Program Manager at Esri, explained.
Esri’s MOOC program was started by David DeBiase, a GIS instructor and manager within the company. His idea was based on expanding teaching while driving marketing opportunities.
In addition to MOOCs, Esri offers a hundred short classes intended to keep up with the fast-paced developments in geospatial technology. The corporation uses its own home-made LMS.
To promote active learning and engagement in courses, the MOOC instruction team nudged students toward active, independent and social learning.
“Our tough-love approach guided students to practice a skill needed for future success and provided the instruction team members with a new perspective on their roles in teaching and learning,” stated Adena Schutzberg.
She keynoted the last IEEE Learning with MOOCs conference, which took place in October 23-25 in Milwaukee, WI.
Her talk titled “Using Tough Love to Promote Active Learning” was exclusively recorded by IBL. [Watch it below]
“In education, AI is still a sleeping giant,” researcher Dr. Tony Bates wrote in a must-read article.
Today, one of the most extended cases of AI in teaching and learning lies in chatbots. These intelligent tutoring systems, that guide conversations or “chat” through text or voice interactions, are on the rise.
In a recent interview with IBL News, David Joyner, Associate Director of Senior Experience at the Online Master of Science Computer Science and instructor of the program, commented on the new role of Georgia Tech’s AI-agent –formerly known as Jill, and now named ATA– on how it is connecting students to other learners in the same class. “It’s a social TA (Teacher Assistant),” he explained.
Chatbots have become a common tool for banks and large finance and marketing companies as a way to reduce costs and response times. Now, a growing number of colleges and universities use this technology.
Two examples:
Australia’s University of Adelaide announced that students received responses 13 times faster, and learners’ approval of the quality of service increased by 60 percent, after deploying a chatbot to deal with admissions questions in 2018.
Western Governors University, or WGU, in 2018 received a $750,000 award from the National Science Foundation to use machine learning in order to improve interactions with students and help them with the decision-making process, i.e., to find programs.
Among many others, companies like Oracle, AdmitHub, and Ivy.ai, also provide this type of solution.
As AI-based adaptive technology advances, systems will deal with several tasks, as Tony Bates reminds.
At least, they will:
Provide teaching content to students and simultaneously provide support by giving adaptive feedback and hints to solve questions related to the content, as well as to detect students’ difficulties/errors with content or exercises.
Curate learning materials based on students’ needs, such as providing specific recommendations regarding types of reading materials and exercises, along with personalized courses of action to aid in the students’ learning experience.
Facilitate collaboration between learners by providing automated feedback, generating automatic questions for discussion, and an analysis of the process.
It is undeniable that there are inflated expectations for AI –a term that is often incorrectly used to describe any computational activity.
Beyond the extreme hype, there are clear areas of application. AI enables adaptive learning by recommending personalized content, predictive analytics, automated feedback and support in many conversations.
Artificial Intelligence is not a panacea for education. However, by having access to massive amounts of information and analyzing these data sets through algorithms and computational power, innovative software organizations can develop worthwhile applications.
Pearson –the world’s largest ed company with a $6.6 billion market value– announced yesterday its CEO John Fallon, 57, will step down in 2020 after a successor is appointed. Sidney Taurel, 70, Chairman, is leading the search for the next CEO.
John Fallon’s departure comes just three months after a severe profit warning that knocked the company’s confidence in the transition into digital products, decreasing its market value by a fifth.
It will mark the end of a dramatic seven-year tenure for Fallon, whom after succeeding Marjorie Scardino in 2013 cut costs and jobs (16,000 over the past six years.) while gradually selling important assets, such as Penguin, Financial Times, and a stake in The Economist.
Stocks in Pearson (PSON) rose yesterday 1.7 percent on the London Stock Exchange after the news of his resignation. Pearson needs to show investors that difficulties in the US business are transitory rather than structural, according to some analysts.
The value of Pearson’s stock has dropped by 57 percent since 2013. Most recently, the company warned investors that its U.S. textbook sales for 2019 would be weak. During Fallon’s time in charge, Pearson has had six profit warnings to shareholders.
“We’re now at the stage where it’s time to transition to a new leader, who can bring a fresh perspective,” Fallon said in a prepared statement.
Marjorie Scardino, who lead Pearson for 16 years, turned Pearson into a behemoth, managing more than two dozen acquisitions. Fallon’s job was to restructure the company by removing legacy parts and reorienting the company into digital learning services.
It seems that shareholders have finally lost their patience with Fallon. It’s the end of an era.
