The second of two groundbreaking business acquisitions that occurred this week in the higher education technology space–2U bought massive open online course provider edX for a reported $800 million on Tuesday–may have a profound impact on the future success of students and the institutions they attend.
Learning engagement platform Modern Campus purchased Presence in a deal that will expand its reach to more than 1,400 colleges and universities. Both will continue on their missions to serve students on “learner to earner” paths with products they say can offer highly personalized experiences and help institutions better enroll and retain them.
“Learner engagement means everything to modern higher education institutions because highly engaged learners graduate on time and are far more likely to view their post-secondary education as a lifelong partnership versus merely a two- or four-year transactional relationship,” said Brian Kibby, chief executive officer of Modern Campus. “Not only does Presence offer the best student engagement platform, but they’re also equally obsessed with customer success.”
The integration of Modern Campus and Presence not only will benefit students but also provide a more robust platform to support colleges and institutions.
Modern Campus, which boasts being “part content management system, part student information system and part personalized engine”, will gain access to the strengths of Presence, not the least of which is its ability to help institutions track student behavior and involvement patterns.
Through a single platform, Presence currently helps 250 colleges and universities: streamline workflows and student access; improve engagement and lift barriers to involvement via automatic profiles; track student engagement data through mobile surveys and assessments; identify trends from connected student information systems, and boost co-curricular opportunities that can help in persistence and completion.
“Partnering with Modern Campus now affords us the opportunity to deepen our campus relationships,” said Reuben Pressman, founder and chief executive officer of Presence. “More than that, we’re excited to be part of a broader platform that aligns with our focus on highly personalized student experiences and enables student success.”
Modern Campus features three suites of products—Omni CMS, Destiny One SIS and DIGARC, the catalog and curriculum management software provider it recently acquired—that aim to create lifelong learning paths for students.
