Strengthening Procurement and Partnership: CollegeBuys at the 2025 Online Teaching Conference
The 2025 Online Teaching Conference brought together education leaders, faculty, and vendors from across California’s Community Colleges to explore innovations in online education and student support. CollegeBuys was proud to participate in this vibrant event, continuing our mission of simplifying procurement and maximizing value for colleges statewide through cooperative contracts and collaborative technology acquisition.
Throughout the conference, the CollegeBuys team engaged in meaningful conversations with district leaders and supplier partners that support online teaching and learning, including CidiLabs, Harmonize Learning, Honorlock, Instructure, Labster, NameCoach, and Proctorio. These discussions helped surface opportunities for deeper collaboration, stronger alignment with college needs, and expanded access to high-impact tools that support student success in online learning environments.
One of the hallmarks of our participation was the joint presentation with Marina Aminy, Executive Director of the California Virtual Campus (CVC), titled “Optimizing Procurement of Online Learning Tools: Systemwide Technology Access Collaborative (STAC) Discussion Session.” The session spotlighted STAC—a joint initiative of CollegeBuys, CVC, and the Chancellor’s Office to streamline the procurement of digital learning and support tools.
Together, we showcased how STAC empowers colleges to:
- Access cost savings through aggregated purchasing
- Simplify ordering processes
- Make data-informed decisions through shared visibility into usage trends
- Reduce procurement timelines with ready-to-use contracts
Attendees engaged in a lively discussion on how STAC could continue to evolve to better serve colleges’ needs. Key feedback and ideas included:
- Increasing transparency around peer adoption trends and purchasing decisions
- More readily available information about suppliers’ accessibility compliance
- Allowing time-limited trials or sandbox environments to test potential tools
- Creating an open forum for colleges to share implementation experiences and best practices
These insights are invaluable as we continue to refine STAC, develop new agreements on behalf of the system, and support the evolving technology landscape of the California Community Colleges.
As we reflect on our time at the conference, one theme remains clear: collaboration is key. Whether it’s convening partners, streamlining procurement, or surfacing shared challenges, CollegeBuys remains committed to driving collective impact across the system.
We extend our thanks to the many colleges and vendors who engaged with us at the conference. Collaboration is key to the collective success of the California Community Colleges, and we look forward to turning your feedback into action and continuing to support the system’s efforts to deliver high-quality, accessible, and innovative learning experiences for all students.
