Posts by Matt Weaver

The Build Back Better Act Has the Potential to Make Universal Pre-K a Reality

Three years since the promise of universal pre-K became a key plank of many Democrats’ political platforms, Congress appears close to passing groundbreaking legislation that would help states make universal pre-K a reality. President Biden’s Build Back Better Act has gone through multiple iterations in the past few months – and may still go through […]

Faster, Cheaper, Better: The Three-Year Undergrad Degree in the Global Online Market

Since the middle of the 20th Century a degree from an American university has been the most sought-after academic credential in the world. Until stifled by COVID-19, every year more than one million learners from around the world sought admission to U.S. colleges and universities. Now, however, as learners around the world – especially in […]

Byju’s: Edtech Holding Company or Operating Goliath?

There is no company that better exemplifies the current moment in edtech (and edtech investing) than Indian consumer giant Byju’s (parent company Think & Learn Pvt Ltd). With (most recently available) reported annual revenue at March 2020 of $350 million and losses of $34 million, the company’s growth has reportedly accelerated since then through both acquisition and pandemic-fueled enthusiasm […]

Widening skills gap is driving deal activity tied to education in HCM

Since the beginning of the pandemic, large-sized deals in pre-K-12 and postsecondary have garnered lots of attention as they point to scale in the acceleration of digital learning. Recent notable examples include Kahoot’s $500M acquisition of Clever, 2U’s $800M acquisition of edX, and Platinum Equity’s acquisition of McGraw Hill for $4.5B, which we split evenly […]

Amazon to Use Free College as a Recruiting Tool

A higher education state system administrator recently told us that employer partnerships are like flossing: valuable sure, but tedious and sometimes painful, and not nearly as prevalent as often claimed. Yet from Starbucks to Walmart to Amazon they are an increasingly prominent part of the higher education landscape and public institutions in particular given their broad missions must reckon with how they will serve and support this new class of student and new category of sponsor. Not unlike […]

Antholoboard or Blackology? Either way, we could be seeing more like this.

Last month Anthology and Blackboard announced that the two companies would merge, creating the largest educational technology company in the world, with more than 4,000 institutional customers. Financial terms were not disclosed, but a Bloomberg reporter covering the merger estimated a combined enterprise value of $3 billion with the merger valuing Blackboard shares at $2 […]

Will $9B Solve Student Success?

Last week Democrats released details of their proposed $3.5 Trillion budget bill which includes approximately $111 Billion for higher education, the major portion of which is dedicated to a plan aimed at making community college effectively free in all 50 states. The plan is complex because of the wide variation in funding approaches and tuition […]

K-12 Buckles Down for the New Academic Year

Last year at this time, we offered perspective on issues facing the K-12 community as a result of the pandemic. Most of us spent considerable time watching and supporting schools, students, and parents in their response. In one strand of our work at Tyton, we found that for parents, there was a pronounced shift in […]

Tyton Partners Widens Education Industry Coverage with the Elevation of Chris Liedel to Managing Director in the Investment Banking Practice

With extensive experience in the media, education, and non-profit sectors, Chris Liedel has spent the past 25 years driving growth and social impact initiatives for organizations including National Geographic, The Smithsonian, and the Olympic and Paralympic movements. Today, Tyton Partners announces that current firm Vice Chairman Liedel will expand his role at Tyton Partners to […]

Equity and Outcomes in Digital Learning

Over the past year, the pandemic has shone a light on and exacerbated pre-existing structural challenges that persist and prevent access and equity in higher education. The criticality of collaboration across diverse stakeholders – institutions, companies, investors, philanthropy, and policy-makers – to address these issues has been part of what drove our development of the […]

Making the Grade – K-12 Deal Activity Continues to Flourish

In April, we reported on an increased appetite among investors for the K-12 sector, marked by larger, later-stage deals. This trend has continued through Q2 and Q3 of 2021. Up-and-coming names in K-12 educational assessment (Formative) and academic support services (Paper) have raised unprecedented amounts in recently announced Series A and C financings. Similarly, innovative […]

Tyton Partners Announces 2021 Deal Highlights and Predictions for Second Half of the Year

2021 Transformational SaaS and Technology Transactions   2021 Tech-Enabled Services Transactions With global investors racing to deploy billions of dollars across the edtech ecosystem, Tyton Partners continues to be a trusted advisor to many of the preeminent investors, executives, and entrepreneurs navigating a dynamic capital markets environment that is outpacing previous fundraising records. We are […]

Delivering Impact at ASU+GSV

We are excited to be a sponsor at this year’s ASU+GSV Summit. After a year away, we are eager to use the week in San Diego to visit and reconnect on the important issues occurring across K12, Higher Education, Workforce Development, and Impact Investing, as well as driving toward new solutions in for-profit and nonprofit […]

Tyton Partners Investment Banking Practice Completes Record First Half of 2021

With global investors racing to deploy billions of dollars across the edtech ecosystem, Tyton Partners continues to be a trusted advisor to many of the pre-eminent investors, executives, and entrepreneurs navigating a dynamic capital markets environment that is outpacing previous fundraising records. During the first half of the year, the Tyton Partners Investment Banking team […]

Go Big or Go Home

The awakening of public markets to the growth potential of technology education was solidified with an exclamation mark during the month of June. Trace Urdan explains why real investor demand seems likely to continue unabated through the second half of the year.

