Last year, Austin-based software maker Civitas Learning raised $60 million to expand its education software business. Now it's putting that money to work, with the acquisition of a California startup.
Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Civitas Learning said the purchase of College Scheduler will enhance its software system, which aims to increase college graduation rates by helping students make better educational decisions.
Founded in 2011, Civitas Learning works with four-year universities, community colleges and other higher education institutions to analyze demographic, behavioral and academic data about their students.
Using historical and current data, the company builds predictive models to help students select degrees and courses, help faculty and advisers identify at-risk students, and help all students stay on track to graduate on time.
College Scheduler, based in Chico, Calif., offers a Web-based, automated service for college registration and class scheduling. The company's service is used by more than 150 colleges and universities including Arizona State and the University of Wisconsin.
"From day one, our mission has been to provide students with a streamlined planning and registration experience that increases student success, " said College Scheduler's Robert Strazzarino, who founded the company while enrolled as a student at California State University-Chico.
Mark Milliron, co-founder and chief learning officer of Civitas Learning, said that although class scheduling is a crucial step in degree planning, many universities still rely on manual processes or use outdated technology.
"One of the biggest challenges for students, especially today's students, most of whom are non traditional students, is they have complex lives, often with jobs and families, " he said. "If you can only attend class on Tuesday and Thursday, you can put in your constraints, and it will come back with a course schedule for you that would take you hours to do annually."
College Scheduler's 15 employees will join Civitas Learning, which has 220 employees.
Civitas Learning was founded by Charles Thornburgh, who was formerly a senior executive at test preparation and tutoring giant Kaplan Inc., where he spent nine years as an in-house entrepreneur and launched several technology businesses.
More than 3 million students on 884 campuses across the United States are using Civitas Learning's software platform.
Schools using the system include Texas A&M University, University of Washington, University of Texas and Florida International University.
Civitas Learning generates revenue by charging subscription fees to member institutions, whose administrators, faculty and students have received personalized recommendations on the data.
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