
Academic Partnerships
Higher education service provider, partnering with universities to develop strong online degree programs.
Date | Investors | Amount | Round |
---|---|---|---|
- | investor investor | €0.0 | round |
N/A | - | ||
Total Funding | 000k |
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Academic Partnerships, founded in 2007 by Randy Best, operates as an online program manager (OPM) primarily serving regional public universities across the United States. The company's business model is centered on forming long-term collaborations with educational institutions to help them launch, manage, and scale online degree programs. This enables universities to expand access to high-quality, affordable, and workforce-relevant education, particularly for adult learners and working students.
The founder, Randy Best, has a history of building over 100 companies across various industries. His focus shifted to mission-driven businesses in education, influenced by his personal challenges with dyslexia, which fueled a passion for expanding educational access. Before Academic Partnerships, he founded Voyager Expanded Learning in 1995 to improve literacy for children and later established Whitney University System in 2005 to increase higher education access in Latin America. This journey reflects a consistent dedication to leveraging business models to solve educational challenges. His first partnership for the company was with his alma mater, Lamar University.
The company's service portfolio is comprehensive, acting as a strategic partner that provides capital investment and an integrated suite of services. These services include market and program research, digital marketing, student recruitment, and retention support. By handling these operational aspects, Academic Partnerships allows its university clients to concentrate on their core competency: teaching and delivering academic content. Revenue is typically generated through a revenue-sharing model, where the company takes a percentage of the tuition fees from students enrolled in the online programs it helps manage. In January 2024, the company completed a significant acquisition of Wiley University Services, expanding its network to support over 125 colleges and universities.
Keywords: Online Program Management, OPM, higher education services, university partnerships, online degree programs, student recruitment, enrollment growth, education technology, workforce development, adult learners, regional universities, digital marketing for education, student retention services, academic services, online learning solutions, higher ed partnerships, Randy Best, Fernando Bleichmar, Risepoint, Wiley University Services