A Game Changing Combination

The 2U/EdX combination closed the end of a very busy June in #highered capital markets activity. But what does the deal actually mean for the future of alternative credentials for those unable or unwilling to pay degree program prices?

Tyton in the Field: Introducing A-Street Ventures, LP

For more than a decade Tyton Partners has been on the frontlines of advising investors and companies on how to move the global education market forward in ways that improve educational outcomes. That is why we were delighted to support the planning, development, and recent launch of A-Street Ventures, LP, launched by Marc Sternberg, the […]

Tyton Partners Continues its Growth with the Elevation of Jeff Dinski to Partnership

Former operator and entrepreneur becomes the first elected partner in firm history The leadership team at Tyton Partners is delighted to announce the next phase of the firm’s growth with the election of Jeff Dinski to partner in its consulting practice. Jeff has been with Tyton Partners since June 2016 and has more than 20 […]

The Resilience of K-12 Teachers

Our survey took the pulse of K-12 teachers to get a sense of how their practice evolved this current year – and what next year has in store for them.

And One Platform to Rule Them All

As the U.S. collectively emerges from the pandemic, we see no slowdown in enthusiasm for EdTech among investors. The pace and size of deals across all dimensions of the education market continues to grow. And the enthusiasm seems well-warranted. K-12 and post-secondary institutions find themselves with new federal funds to deploy and corporations are as eager as ever to upskill, reskill or simply retain talent through sponsored training.

After COVID-19: Driving Academic Transformation Through Public-Private Partnerships

Just over a year ago, in a matter of a few weeks nearly every American college and university transformed from primarily face-to-face to remote learning.  The result, with little thought for the transformative effect, has been the creation of thousands of public-private partnerships, arraying proprietary platforms and private capital (Zoom has a market cap of $100-billion) into […]

Tyton Partners Promotes Kristen Fox to Managing Director

Tyton Partners is pleased to announce the promotion of Kristen Fox to Managing Director in the firm’s consulting practice. In this role, she will continue to advise clients  on organizational transformation in higher education, revenue diversification, digital learning, and forging high-impact education to career pathways. “Kristen is an experienced consultant with more than 15 years’ […]

Beyond the Noise: The Case for Capitol Capital Budgeting

Over the past 12 months, the federal government has directed an unprecedented amount of money — nearly $75 billion — to U.S. higher education

Q1-2 Trends and Transactions: Corporate Training and Workforce Development

Market activity in corporate training and workforce development across the first four months of 2021

Making the Grade: Investors Place Big Bets on K-12

Over the last three months the U.S. K-12 market generated more than $3 billion of deal activity. As schools and districts transition

Tyton Partners Releases Largest National Study on Student Success and Funds Fellow at the NACADA Center for Research

  PRESS RELEASES |FEB 18, 2019   Source: Press Release BOSTON, MA (Feb 18, 2019) – Tyton Partners has released Driving Toward a Degree 2019, the largest longitudinal nation-wide study that measures the adoption and impact of various structures, processes, practices, and technologies related to student success in higher education.  The two-part study includes survey responses […]

The New Curriculum Aristocracy

While February may be the shortest month of the year, its limited duration belied the volume of sector activity. The U.S. K-12 market experienced ~$1.1 billion in deal value across a single week...

Making the Grade: One Year In – What Has Been the Toll on Teachers?

Many of us at Tyton are former K-12 educators. It has been a long year for our former colleagues across the country who are the linchpin in our K-12 system. Fortunately, yesterday, the Biden administration announced that it will use the Federal Retail Pharmacy Program for Covid-19 vaccinations to deliver to states and local communities […]

Beyond the Noise: Enrollment Marketing - Getting Back to Normal?

We are excited to share that in the five months since its launch, the Tyton Partners’ Center for Higher Education Transformation has begun work on a number of exciting projects, including several potential partnership initiatives, as well as efforts to help institutions catalyze new growth and reimagine their approach to online program offerings. As challenging as […]

Investors Double Down on EdTech

Education market activity started the year strongly, with nearly 70 announced deals across the first month of 2021...

Tyton Partners Announces 2020 Key Deal Highlights and Predictions for 2021

Transformational Higher Education and Human Capital Optimization Solution Providers (click on tombstones to read press releases):     Best-in-Class K-12 Curriculum and Software Players:     Emerging International EdTech Software and Service Providers:   As we look forward to 2021, following a challenging but productive year in 2020, we are grateful for the hard work, […]

Tyton Partners Launches Center for Higher Education Transformation

BOSTON, MA (September 23, 2020) – Colleges and universities are experiencing never-before-seen levels of change, exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Higher education institutions of all types and sizes face a barrage of pressures to improve outcomes and sustainability despite a declining and evolving student population. Tyton Partners has launched its Center for Higher Education Transformation […]

Tyton Partners Represented Carrick Capital Partners in its acquisition of Flatiron School, a WeWork Company

SAN FRANCISCO and NEWPORT BEACH, Calif., June 30, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — Carrick Capital Partners (“Carrick”), an investment firm focused on software and software-enabled businesses, today announced that it is acquiring Flatiron School, one of the country’s leading technical bootcamps from WeWork. Flatiron School graduates its students with highly in-demand skills in software engineering, data science, UX/UI design, and cybersecurity. Flatiron […]

