Broome Community College President Dr. Laurence Spraggs today announced that the College’s I-Tunes U initiative is featured in this week’s issue of Community College Week in a Special Report called Distance Education.

According to its website at www.ccweek.com, Community College Week is an independent source of in-depth information for and about two-year college faculty, administrators and trustees. Published biweekly, Community College Week’s readers include college Presidents, chief academic officers, faculty, student service professional, librarians and other educators. Each edition focuses on news and features not provided by other news sources, including analysis of critical academic trends and issues, vital statistics, technology updates and employment opportunities.

“No institution has embraced iTunes U more warmly than Broome Community College,” the article reads. “Earlier this year, the college became the first two-year institution to earn a coveted spot on the iTunes U web site, being featured in a list of colleges alongside institutions like Yale University and the University of California, Berkeley.”

In another except from the article: “Higher education’s ready embrace of Apple’s iTunes initiative is easy to understand. That’s where their students can be found. Young people have embraced the technology of portable media devices like no other. Since iPods were first introduced in 2001, sales have topped 100 million worldwide.”

“Broome has become a national leader in the world of I-Tunes U and we’re extremely gratified to be recognized by Community College Week,” said Dr. Spraggs. “This initiative provides an invaluable academic benefit by making educational and other content accessible on demand and at the convenience of our students. Many students at the community college level may have full-time jobs, families, or other responsibilities that do not provide flexibility when it comes to classes and learning. I-Tunes U is a tool that provides an advantage and allows students to review materials as often as they need to from wherever they want to.”

The article also highlights BCC’s first ever reality podcast series “On the Quad”, which discusses campus life and activities. The college’s ITunes U initiative has delivered more than 250,000 subscription feeds since its debut last summer. Broome’s I-Tunes U initiative was highlighted at the 88th annual conference of the American Association of Community Colleges last month in Philadelphia.

According to Apple there are approximately 500 public and private academic institutions that have received the iTunes U designation over the course of the last 5 years. Approximately 30 of these institutions are featured on Apple’s iTunes U web site because of their diverse variety of content. Broome Community College was the first Community College to be featured on this site.

Through iTunes U, BCC students and community members can access a variety of BCC lectures, classes, discussions, debates, video news releases, audio and video interviews with college faculty and staff, campus life activities, arts and musical performances, and so much more.

iTunes U is a free, hosted service for colleges and universities that provides easy access to their educational content, including lectures and interviews, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

The article can be accessed at www.ccweek.com/news/templates/template.aspx?articleid=384&zoneid=7. BCC iTunes U can be accessed through www.sunybroome.edu.