Today I shared with our colleagues that I’ve decided to retire from @pearson in 2020 and that we are selling our remaining stake in @penguinrandom. I wanted to share this news with our wider community, too. https://t.co/PVuzb0AEIt
An innovative science- and tech-focused four-year Catholic university is now forming as an in-person undergraduate an online graduate college in Los Angeles County.
Dr. Jennifer Nolan, a cognitive scientist, and college instructor is launching the initiative as a 501c3 nonprofit institution. She is now assembling an administrative team and working towards becoming a degree-granting, licensed institution.
“We will combine a deep quest for scientific, tech, engineering and business expertise with the enduring truths of the Catholic faith,” Jennifer Nolan explained to IBL News.
“Our goal is to become recommended by the Cardinal Newman Society ‘Guide to Choosing a Catholic College’, to have all professors take the Oath of Fidelity to the Magisterium, and to abide by Ex Corde Ecclesiae.”
Sacraments, Masses, and Adoration will be hallmarks of student life.
Courses and programs in the works at CPU will revolve around Business, Sciences, Engineering, Math, and Bioethics, and may include:
Introduction to Computer Programming
Server-side Web Programming
Data Structure and Algorithms
Computer Architecture
Cyber Security
Philosophy of Science
Electromagnetism
Electrical Engineering Applications: Sensors, embedded and IoT
“Based on the empirical science of learning and the Minerva model, course content will be delivered using novel methods of instruction, with emphasis on hands-on learning, debate, creative thinking, and writing skills,” Nolan said.
The primary goal will be job placement in business and polytechnic careers. The aim would be to place at least 95% of Catholic Polytechnic graduates in business, science or tech career-driven jobs or graduate schools.
”By training STEM innovators with knowledge of business and theology, we hope Catholic Polytechnic University will help bolster the Catholic Church and provide great careers for Catholics nationwide.”
Several donors have expressed interest in helping the school achieve its goals, the Catholic Business Journal reported.
The date of the launching has not been determined yet.
In Los Angeles County there are 4.4 million Catholics.
Over 30 million adults in the U.S. have a college education but no degree. This is mostly as a result of the fact that one-third of all first-time, full-time college students fail to graduate from four-year programs.
Sooner rather than later, these individuals will need to fill that gap by upgrading their skills and obtaining certificates. Professional education will help them advance their careers, within and outside their existing companies.
Graduate extension programs and executive education in postsecondary education should be in high demand.
Now, large employers are tapping into that demand, as well.
For example, corporations such as Starbucks, Walmart, Chipotle, JetBlue and Uber offer their employees compelling ways to earn full degrees or certificates; some of them, for free or at a steep discount.
Certificate programs might also be a solution to address the college dropout rate and flip the script. Earning a job-ready certificate within the first semester or year of college, provides students with a promising path to market.
Such credentials have grown significantly in recent years, although a number of them have limited value in the labor market.
Last year, Credential Engine reported that nearly 67,000 programs in the United States grant credentials.
With a certificate-first approach, top corporations should create credential-programs in their areas of expertise in order to educate external audiences at scale.
Employee education is one of the next big frontiers.
Instructure (NYSE: INST), the company behind Canvas LMS, publicly announced that it has begun to explore a number of strategic alternatives “to maximize shareholder value”, including a possible sale. Canvas owns about 38% of the LMS market.
“These alternatives may include continuing as a standalone public company, going private, or being purchased by a strategic partner,” the company said in a statement Thursday.
Instructure’s board retained J.P. Morgan as its financial advisor and Cooley LLP as its legal advisor.
The move of the board took place in response to the pressure by activist investors Sachem Head, Praesidium Investment Management and more recently, Jana Partners, who disclosed it had a 1% stake. They called for Instructure to explore a sale, reportedly identifying multiple potential private equity buyers.
Kevin Oram, Praesidium’s Co-Founder and Managing Partner, said last week that selling Bridge –Instructure’s unprofitable employee development platform– would unlock the value of Canvas, which he estimated to be worth $2.5 billion.
Phil Hill, consultant and author of Phil on Ed Tech blog, wrote that competitor Blackboard went through a similar process a few years ago, going private in 2011. Blackboard considered a sale in 2015 but didn’t go through with it.
Instructure’s previously scheduled financial analyst day on December 3 was canceled “to allow management and the board to explore these strategic alternatives for the company,” said the Salt Lake City-based corporation.
The stock has gained significant value since activists hedge funds started to call for a sale, especially this week, when it moved from $47.91 on November 13 to $52.98 on November 15.