Tyton Partners represented Aztec Software on its sale to PSG

Tyton Partners acted as exclusive financial advisor to Aztec in its sale to PSG. About Aztec Software Since 1980, Aztec Software has been in the business of improving the lives of adult and young adults through computerized skills remediation, with a focus on core academic subject areas, as well as those skills for ABE and […]

Tyton Partners represented HelioCampus in its sale to Pamlico Capital

Tyton Partners acted as exclusive financial advisor to HelioCampus in its sale to Pamlico Capital. HelioCampus is a first-to-market business performance analytics tech enabled services platform for colleges and universities. Founded in 2015, HelioCampus’ technology platform consolidates, organizes, and manages an institution’s data as HelioCampus’ data scientists partner with customers to develop solutions for their most pressing […]

Tyton Partners represented Accelify Solutions on its Sale to Frontline Education

MALVERN, Pa., Oct. 3, 2019 /PRNewswire/ Tyton Partners acted as exclusive advisor to Accelify Solutions, LLC  (“Accelify”), in its sale to Frontline Education (“Frontline”). Accelify is a leading SaaS provider of special education management systems that are designed to help school districts strengthen special education (“SPED”) operations and compliance and maximize Medicaid reimbursement. The company’s suite of […]

Tyton Partners represented Cloud Academy on its Sale to QA

JULY 10, 2019. SAN FRANCISCO–(BUSINESS WIRE) Tyton Partners acted as exclusive advisor to Cloud Academy in its sale to QA. Cloud Academy is the leading enterprise digital skills development platform accelerating innovation through guided Learning Paths, Hands-on Labs, and Skill Assessment. Companies trust Cloud Academy to deliver role-specific training on leading clouds (AWS, Azure, Google […]

Tyton Partners represented Fullstack Academy in its sale to Zovio

SAN DIEGO, March 12, 2019 /PRNewswire/ Tyton Partners acted as exclusive financial advisor to Fullstack Academy in its sale to Zovio. Fullstack Academy’s coding bootcamps train students across the country in on-campus and remote programs.  Through its own campuses, online, and through university partnerships, graduates of Fullstack programs are trained to succeed in an environment of increasing […]

Tyton Partners represented TE21, Inc. in its sale to Certica Solutions

WAKEFIELD, Mass., April 11, 2019 Tyton Partners acted as exclusive financial advisor to TE21, Inc. in its sale to Certica Solutions. TE21, Inc. is an award-winning education company that offers mission critical solutions to meet the needs of K-12 schools and districts. TE21 provides benchmark assessments, item bank, intervention solutions, professional development, and education improvement […]

Appointment of Senior Research Fellow to Support Driving Toward a Degree and the NACADA Center for Research

Source: Press Release BOSTON, MA (April 2, 2019) – Tyton Partners and NACADA: The Global Community for Academic Advising (NACADA) – proudly announce the appointment of Dr. Lydia Kyei-Blankson as Senior Research Fellow at the NACADA Center for Research at Kansas State University (KSU). Dr. Kyei-Blankson, is the Associate Professor of Educational Administration and Foundations […]

Tyton Partners represented All Campus in its sale to EGP

Tyton Partners acted as exclusive financial advisor to All Campus in its sale to Education Growth Partners.

Tyton Partners Releases Largest National Study on Student Success and Funds Fellow at the NACADA Center for Research

Source: Press Release BOSTON, MA (Feb 19, 2019) – Tyton Partners has released Driving Toward a Degree 2019, the largest longitudinal nation-wide study that measures the adoption and impact of various structures, processes, practices, and technologies related to student success in higher education.  The two-part study includes survey responses from 3,300 institutional stakeholders from nearly 1,300 […]

Tyton Partners represented Wiley in its acquisition of Learning House

Hoboken, NJ (November 1, 2018) Tyton Partners acted as exclusive financial advisor to Wiley in it’s acquisition of  Learning House. Read the press release here. About Wiley Wiley is a global leader in research and education. Our online scientific, technical, medical, and scholarly journals, and our digital learning, assessment, certification and student-lifecycle services and solutions help universities, […]

Tyton Partners represented Carnegie Learning in its merger with New Mountain Learning, a portfolio company of CIP Capital

SEPTEMBER 6, 2018 Carnegie Learning has merged with New Mountain Learning, a portfolio company of CIP Capital CIP Capital today officially announced that it has completed an investment in Carnegie Learning, a leading provider of innovative, research-proven math products and services, and will be merging it with recently acquired New Mountain Learning (NML), a leading […]

Tyton Partners represented Hack Reactor in its sale to Galvanize

DENVER, July 19, 2018 /PRNewswire/ Tyton Partners acted as exclusive financial advisor to Hack Reactor in its sale to Galvanize. Hack Reactor is an immersive full-stack development program that teaches students software engineering at our campuses in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Austin, New York City, and through our Remote campus. Students master advanced HTML and CSS, front-end JavaScript frameworks like Backbone […]

