New Technology Solution to Help Universities Tackle the Challenges of High Student Drop Out Rates to be Launched at Event

Dubai, UAE - 07 December 2010: SunGard Higher Education, a global provider of software solutions and technology services for higher education institutions, is set to host its annual gathering of higher education leaders and technology experts in Dubai. The conference, themed 'Enabling Student Success: The New Knowledge Economy,' will bring together education leaders from more than 25 countries.  Delegates will share their experiences and insights for reducing student dropout rates and creating strategies for increasing student success. 

The conference is scheduled for December 12-14, at the Jumeirah Beach Hotel in Dubai. One of the high points of the event will be the Middle East launch of SunGard Higher Education's new early intervention solution - Course Signals, a system designed to determine whether a student is at risk of failing or withdrawing from a course as early as the second week of the semester. The Course Signals solution works by identifying at-risk students and then prompting early intervention from faculty and student support services staff. 

"Following a decade of substantial capacity building in higher education and significant economic development across the Gulf, the demands for higher quality graduates and more relevant workplace skills continues to grow. Stakeholders such as government, institutions, parents, and faculty, as well as the students themselves, seek positive course outcomes," said Mathew Boice, vice president EMEA and India, SunGard Higher Education. "SMEUG 2010 will address these important pressures and introduce solutions like Course Signals that can help significantly impact the success of our students in the Middle East."

Keynote speakers expected at the conference include Professor Osama bin Sadeq Abdel Rahman Tayeb. president of King Abdulaziz University,; Dr John Campbell, associate vice president of the Rosen Center for Advanced Computing, Purdue University; Darren Wesemann, chief product and technology officer, SunGard Higher Education; and Alaa Sami Alabdrabbuh, student, Prince Mohammad Bin Fahd University.

In addition to the keynote speeches and institutions' presentations, the following SMEUG 2010 sponsors will be showcasing their solutions for higher education - Arabian Advanced Systems, International Turnkey Systems (ITS), Saudi Business Machines (SBM), Microsoft, Information Management Solutions (IMS), TouchNet, Evisions, Scientia, Infosilem, Nuventive, SciQuest, UC4 and Jadu.

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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. To learn more, please visit www.sungardhe.com.

About SunGard
SunGard is one of the world's leading software and technology services companies. SunGard has more than 20,000 employees and serves 25,000 customers in 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 380 on the Fortune 500 and is the largest privately held business software and IT services company. For more information, please visit www.sungard.com

Trademark Information: SunGard, SunGard logo and Course Signals 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.

For more information contact:
Toju Ogbe
Associate Program Director
BPG PR
Level 6 MAF Tower Deira City Center
PO Box 3294 Dubai UAE
T +971 4 295 3456 Ext 302
F +971 4 295 1027
M +971 50 104 5113
toju@batespangulf.com
www.batespangulf.com

© Press Release 2010