Pricing Shifts by Blackboard and WebCT Cost Some Colleges Much More

By JEFFREY R. YOUNG

Some academic-technology officials say they're experiencing sticker shock over recent pricing changes by Blackboard and WebCT, two of the leading providers of course-management software. Colleges that until recently paid a few thousand dollars a year for the companies' products -- which help professors build course Web sites and handle administrative functions -- are now being asked to pay tens or even hundreds of thousands for the latest systems.

WebCT changed its pricing