Apollo Education Group’s sale of College for Financial Planning to Kaplan

JULY 12, 2018. LA CROSSE, Wis.–(BUSINESS WIRE) Apollo Education Group has closed on its sale of the College for Financial Planning (CFFP)  to Kaplan Professional Education, a unit of global education provider Kaplan, Inc. Tyton Partners acted as exclusive financial advisor to Apollo. For over 45 years, CFFP has been the education provider of choice […]

Tyton Partners represented Pathgather in its sale to Degreed

SAN FRANCISCO, June 20, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) Tyton Partners acted as exclusive financial advisor to Pathgather in its sale to Degreed. The deal merges the two companies that invented the learning experience platform (LXP) category. Founded in 2012, Pathgather has developed a learning experience platform that aggregates all content across channels and ties specific skill […]

Tyton Partners represented Digital Measures in its sale to Watermark

JUNE 28, 2018 Tyton Partners acted as exclusive financial advisor to Digital Measures in its sale to Watermark. Digital Measures is a SaaS technology platform for centralizing faculty data and activities to address accreditation, evaluate performance, facilitate promotion and tenure, and showcase faculty achievements. The company is a leader in faculty information and serves 350 […]

Tyton Partners represented Castle Worldwide in its sale to Scantron

JUNE 20, 2018 EAGAN, Minn.–(BUSINESS WIRE) Tyton Partners acted as exclusive financial advisor to Castle Worldwide in its sale to Scantron. Castle is an accomplished, widely respected, full-service certification and licensure testing company. It has over 30 years-experience and leadership in the science of psychometrics, licensure and certification test development, and internet-based test delivery. Castle’s […]

Tyton Announces Global Growth50

Tyton Partners Recognizes 50 International Education Companies with Impact Tyton Partners names the 2018 Tyton Global Growth50 at EdTechX Conference in London  London, June 19, 2018 – Tyton Partners, the leading provider of investment banking and strategy consulting services to the global knowledge sector, today announced its Tyton Growth50, a recognition of dynamic growth-stage companies in […]

Learning Technologies’ acquisition of PeopleFluent

APRIL 25, 2018 London-based Learning Technologies Group (LTG) is acquiring PeopleFluent from investment managers Bedford Funding I LP and Bedford HCM Holdings GP LLC in an all-cash deal for $150 million. The deal was financed in part through a new share placement of 85 million pounds (approximately $120 million). Tyton Partners sourced and identified PeopleFluent […]

Educational Supplier Really Good Stuff Acquires Steve Spangler Science

MONTEREY, Calif., April 2, 2018 /PRNewswire/ — Really Good Stuff, LLC, a subsidiary of Excelligence Learning Corporation, the Monterey, California-based leading provider of educational tools and solutions to early childhood and elementary teachers and parents, announced its acquisition of Steve Spangler Science, the Denver-based creator and marketer of innovative STEM-based products and learning experiences that introduce young minds to future […]

TCV Makes Strategic Investment In Education Technology Leader Watermark

NEW YORK, March 27, 2018 /PRNewswire/ — Watermark, the largest provider of assessment software for higher education institutions worldwide, announced today that TCV has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire a controlling interest in the company. The transaction is expected to close in the second quarter and is subject to customary closing conditions. TCV is one of […]

Wolters Kluwer Health to Acquire Firecracker

Wolters Kluwer Health announces today that it has signed an agreement to acquire Firecracker, an adaptive learning, assessment, and study-planning solution used by more than 20 percent of U.S. medical students. Firecracker will become part of the Health Learning, Research & Practice group, which produces high quality medical education and practice content under the Lippincott […]

Carnegie Learning Announces Strategic Alliance with Smithsonian

PITTSBURGH–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Carnegie Learning, Inc., a research-proven leader of mathematics technology, curriculum and services, has announced a strategic alliance with the Smithsonian Institution. The Smithsonian has long been a leading developer of research-based science and engineering curriculum through its Smithsonian Science Education Center, which was established in 1985 to help transform the teaching and learning of […]

Tyton Partners represented Motion Math in its sale to Curriculum Associates

NORTH BILLERICA, Mass., Nov. 8, 2017 /PRNewswire/ Tyton Partners acted as a financial advisor to Motion Math in its sale to Curriculum Associates. The deal will enhance Curriculum Associates’ i-Ready program by enriching student experience in developing critical math skills. Motion Math engages students with visual math games that promote a growth mindset through feedback and coaching, challenging and […]

Tyton Partners represented WhiteBox Learning in its sale to Flinn Scientific

Batavia, IL, October 24, 2017 – Tyton Partners represented WhiteBox Learning in its sale to Flinn Scientific Tyton Partners acted as exclusive financial advisor to WhiteBox Learning LLC (“WhiteBox”) in its sale to Flinn Scientific. WhiteBox is a leading SaaS provider of a comprehensive activity-based learning system that offers science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) […]

Titans in education

Few firms know the global education market as well as Boston-based Tyton Partners. Kirsten Noben talks to founder Chris Curran about current trends There are only a few education deals in the US which Tyton Partners are not familiar with. The investment banking and strategy consultancy firm, first launched in 2010 in Boston by Chris Curran and Adam Newman […]

Education Veteran Expands Tyton Partners' Operations to West Coast

Source: Press Release NEW YORK, NY–(Marketwired – Oct 12, 2017) – Trace Urdan has joined Tyton Partners, the leading provider of investment banking and strategy consulting services to the global knowledge sector, as a Managing Director. Trace will be primarily focused on developing new relationships in support of the Firm’s banking and consulting practices and […]

Tyton Partners Launches Largest National Study on Academic Advising and Student Success, Driving Toward a Degree 2017

Source: Press Release BOSTON, MA (Oct 12, 2017) – Tyton Partners has released Driving Toward a Degree 2017, the latest report in a series that measures the extent and impact of various practices and products related to academic advising across higher education institutions nationwide.  The two-part study includes survey responses from 2,200 institutional stakeholders from […]

Tyton Partners Co-Advised DMGT’s Hobsons in the Sale of Select Product Lines to Campus Management Corp.

