Consortium News #2
Higher Education Cooperative Purchase Consortium
Sponsored by the Foundation for California Community Colleges (FCCC)
Volume 1, Issue 2, May 1, 2000

[edited for archiving by David Stuart]

Welcome and Introduction to Consortium Members
Welcome to the Consortium. In our second issue we will feature our new on-line orientation, a look at Elliot Masie, special vendor promotions, new members of the consortium, new vendors and potential agreements in process. We will also archive all of this newsletters for easy reference. We welcome your comments and suggestions. Email editor@foundationccc.org.
Larry Toy, President, FCCC

Orientations On-Line
Want to know how your college makes purchases using our consortium or how we choose vendors? At the inspiration of Elliot Masie (see below) we now have on-line orientations for colleges, individual faculty/staff and students, associations, and even vendors. We have a general orientation to the Consortium and Foundation, and then specific orientations for each audience. You can read them on our website.

New Ideas and Trends (by Larry Toy, FCCC President)
E – for Experience – Technology Guru Elliot Masie says the “e” in eCommerce, eLearning, etc. should stand for “experience”, not electronic. In fact the reason that we shop and learn by the internet is not because it is electronic. What we do like is that it is a different experience. Masie says in your conceptual thinking, don’t worry too much about the technology – it will change every year or two. Think about what new and better experiences your students, faculty, staff and administrators can have. For example, Masie used the experience of “orientation” as an example, something that most of us dislike, whether we are on the giving or receiving end. An on-line orientation would allow new employees the luxury of learning as they needed the information – spreading the process over several weeks. For more Elliot, subscribe to his free newsletter- www.masie.com.

New Stuff/Specials
Additions or changes in current vendor agreements – special sales or promotions and other announcements.
***Edu.com is offering very special additional financial incentives for colleges joining by June 30, 2000. See New Vendor Agreements for detail.
***Dell is now offering bundles of computers at special discounts. See Dell- Institutional Purchases link at https://premapp3.us.dell.com/premier/login.asp?SSL=1
user name: FCCC, password: general, Link to be active on May 3, 2000.
***For California residents only (Texas scheduled for mid-May), Pacific Bell offers high speed DSL internet service for $37.95/mo no installation or equipment charges – through May 12. Rate continues beyond that, with installation charge of $99, free for self installs. (http://foundationccc.org/student.asp )
***Computerland (www.californiacolleges.com) continues to offer 3 HP printers at below dealer cost. Limit 5 printers each to each college while quantities last. No sales to individuals.

New Consortium Members
Since our last issue, we welcome the 10 colleges of the Washington Independent Colleges and Universities (WAICU) (www.foundationccc.org/Washington.xls ) We now have membership of eight state independent and two national associations.

New Agreements
New vendor agreements in the past month are:
+++Edu.com – On-line discount sales to verified students (only). Many vendors and products. Edu.com also features extensive on-line buying guides to help students make buying decisions. Edu.com partners with colleges to promote the program and verify (electronically if possible) student status. There is no cost to the colleges. Partner colleges receive a large share of the profits generated. The Consortium agreement gives a larger percentage share of profits to the colleges with additional financial incentives. See their website at (www.edu.com ). A more detailed overview and explanation is at (www.foundationccc.org/educomover.doc) and a current list of products offered is at www.foundationccc.org/educomlist.doc). Special incentives to join before June 30, 2000.
+++Dell.com – Expansion of current agreement to include institutional purchases (see above). We are currently negotiating a long term pricing agreement and will be sending a brief questionnaire on potential sales
+++WebCT – Authoring software and services for on-line distance education courses. Go to our website (www.foundationccc.org/vendors.asp) for contacts and more details.

Agreements in Process
Currently agreements in progress:
RightNow Technologies – Customer Service and FAQ Software – used by over 600 companies – negotiations complete – 70% discount from commercial prices. (www.rightnowtech.com)
EdVerifY – Verification of Student and Degree Status for Employment verification. Payment to cooperating colleges for each verification. (www.EdVerifY.com)
Virtual Ink – makers of Mimio, a portable device that converts any white board to an electronic board for less than $500. (www.mimio.com)
CommonFind – Ecommerce Engine from Intelisys – in preliminary discussion. Created by CommonFund.

Next Issue May 15, 2000 – Vendor Deadline May 12, 2000.