Elizabeth Harris, a Meridian founder, said, "We are elated with the opportunity to support the stated goals for Michigan LearnPort." These goals are to:

• Deliver quality online professional development to the desktop;
• Foster teachers' communication with mentors, principals, and other teachers with common interests;
• Enable teachers and administrators to keep track of professional development, including that accrued outside of Michigan LearnPort;
• Provide other school and state employees with online training to meet job requirements;
• Assist in aligning teacher development plans to district and school improvement goals;
• Provide a delivery vehicle for content developed by a variety of content providers, including schools, districts, intermediate school districts, universities, and the private sector.

"The selection of Meridian to replace the existing LMS provider speaks volumes to our ability to meet the needs of continuing education, mandatory training, and certification requirements within the educational community," added Harris. Meridian was selected after a very rigorous competitive solicitation process, which included an initial group of over thirty invited LMS vendors.


Michigan LearnPort has been made available to school administrators, educators, and support staff to manage individual development plans, certification requirements, the linking of professional development and educational goals, collaboration and mentoring initiatives, resources for training and education, and a compliance vehicle in support of the No Child Left Behind requirements.

"Michigan Virtual University is excited about our new partnership with Meridian Knowledge Solutions. We believe their LMS solution will allow us to significantly expand and improve the online delivery of professional development opportunities for Michigan's K-12 educators," said Jamey Fitzpatrick, President and CEO of Michigan Virtual University.


Roy Haythorn, Meridian's Director of Sales Operations, said, "Partnering with Michigan LearnPort is a launching pad for a strong Meridian presence in similar initiatives across the country. States and communities with workforce development programs, LearnPort-like initiatives within the educational community, and other compliance-related mandates will be pursued aggressively with Meridian learning management and learning content management technology."

The partnership with Michigan Virtual University is a three-year contract with renewal options that include an unlimited user perpetual software license, specified professional services, and maintenance/technical support throughout the contract period.