Source: Press release (PR NEWSWIRE Sep 28, 2017) -Tyton Partners (www.tytonpartners.com) acted as co-advisor to DMGT Hobsons, Inc., in the sale of product lines Radius, AppReview, ApplyYourself, Connect, and Retain to Campus Management Corp., a Leeds Equity Partners portfolio company.  These solutions are used globally by more than 700 higher education institutions.  JEGI (www.jegi.com), was […]

Tyton Partners Co-Advised DMGT’s Hobsons in the Sale of Select Product Lines to Campus Management Corp.

SEPTEMBER 28, 2017 Tyton Partners acted as co-advisor to DMGT Hobsons, Inc., in the sale of product lines Radius, AppReview, ApplyYourself, Connect, and Retain to Campus Management Corp., a Leeds Equity Partners portfolio company.  These solutions are used globally by more than 700 higher education institutions.  JEGI (www.jegi.com), was lead advisor to DMGT’s Hobsons, Inc. […]

Innovative Employment Technology Fund Launches and Announces Initial Investments

Source: Press Release CHICAGO, IL (September 26, 2017) –The Joyce Foundation, W.K. Kellogg Foundation, The Rockefeller Foundation, and the Walmart Foundation capitalize the Employment Technology Fund The Employment Technology Fund (“ETF”), an innovative impact investing initiative of the New Venture Fund, and made possible with funding from these leading foundations—The Joyce Foundation, W.K. Kellogg Foundation, […]

Updated Courseware in Context (CWiC) Framework Launches with Improved Features and Usability

BOSTON, MA (Sep 21, 2017) – An update to the Courseware in Context (CWiC) Framework was released today. The CWiC Framework is an open, field-owned suite of resources designed to help postsecondary decision-makers make informed selections of digital courseware products, and support effective adoption and implementation of these solutions. It was developed and initially released […]

Building Faculty Buy-In on Digital Courseware

Source: Inside Higher Ed. June 2017 New framework aims to help professors make sense of the landscape of digital tools that promise to change the nature of learning. The idea that the adoption of digital instructional technologies will lag without faculty buy-in is becoming widely accepted by college administrators and (smart) vendors alike. So, too, […]

A New* System for Student Success Planning

Source: Inside Higher Ed. July 2017 ERP, LMS, SIS — and now SSMS? Colleges need enterprise-level systems — not narrow, problem-specific technology products — to improve student persistence and job placement rates, the technology and research company EAB argues. Such a system, the company suggests, could be called a “student success management system.” Click here […]

Barriers to Digital Learning? Time and Training More Than Resistance

Source: Inside Higher Ed. June 2017 Colleges’ ambitions for technology-enabled instruction have outstripped actual use, more because of practical impediments than philosophical ones, analysis suggests. Professors’ views about the role of technology in learning are easy to caricature.Some faculty members cling to their yellowed lecture notes and reject new technology-enabled approaches because they believe what they’re doing […]

EdTech CEO Veteran Joins Tyton Partners to Focus on Europe and Asia

Source: Press Release NEW YORK, NY–(Marketwired – Jun 12, 2017) – Cory Reid has joined Tyton Partners, the leading provider of investment banking and strategy consulting services to the global knowledge sector, as a Managing Director. He will be primarily focused on developing new business relationships with EdTech, SaaS, and emerging tech-enabled services businesses in […]

Tyton Partners represented InsideTrack in its sale to Strada Education Network

Source: Press Release INDIANAPOLIS, IN–(Marketwired – May 08, 2017) – Strada Education Network℠, an innovative new nonprofit dedicated to improving students’ college success and connecting them to rewarding careers, announced today that InsideTrack®, the leading provider of student success coaching, will join its growing network of mission-driven companies. “InsideTrack’s proven student coaching solutions expand our network’s […]

Francisco Partners Acquires myON, a Business Unit of Capstone

Source: Press Release (Minneapolis, MN) February 21, 2017 — Capstone, a leading publisher of children’s books and digital reading products and services, announced today that Francisco Partners, a leading technology investment firm, has acquired myON. In conjunction with the transaction, Francisco Partners plans to make a significant growth investment in myON. Since launching in 2011, myON has […]

ProExam Receives Investment From ACT

Source: Press Release IOWA CITY, February 22, 2017 – IOWA—ACT, Inc., a national leader in college and career readiness assessment, announced today it intends to invest in ProExam, a not-for-profit organization focused on noncognitive assessment and professional credentialing, with a merger between the two organizations expected in 2018. “Education and workplace success require a holistic set […]

