IRVINE, Calif., July 26, 2005 (PRIMEZONE) -- Scantron(r) announced today the release of Class Climate Version 2.5 -- survey and faculty evaluation software used by colleges, universities, corporate training programs and other educational institutions -- with new functionality that makes it easier to deploy, collect and analyze feedback on paper or online.
Class Climate was created specifically for course and faculty evaluations so it has the capabilities and security features that educational institutions require. Version 2.5 enhancements further address those needs, giving users a host of unique features to speed up the deployment and reporting processes while increasing response rate.
"Scantron was clearly thinking along the lines of the university when building these enhancements for an already excellent product," said Daveen Kay, project lead for student records at California State University, Northridge. "Class Climate has already saved us weeks in reporting time and increased our ability to survey students online or on paper. Version 2.5 will save us even more time and gives us automatic email reminders, formatting options in our print surveys and the ability to operate on a server."
Class Climate Version 2.5's features include compatibility with Linux-based servers, better LDAP support, additional scanner support, improved export capabilities for leading analysis tools, improved sub-unit administration, and new time-control functionality. Students taking Class Climate surveys online can toggle between various languages, giving limited-English speakers equal opportunity to participate in the survey process. Administrators can automatically send email reminders to students to increase the overall return rate and help increase accuracy in the survey process.
"This new version of Class Climate sets a higher standard for instructor evaluation software, as both online and paper-based methodologies are equally efficient and robust. In our rapidly changing education environment, Scantron lets the schools decide the best approach to reach their students," said Mark Espinola, president of Scantron's Data Collection division. "We have considered all the new ways that educational institutions conduct and use survey information. We then added enhancements that make Class Climate Version 2.5 easier to use, more powerful, more secure, and more compatible with open standards."
In addition to its application in colleges and universities, Class Climate is used by corporate training departments and other educational institutions that offer classroom and online courses to gain measurable feedback regarding attendee interest levels and instructor performance. It manages automated, high-volume course evaluations and departments without the need for laborious data collection and reporting. Class Climate surveys can be deployed on paper or online and are then captured, analyzed and reported in a variety of formats.
About Scantron Corporation
Scantron Corporation ( www.scantron.com ) is headquartered in Irvine, Calif., and is a wholly owned subsidiary of Atlanta-based John H. Harland Company (NYSE:JH). Scantron is a leading provider of software services and systems for the collection, management and interpretation of data to the educational, financial and commercial markets. The company has approximately 600 employees worldwide and annual revenues exceeding $110 million.
About Harland
Atlanta-based John H. Harland Company (NYSE:JH) (www.harland.net) is a leading provider of software and printed products to the financial and educational markets. Harland Financial Solutions, Inc. (www.harlandfinancialsolutions.com), a wholly owned subsidiary, supplies software and services, including customer relationship management, deposit and loan origination, core systems and mortgage services, to thousands of financial institutions of all sizes. Harland's printed products offerings include checks, direct marketing and financial forms.
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