Purdue University and SunGard Higher Education to Collaborate on Product to Improve Academic Success

Purdue`s Signals Software for Identifying Students in Academic Jeopardy to be
Enhanced and Offered to Higher Education Institutions
MALVERN, Pa. & WEST LAFAYETTE Ind.--(Business Wire)--
Signals, an innovative early intervention system that warns students that are
at-risk of underperforming in a course and facilitates faculty interventions
will be enhanced and brought to higher education institutions through a joint
effort by SunGard Higher Education, Purdue University and the Purdue Research
Foundation.

The collaboration is among the first examples of SunGard Higher Education`s new
Open Digital Campus strategy in action.

Developed by Purdue, the Signals software monitors students' behavior patterns
and academic performance to determine if they are at risk of earning a low grade
and allows faculty to intervene with suggestions on actions they can take to
help students improve their grades. An intuitive stoplight provides indications
to students if they are underperforming, and prompts the students to take
action.

Today, campus sources for data about students vary greatly and come from
different systems, applications and vendors. The power of Signals` predictive
modeling comes from employing multiple data sources to create a more complete
picture of a student's academic performance. That picture helps identify
students at-risk in a course so an intervention can happen early enough to
actually make a difference - as early as the second week of class.

Officials from Purdue University, the Purdue Research Foundation and SunGard
Higher Education signed a memorandum of understanding outlining key points of
the parties` collaboration efforts, and have begun work on a definitive
agreement. Their planned efforts will bring Purdue`s original design and
expertise together with SunGard Higher Education`s development resources.
SunGard Higher Education will create and market a new next-generation software
product based on Signals that will be architected to work with multiple course
management systems and student information systems. The solution will also
provide flexibility for institutions so that they can refine and customize it to
fit each their needs and environment.

"The old idea of weeding out students, of `look left, look right and one of you
won't be here next year,` is an incredibly wasteful process for both
universities and families. No one thanks educators if their kid lasts two years
and then drops out," said Gerry McCartney, Purdue's vice president for
information technology and chief information officer. "Signals helps us keep the
students on task and focused, and offers students real opportunities for
improvement."

Signals was piloted in the 2006-07 and 2007-08 academic year. According to
Purdue, the pilot involved nearly 2,000 students, where a double-blind study
found that 67 percent of students receiving a yellow or red warning improved
their effort and grade. For students who received a red light only, 78 percent
improved their grade and effort during the mid-term period.

"Our faculty loves Signals because it helps them quickly identify students who
need help, and reach out to them in an effective and efficient way," Mr.
McCartney said. "But the students love it even more, which is both pleasing and
a bit of a surprise, honestly."

"Signals provides educators and leaders in higher education with valuable
information to help them meet the individual educational needs of their
students," said Joseph B, Hornett, senior vice president, treasurer and chief
operating officer of the Purdue Research Foundation. "The flexibility of the
Signals software is also important, enabling it to fit different needs at
different institutions and be modified as new technologies are introduced to the
educational environment."

Through its recently announced Open Digital Campus vision and technology
strategy, SunGard Higher Education is giving colleges and universities new
flexibility to shape how technology meets their evolving needs. The open
strategy helps reduce dependencies and expand an institution`s ability to choose
the technologies, delivery models, open source and vendor solutions that fit its
needs. In academics, an area in which SunGard Higher Education has strengthened
its efforts over the past year, this includes new opportunities for
collaboration such as this project with Purdue.

"Through the Open Digital Campus, we are collaborating with our customers and
working to deliver more modular and specific components that address precise
institution needs, like course success," said Tom Wagner, vice president at
SunGard Higher Education. "We will build on the Purdue team`s outstanding work
to offer a flexible solution that helps institutions extend the value of their
investments, improve student success, and further the core mission of the
institution."

Signals will complement SunGard Higher Education`s existing Banner Enrollment
Management Suite by focusing on improving student success within a course, while
components within Banner Enrollment Management focus on retaining the student at
the institution or within a particular degree program and creating a loyal
relationship that lasts beyond graduation. Data from Signals about student risk
within courses will feed into Banner Enrollment Management to help create a
complete picture of the student`s education experience.

About Purdue University

Purdue University is a public, doctoral-granting research university founded in
1869. Purdue University`s statewide system includes its main campus in West
Lafayette, Indiana, four regional campuses, and numerous teaching and research
sites throughout Indiana. Purdue has a system-wide enrollment of more than
69,000 students from 50 states and 130 countries.

Purdue's main campus offers more than 200 majors for undergraduates and more
than 70 master`s and doctoral programs. The university also has 18
intercollegiate sports teams and more than 850 student organizations. Purdue is
led by France A. Córdova, who serves as the university's eleventh president, as
well as professor of physics and astronomy.

About Purdue Research Foundation

The Purdue Research Foundation is a private, nonprofit foundation created to
advance the mission of Purdue University. The foundation accepts gifts;
administers trusts; funds research, scholarships and grants; acquires property;
and negotiates research contracts on behalf of Purdue. In the 1990s, the
foundation was charged with helping the university in the realm of economic
development. The Purdue Research Foundation oversees the Purdue Research Park,
which is the largest university-affiliated business incubator in the country.

About SunGard Higher Education

SunGard Higher Education serves colleges, universities and foundations in 40
countries worldwide. Through its Open Digital Campus strategy, SunGard
collaborates with the higher education community and provides software and
services to help institutions find better ways to teach, learn, manage and
connect. www.sungardhe.com

About SunGard

SunGard is one of the world`s leading software and IT services companies.
SunGard serves more than 25,000 customers in more than 70 countries.

SunGard provides software and processing solutions for financial services,
higher education and the public sector. SunGard also provides disaster recovery
services, managed IT services, information availability consulting services and
business continuity management software.

With annual revenue exceeding $5 billion, SunGard is ranked 435 on the Fortune
500 and is the largest privately held business software and services company on
the Forbes list of private businesses. Based on information compiled by
Datamonitor*, SunGard is the third largest provider of business applications
software after Oracle and SAP. Continuity, Insurance & Risk has recognized
SunGard as service provider of the year an unprecedented six times. For more
information, please visit SunGard at www.sungard.com.

*January 2009 Technology Vendors Financial Database
Trackerhttp://www.datamonitor.com

Trademark Information: SunGard, the SunGard logo and Banner are trademarks or
registered trademarks of SunGard Data Systems Inc. or its subsidiaries in the
U.S. and other countries. All other trade names are trademarks or registered
trademarks of their respective holders.

SunGard Higher Education
Laura Kvinge
801-257-4158
Laura.Kvinge@SunGardHE.com
or
Purdue University
Steve Tally
765-494-9809
tally@purdue.edu

Copyright Business Wire 2009