User:CollegeMeltdown/Academic Partnerships

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Academic Partnerships (AP) is a major for-profit online program manager (OPM) based in Dallas Texas. Established in 2007 by entrepreneur Randy Best, AP serves more than 50 colleges and universities, providing technology, marketing services, and student support services to mid-level brands. [1] [2] Because of its early start as a OPM, it has been considered "a pioneer" in the business. [3]According to Academic Partnerships, the company has served 270,000 students and converted more than 4000 campus-based classes to online courses. [4]

History

In 2007, Academic Partnerships was created by entepreneur

University of Texas system and Arkansas State University.[1] An article in Forbes characterized the company's efforts as "using the Web to turn struggling midlevel U.S. universities into global education brands."[6]

In 2011, Randy Best hired former Florida Governor Jeb Bush as an adviser to Higher Ed Holdings. Bush was also an investor. [7] Using his connections, Bush was able to broker an education for AP with Florida International University [8]

In 2013, former members at Academic Partnerships, Paxton Riter and Whitney Kilgore, helped found another OPM, iDesign.[9]

In March 2014, Academic Partnerships paid

Association of Private Sector Colleges and Universities, Bush called President Barak Obama’s gainful employment regulations, “a sledgehammer to the entire field of higher education.”[11] In December of that same year, Jeb Bush resigned from his position at AP in preparation for his bid for a 2016 presidential run. [12]

In 2014, AP was characterized as a "profit machine" that could reduce the cost of educating an undergraduate by about 85 percent. [13]By 2015, AP had annual sales of $100 million and contracts with 40 U.S. colleges and universities.[14]

At some point, Academic Partnerships was owned by Insight Partners, a venture capital and private equity firm.

In 2017, Academic Partnerships appointed Dan Branch, a former Texas House member and Chairman of the Texas House Committee on Higher Education to the board. [15]

In 2020, Academic Partnerships was one of five online program managers that Senators Elizabeth Warren and Sherrod Brown targeted for scrutiny. The senators said that online program managers were typically not transparent and that that they were concerned that these OPMs might be violating rules meant to rein in for-profit colleges. [16]

Business model

Academic Partnerships operates as an online program manager (OPM) and receives an undisclosed portion of the revenues. It is not directly involved in instruction and it does not confer degrees. Instead, it provides its clients with mentoring, instructional design, technology, and other services.

University services

AP works with faculty and staff to design and deliver online programs.

Marketing services

AP uses digital, traditional and field sales channels to market and enroll students.

Student support services

AP provides outreach to assist students with the application process, communicate with students, refer students to university services, and provide outreach to inactive students.

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Michels, Patrick (29 August 2012). "Randy Best Is Going to Save Texas' Public Universities, Or Get Rich Trying". Texas Observer. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  2. ^ Howard, Caroline. "No College Left Behind: Randy Best's Money-Making Mission To Save Higher Education". www.forbes.com. Forbes. Retrieved 12 July 2021.
  3. ^ Feldstein, Michael. "The 'O' in 'OPM' Could Stand for 'Outsourcing'". www.edsurge.com. Ed Surge. Retrieved 12 July 2021.
  4. ^ "Academic Partnerships". academicpartnerships.com. Academic Partnerships. Retrieved 12 July 2021.
  5. ^ Howard, Caroline. "No College Left Behind: Randy Best's Money-Making Mission To Save Higher Education". www.forbes.com. Forbes. Retrieved 12 July 2021.
  6. ^ Howard, Caroline. "No College Left Behind: Randy Best's Money-Making Mission To Save Higher Education". www.forbes.com. Forbes. Retrieved 12 July 2021.
  7. ^ Hamburger, Tom (31 December 2014). "With eye on 2016, Jeb Bush resigns from all boards". Washington Post. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  8. ^ Perez, Andrew; Sirota, David; Cunningham-Cook, Matthew. "Election 2016: Jeb Bush Leveraged Political Connections For Clients And Allies After Leaving Florida Governorship, Emails Show". www.ibtimes.com. International Business Times. Retrieved 12 July 2021.
  9. ^ Feldstein, Michael. "The 'O' in 'OPM' Could Stand for 'Outsourcing'". www.edsurge.com. Ed Surge. Retrieved 12 July 2021.
  10. ^ Fang, Lee. "HILLARY CLINTON PAID BY JEB BUSH'S EDUCATION COMPANY". theintercept.com. The Intercept. Retrieved 12 July 2021.
  11. ^ Vasquez, Michael; Mazzei, Paricia. "Higher-Ed Hustle: For-profit colleges cast shadow over presidential race". www.miamiherald.com. Miami Herald. Retrieved 12 July 2021.
  12. ^ Fang, Lee. "HILLARY CLINTON PAID BY JEB BUSH'S EDUCATION COMPANY". theintercept.com. The Intercept. Retrieved 12 July 2021.
  13. ^ Howard, Caroline. "No College Left Behind: Randy Best's Money-Making Mission To Save Higher Education". www.forbes.com. Forbes. Retrieved 12 July 2021.
  14. ^ Greenberg, Molly. "With His Mind on 2016, Jeb Bush Resigns From the Board of Academic Partnerships". www.bizjournals.com. Bizjournals.com. Retrieved 12 July 2021.
  15. ^ "Dan Branch Joins Academic Partnerships' Board of Directors". www.prnewswire.com. PR Newswire. Retrieved 12 July 2021.
  16. ^ Schwartz, Natalie. "Democratic congressional inquiry targets OPMs". /www.highereddive.com. Industry Dive. Retrieved 12 July 2021.

External links


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