Sonic Foundry and Magna Publications Partner to Present Academically Adrift: Findings & Lessons for Improvement

MADISON, Wis., March 21, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Sonic Foundry, Inc. (Nasdaq: SOFO), the recognized market leader for rich media webcasting, lecture capture and knowledge management today announced it will co-sponsor a live webinar with Magna Publications featuring the authors of "Academically Adrift: Limited Learning on College Campuses."

Written by Richard Arum and Josipa Roksa, Academically Adrift shares the results of the Social Science Research Council's Collegiate Learning Assessment (CLA) Longitudinal Project, which tracked 2,300 students at 24 universities over the course of four years. The study measured both the amount that students improved in terms of critical thinking and writing skills, in addition to how much they studied, read and wrote for their courses.

Join Arum and Roksa for a live webinar as they present their core findings including:

• Fifty percent of sophomores reported that they had not taken a single course the prior semester that required more than 20 pages of writing over the course of the semester.
• One-third did not take a single course the prior semester that required, on average, more than 40 pages of reading per week.
• Students reported studying on average only 12 hours per week during their sophomore year, one-third of which was spent studying with peers. Thirty-seven percent dedicated five or fewer hours per week to studying alone.

The seminar will include an extended Q&A session where attendees can ask questions of the presenters. To follow the conversation on Twitter use the hashtag #Adrift.

Presenters

Dr. Richard Arum is a professor in the Department of Sociology with a joint appointment in the Steinhardt School of Education at New York University. He is also director of the Education Research Program of the Social Science Research Council.

Dr. Josipa Roksa is an assistant professor in the Department of Sociology at the University of Virginia (UVA), with a courtesy appointment in the Curry School of Education. She is also a Fellow of the National Forum on the Future of Liberal Education.

The Magna Online Seminar series has built a reputation for quality, timeliness and relevance. Live and interactive, they feature leading educators and thought leaders delivering thought-provoking, practical presentations.

The webinar will be webcast and hosted via the patented Mediasite webcasting and content management system, which quickly and cost-effectively automates the capture, management, delivery and search of rich media presentations that combine video and accompanying graphics for live or on-demand viewing.

About Magna Publications

Magna Publications has provided the higher education community with valuable information for more than 30 years. With products ranging from subscriber-based print and electronic newsletters to white papers to online seminars to online courses, and dynamic, in-person conferences, Magna Publications is a recognized leader providing cutting-edge tools and resources to all aspects of higher education.

About Sonic Foundry®, Inc.

Sonic Foundry (NASDAQ: SOFO, www.sonicfoundry.com) is the global leader for rich media webcasting and knowledge management, providing enterprise communication solutions for education, business and government. Powered by Mediasite, the patented webcasting platform which automates the capture, management, delivery and search of lectures, online training and briefings, Sonic Foundry empowers people to transform the way they communicate. Through the Mediasite platform and its Event Services group, the company helps customers connect a dynamic, evolving world of shared knowledge and envisions a future where learners and workers around the globe use webcasting to bridge time and distance, accelerate research and improve performance. Product and service names mentioned herein are the trademarks of Sonic Foundry, Inc. or their respective owners.

Certain statements contained in this news release regarding matters that are not historical facts may be forward-looking statements. Because such forward-looking statements include risks and uncertainties, actual results may differ materially from those expressed in or implied by such forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially include, but are not limited to, uncertainties pertaining to continued market acceptance for Sonic Foundry's products, its ability to succeed in capturing significant revenues from media services and/or systems, the effect of new competitors in its market, integration of acquired business and other risk factors identified from time to time in its filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

SOURCE Sonic Foundry, Inc.