Excelligence Learning Acquires ChildCare Education Institute

Source: Press Release MONTEREY, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Excelligence Learning Corporation, a leading provider of educational tools and solutions to early childhood and elementary school teachers and parents, has acquired ChildCare Education Institute (CCEI). CCEI, headquartered in Duluth, Ga., is a leading provider of online professional development and data systems for the early child care and education market. […]

Excelligence Learning Acquires Frog Street Press

Source: PRESS RELEASE- MONTEREY, Calif., April 19, 2017 /PRNewswire/ — Excelligence Learning Corporation, a leading provider of educational tools and solutions to early childhood and elementary school teachers and parents, has acquired Frog Street Press, Inc.  Frog Street, headquartered in Dallas, Texas, is a leading provider of comprehensive early childhood education solutions for children of ages 0 – 5 years to […]

The Quest to Define 'Quality'

Source: Inside Higher Ed. March 2017 A new report about how to assure quality for nontraditional higher ed providers prompts a more basic question: What do we mean by quality? Eleven experts weigh in. The call last week for a new system of quality assurance for alternative providers of higher education got us here at Inside […]

Goodbye College Advising, Hello College Coaching

Source: EdSurge, February 2017 Education technology is riddled with acronyms, and here’s another one to boot: iPASS. What confusingly sounds like an app is in fact an idea that goes far beyond digital tools. It stands for “integrated planning and advising student success” which in practice looks like new approaches to academic advising and degree […]

Shhhh… This Employee Benefit is Secret

Source: University Ventures, November 2016 Volume VI, #23 I’ve never understood why some people insist on keeping their ideas secret. I always assume if I have an idea, dozens of others have had the same one. It’s not ideas that determine success, it’s execution. Which is why, from the beginning, I’ve always been happy to […]

Courseware in Context (CWiC) Framework Officially Launches With Expanded Feature Set

BOSTON, MA–(Marketwired – Oct 11, 2016) – Today marks the official launch of the Courseware in Context (CWiC) Framework, a research-based resource to help postsecondary decision-makers navigate the digital courseware market and effectively adopt and implement courseware solutions. The Framework, developed through a collaboration between the Online Learning Consortium (“OLC”) and Tyton Partners, with contributions from […]

Jouve Expands Customer Capabilities in the Education Market with Acquisition of Six Red Marbles

Source: Press Release PARIS–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Jouve, a provider of cross-media solutions for designing, enriching, and distributing content, today announced the acquisition of Six Red Marbles, LLC, a Boston-based agency specializing in Learning Experience Design for markets that include education, publishing, and knowledge-driven enterprises. Jouve Chairman and CEO Geoffrey Godet noted that “the purchase of Six Red […]

Cengage Acquires WebAssign, Strengthening Market Position in Science, Technology and Math

Source: BOSTON and RALEIGH, N.C., Sept. 27, 2016 /PRNewswire/ — Cengage, an education and technology company, today announced the acquisition of WebAssign, a leading provider of digital learning solutions for higher education. The acquisition strengthens Cengage’s position as a market leader in science, technology and math offering three unique platforms for faculty and institutions. BOSTON […]

American Splendour

Education sector M&A activity increased once again in 2015. Nick Herbert takes a look at the deals and emergent sector trends. Source: Education Investor, July/August 2016 [Excerpted here by permission] “There has been a bit of a micro-bubble in ed tech,” says Chris Curran, Founder and Managing Director at Tyton Partners. “There are still multitudes of phenomenal […]

Scale-Ups Over Start-Ups: Tyton Partners Announces 2016 Growth50 Companies

Source: Press Release Company Recognizes Top 50 Growth-Stage Companies in the Education Sector Achieving Impact at Scale BOSTON, MA–(Marketwired – Sep 7, 2016) –  Tyton Partners, the leading provider of investment banking and strategy consulting services to the global knowledge sector, today released their annual Tyton Growth50 list, which recognizes the top 50 organizations achieving impact […]

Rich Flynn Joins Tyton Partners as Managing Director

Source: Press Release STAMFORD, CT–(Marketwired – Sep 8, 2016) – Tyton Partners, a leading advisory firm in the global knowledge market, today announced that Rich Flynn, former president of Apollo Education Ventures, will join the firm’s senior leadership team as a Managing Director in Tyton Partners’ investment banking practice. Rich has over 25 years of […]

Lots of Talk, Little Action for Academic Advising and Planning Technology

Source: Edsurge The latest Tyton research focuses on how higher-ed institutions are using advising and planning technology. With support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and in collaboration with National Association of Student Personnel Administrators in Higher Education (NASPA), National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC), and the Global Community on Academic Advising (NACADA), […]

Learning to Adapt

Source: Inside Higher Ed Major study of adaptive learning finds inconclusive results about its ability to improve outcomes and lower costs, but use at two-year colleges and in remedial courses shows potential. Click here to read the full story

Didn’t Go to College, but Have You Seen My LinkedIn?

Source: Bloomberg.com What people might learn from the combined companies after the Microsoft deal. Click here for the full story.

