Pearson Doubles Down Online
Inside Higher Ed – Doug Lederman
17-Oct
Pearson, which two years began tiptoeing into the market of helping colleges and universities take their academic programs online, jumped in with both feet Tuesday by purchasing EmbanetCompass, the biggest player in that space. In its initial forays into this space, Pearson has focused on undergraduate (including community college) programs, and while some of its partnerships have been of the soup-to-nuts variety, it has also offered college clients the chance to use just some of its services, rather than requiring them to buy the whole package as EmbanetCompass and most of its competitors do (often for an extended period of time). Those differences in emphasis and approach mean that Pearson and EmbanetCompass are “highly complementary,” said Don Kilburn, CEO of Pearson Learning Solutions. “Increasingly, schools are looking for partners to help them with their mission, and to do it in the ways they’re most comfortable.” Adding EmbanetCompass’s approach and scale and “strong reputation” to Pearson’s, Kilburn said, makes his company “the clear leader in terms of enabling online right now.” “Pearson is deepening its bet on the digital future and has to be seen as a leader in that space,” said Trace A. Urdan, an analyst at Wells Fargo Securities who focuses on education businesses.
Tagged EmbanetCompass, Higher Education, online learning, Pearson
