FATV Partners with Blackboard at Northern Virginia Community College to Support Financial Aid Literacy for Students

Northern Virginia Community College students gain access to FATV’s robust library of customizable online video content and tutorials on financial aid and financial literacy through Blackboard’s SmartView Technology Platform

BOULDER, CO — FATV, an award-winning supplier of online video educational content for college financial aid offices, announced today that its library of online video content covering financial aid and financial literacy is now available for use by current and prospective students at Northern Virginia Community College (NOVA) through Blackboard’s industry-leading SmartView technology platform.

Through this partnership, NOVA students have access to FATV’s GetAnswers service, which includes a broad, customizable library of online video content covering all aspects of state and federal financial aid. The GetAnswers content library is mobile responsive, 508 compliant, and also includes tutorials and multi-language video content, including Spanish.

Blackboard SmartView is a cloud-based technology service offering designed for one-stop student support centers that eliminate the hassle of working across multiple screens and disparate data systems. It surfaces student information from multiple systems (ERP/SIS, CRM, LMS) in friendly views so that students’ questions on financial aid, student accounts, admissions, and registration/records can be answered quickly and efficiently. Since 2011, Northern Virginia Community College has used SmartView to power its Student Help Center, which resolves student inquiries surrounding financial aid and student accounts and includes a self-help portal and knowledge base with custom articles specific to NOVA’s unique processes.

“Working with FATV has been a win-win for Blackboard and Northern Virginia Community College,” said Anthony Humphreys, Sr. Director of Student Services for Blackboard. “FATV’s easy-to-use technology and compelling content enhances Blackboard’s services for Northern Virginia Community College students with a multi-media component. Our goal is to drive increased levels of student engagement and successful educational goal achievement via their preferred channels and modes of learning.”

Joan Zanders, Director of Financial Aid at Northern Virginia Community College, added: “FATV has added a multi-dimensional, student-friendly dynamic to our website and online communications. By embedding the videos within topics pertinent to each video within the self-help Knowledge Base of information compiled for our Blackboard Support Center, we have increased student access and usage. We have customized many of the videos for subjects pertinent to NOVA students.”

“We are excited that students at NOVA now have greater access to FATV content,” said Colleen MacDonald Krumwiede, Sr. VP for Innovations and Partners at FATV. “This successful integration at NOVA furthers FATV’s goals to improve student understanding of financial aid and related concepts, to raise the bar on customer service, and to create efficiencies for financial aid staff and offices through compelling online video content.”

About Blackboard Inc.

Blackboard’s mission is to partner with the global education community to enable learner and institutional success, leveraging innovative technologies and services. With an unmatched understanding of the world of the learner, the most comprehensive student-success solutions, and the greatest capacity for innovation, Blackboard is education’s partner in change. Learn more at www.blackboard.com.

For more information about Blackboard Student Services, please visit http://www.blackboard.com/studentservices or follow @Blackboard on Twitter.

About Ocelot

Ocelot is a leading education technology company working to discover new ways to help college administrators and student communities thrive in an ever-changing, resource-constrained world. The Ocelot AI Student Services Platform is the most effective student engagement tool in the industry, with the fastest, most versatile AI chatbot backed by an unrivaled, ever-growing content library of 2000+ explainer videos and 1300+ answers, including in Spanish. Formerly known as FATV, Ocelot has over 330 higher education institution clients across the nation, many of whom take advantage of the platform’s unique Community Sharing feature to build a dynamic, shared knowledge base that has helped 1.4 Million students chart a successful path through college by providing 24/7/365 access to critical admissions, campus life, and financial aid information.

More information about Ocelot, the Ocelot Student Services Platform, and the FATV video content library can be found at www.ocelotbot.com.