New Research from Tyton Partners Highlights Imperative of Higher Education Planning and Advising Reform

Source:  Press Release As postsecondary student retention and completion rates in the US fail to improve at expected rates, there has been an increased focus on advising and specifically an approach called integrated planning and advising for student success (iPASS). Tyton Partners and the Babson Survey Research Group collaborated with The Global Community for Academic […]

Tyton Partners Places Call for Growth Companies With Staying Power

Tyton Partners Places Call for Growth Companies With Staying Power Nominations for the 2016 Tyton Growth50 are open, recognizing growth-stage companies in education sector achieving impact at scale Boston, April 19, 2015 – Tyton Partners, the leading provider of investment banking and strategy consulting services to the global knowledge sector, today announced it is accepting […]

Unlocking Predictive Analytics to Improve Student Engagement and Retention

Published by: Campus Technology The year 2015 was a turning point for data analytics technology. Now is the time for higher education institutions to put data to use and give students the advising support they need to succeed. Read the full article here.  

Higher ed thought leaders forecast 2016 trends

Published By: University Business Presidents and other thought leaders look ahead on security, enrollment and tuition. Read the full article here.

Going Beyond the Pilot Project

Published by: Inside Higher Ed A national association of public universities is throwing its weight behind the use of adaptive courseware, an emerging form of online course delivery that responds to students’ learning styles and levels of achievement. Read the full article here.  

Evidence of Learning: A Framework for Facilitation

Published by: EDUCAUSE Review Presenting evidence of learning should be a hallmark of society’s increasing orientation toward lifelong learning and transparency of capabilities. Executing this vision requires a far-ranging systemic effort. Read the full article here

L'adaptive learning, la révolution qui vient

Hachette Livre a signé le 10 septembre 2015 un partenariat avec Knewton, la start-up new-yorkaise en pointe aux États-Unis sur l’adaptive learning. Outre-Atlantique, ce nouveau mode d’apprentissage mêle algorithmes, psychologie cognitive et big datas afin de personnaliser l’enseignement. Universités américaines et éditeurs de logiciels y voient des opportunités fortes, malgré un coût conséquent. Le point […]

The Largest EdTech Opportunity No One is Tackling

Published by: Huff Post There are 36 million adults in the United States — nearly 15% of the adult population — who read at what are called “basic” and “below-basic” levels. While these individuals struggle to use the written word in work and life, as many as 3 in 4 of them have a smartphone. That’s […]

Stars, strips, and start-ups

Published by: EducationInvestor M&A activity in the US education industry is hotter than ever. Kirsten Noben looks at what’s driving the trend and the subsectors getting most love  After the recession caused a slowdown, M&A activity in the US education space has begun to heat up again. According to a report published by investment bank […]

Feuding Over Digital Courseware

Published by: Inside Higher Ed The mudslinging in the debate over the use of digital courseware has reached Hatfield-and-McCoy levels of feuding. I have heard at least one higher education leader say, “The only faculty that are afraid of being replaced by digital courseware are those who deserve to be replaced by digital courseware.” Also […]

Guess who: These people rarely control the ed tech budget, but they are expected to make it work

Published by: The Hechinger Report Teachers are the people who must effectively blend high-tech tools into their instruction, but relatively few of them have much say over what classroom technology is purchased. As a result, education technology companies spend a lot of time courting school administrators, because they’re the people most likely to decide what […]

A challenge and a reward: $7 million XPrize to create ed tech for adult literacy

Published by: The Hechinger Report NEW YORK CITY – Millions of dollars are being dangled as an incentive to get people to invent education technology that helps teach adults who struggle with basic reading and writing. The Barbara Bush Adult Literacy XPrize, announced today, offers $7 million in prizes for those who create technology for […]

A Higher Profile

Published by: Inside Higher Ed LinkedIn has become a company to watch in higher education. This week the job networking site announced it would spend $1.5 billion to buy lynda.com, an online course portal. The deal is the biggest so far for LinkedIn, which has roughly 300 million users. Last year the publicly traded company unveiled a college ranking system based […]

Tyton report highlights dearth of tech solutions for adult ed programs

Published by: EducationDIVE The sector has demand for instructional technologies but very little supply Education technology initiatives have exploded in recent years. School districts at the elementary and secondary level have purchased tablets, laptops, and Chromebooks while digital programming companies have produced new educational applications for their students. Testing companies have created adaptive versions of […]

Can technology reshape adult education?

Published by: eCampus News National survey of adult educators shows opportunity for instructional technology to dramatically improve and expand adult basic education. Read Full Article

Adult Ed Lagging Way Behind in Tech Use

Published by: Campus Technology While schools have placed a great deal of attention on technology in the classroom, one instructional segment that has been left behind, it appears, is adult education. Although 86 percent of adult education administrators and practitioners said they believe that technology solutions can “effectively support” adult education, only 54 percent of […]

Transforming Adult Education Through Technology

Published by: EdSurge ADULT ACTION: Education’s not just about the kids; there are 36 million US adults who lack basic skills. And despite the fact that 85 percent of respondents in a report from Tyton Partners and Joyce Foundation on this topic say technology can play a role, there’s still much to be desired. Read Full Article

Research Shows Technology Has the Potential to Reshape Adult Education

Landmark national survey of adult educators shows tremendous opportunity for instructional technology to dramatically improve and expand adult basic education BOSTON, March 31, 2015 – Thirty-six million American adults lack the basic skills required for meaningful employment in today’s workforce, and only a fraction are served by existing educational programs. New research finds a huge […]

Report: Faculty weigh in on digital courseware

Published by: eCampus News A new study provides the ed-tech community with some of the only research into postsecondary faculty perspectives on the state of the digital courseware market. Read Full Article

Faculty Views on Digital Courseware

Published by: Inside Higher Ed Tyton Partners, the former Education Growth Advisors, this week released the first of three papers based on surveys it conducted on faculty and administrator attitudes about digital courseware. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation funded the surveys, which yielded 2,700 responses. Read Full Article

Survey: Half of Faculty Have Used Digital Coursware, but Cost and Time Remain Obstacles

Published by: Campus Technology More than half, 54 percent, of faculty used digital courseware in the 2013-2014 school year, according to a new survey, “Faculty Perspectives on Courseware,” from Tyton Partners. Almost as many, 52 percent, told researchers they value its potential impact. Read Full Article

STUDY: FACULTY HAVE SPOKEN ON DIGITAL COURSEWARE

New Research Provides Insights and Actions for Courseware Suppliers and Institutions to Support Adoption and Improve Satisfaction BOSTON, (March 10, 2015) – Tyton Partners today released findings from a national survey of postsecondary faculty that reveals the current state of courseware adoption, as well as insight into barriers to adoption at their institutions and faculty […]

Evidence of Learning Framework: Beneficial for Students, Institutions, and Employers

Published by: The EvoLLLution The traditional approaches to measuring and sharing an individual’s learning no longer match the expectations of students, employers and higher education administrators. Transcripts—the official record for what a student has learned—simply do not capture or communicate an individual’s capabilities and understate skills such as critical thinking, teamwork and problem solving. But […]

Defining 'Evidence of Learning'

Published by: Inside Higher Ed An investment banking and consulting firm focused on education, Tyton Partners, is issuing a report today that attempts to create a framework for measuring “evidence of learning.” Read Full Article

Building 'Evidence of Learning' Structure Will Take Work and Better Software

Published by: Campus Technology Two new studies put out by a company that does higher education consulting propose a framework and offer a kind of buying guide for developing an environment that helps students optimize their educational paths to college and career success — including taking into account what has been learned outside of school. […]

New Research Creates Essential Framework for Evidence of Learning

BOSTON, (February 10, 2015) – Colleges and universities now have a framework that synthesizes the holistic set of learning experiences accrued by individuals. “Evidence of Learning: The Case for an Integrated Competency Management System for Students, Higher Education and Employers” is the latest research from Tyton Partners (formerly Education Growth Advisors) and was funded by […]

Education Growth Advisors Becomes Tyton Partners

Published by: EdSurge GROWING TO BE A TITAN: Education Growth Advisors, a consulting and advisory firm serving the education sector, is changing its name to Tyton Partners. Founded in 2010, EGA has worked in tandem with private equity firm, Education Growth Partners, and has advised dozens of financing and acquisition deals worth a combined $4 billion. Read […]

Education Growth Advisors becomes Tyton Partners

Published by: University Business Education Growth Advisors announced today that it has become Tyton Partners, an evolved advisory firm that provides investment banking and strategy consulting services to the global knowledge sector. Under the new name, the firm will continue to offer in-depth market perspective and insight that helps drive growth and innovation in the […]

Education Growth Advisors Becomes Tyton Partners

Leading Education Investment Banking and Strategy Consulting Firm Expands to Serve the Global Knowledge Sector.

Discovery Communications Shifts From Honey Boo Boo To High-Tech Textbooks

In a classroom at Wheatley Education Campus in Washington, D.C., a pair of representatives from Discovery Education are chatting with Shannon Brown, a middle school math and social studies teacher, about a field trip her students will take to Discovery Communications’ headquarters the next day. “They’ve been talking about it all week,” Brown tells them. […]

Texas Hits The Books

Tyton Partners (formerly EGA) advised Pathbrite in its transaction with Cengage Learning

Boston, MA – Through a new partnership between Cengage Learning, a leading education company, and Pathbrite, the world’s leading Portfolio Learning Platform, students will have access to Pathbrite’s best-in-class e-portfolio in Cengage Learning’s course solutions. The addition of an e-portfolio to MindTap’s high quality course content differentiates it as the only truly comprehensive student centric […]

Tyton Partners (formerly EGA) represented Altius Education in its sale of select assets to Datamark

Salt Lake City, UT – Datamark, the leader in data-driven enrollment marketing, today announced it has acquired the technology assets of Altius Education, including its competency-based online learning platform, Helix, as well as its enrollment management and student retention platforms. An investment group led by Oakleigh Thorne, current Chairman of the Board of Datamark and […]

Tyton Partners (formerly EGA) represented VSCHOOLZ in its sale to Calvert Education Services

BALTIMORE, MARYLAND — Camden Partners Holdings, LLC is pleased to announce that Calvert Education Services (CES), a portfolio company in Camden Partners Strategic Fund IV acquired VSCHOOLZ, Inc., a Huizenga Education Company, to strengthen their digital presence in the K-12 market. The terms of the transaction were not disclosed. In response to the rapidly evolving […]