Name

Rize Education

Legal name

Rize Education

Website

https://thelcmc.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2019

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Higher Education Technology

NAICS

Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (6113), Business Schools and Computer and Management Training (6114), Educational Support Services (611710)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Higher Education Course Design & Online Program Development (EDAGAKAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Online Divisions of Traditional Universities (Hybrid/Extension) (EDAHALAB), Virtual/Blended Exchange (COIL) Partnerships (EDAIABAH)

Keywords

• Collaborative degree programs
• Consortium education model
• Online curriculum licensing
• Higher education programs
• College partnership platforms

Headquarters

HQ city

Adrian

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations

Revenue model

1. Program Licensing to Institutions: Rize licenses its collaborative degree programs to colleges and universities in the LCMC consortium. Member institutions pay for access to ready-made curricula in high-demand fields, allowing them to expand offerings while reducing development costs.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels2 records

Core offering

Rize Education develops and licenses collaborative academic degree programs (undergraduate majors/minors and MBA specializations) to small private colleges through the Lower Cost Models Consortium (LCMC) of 150+ institutions. Curricula are centrally designed with academic and industry experts, then delivered via hybrid online/on-campus instruction taught by faculty at member colleges. The portfolio covers 25+ programs in high-demand fields such as AI, computer science, cybersecurity, healthcare administration, supply chain management, and business analytics.

Product overview

Rize Education is an educational technology platform that partners with the Lower Cost Models Consortium (LCMC), a coalition of over 150 private colleges and universities, to deliver collaborative academic programs. The platform operates as a consortium model, providing undergraduate programs (majors and minors) and MBA specializations that combine on-campus instruction with premium online courses taught by faculty from member institutions. The program portfolio includes 25+ degree programs across high-demand fields including technology (Computer Science, Data Science, Cybersecurity, Applied AI, AI Literacy, Information Technology, Game Development, Web Design), business (Business Analytics, Digital Marketing, Professional Sales, Project Management, Certified Financial Planning, Human Resources), healthcare (Healthcare Administration, Public Health, Nutrition), and other professional fields (Supply Chain Management, Public Relations, Neuroscience, Esports & Gaming Administration, Engineering). The programs are developed in collaboration with industry leaders, academic experts, and companies including Google, Unity, and various Fortune 500 organizations, and are designed to be career-ready with portfolio-building components.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Undergraduate Programs Collaborative academic majors and minors offered in partnership with LCMC member institutions, covering high-demand fields such as AI, healthcare administration, supply chain management, and computer science. Programs combine on-campus instruction with premium online courses taught by experts from partner institutions.
• MBA Specializations Graduate-level specializations designed for MBA programs, enabling business schools at LCMC member institutions to offer focused concentrations in high-growth professional areas.
• Applied AI Program A 5-course technical sequence providing hands-on experience to build custom AI systems, design neural architectures, fine-tune models, engineer prompts, design experiments, and create visualizations. Designed for Computer Science and Data Science majors at LCMC member institutions.
• Computer Science Major Comprehensive computer science major built with support from Google, covering programming in Python, data structures, algorithms, web development, application development, and software engineering. Designed to be accessible to students without prior experience.
• Cybersecurity Program Program covering modern cybersecurity challenges including social manipulation, technology attacks, network security, ethical hacking, security operations, and cybercrime governance.
• Healthcare Administration and Management Program Program with project-based learning and operational focus covering health systems, health law and ethics, health data analytics using R programming, healthcare finance, and operations. Designed to address the Bureau of Labor Statistics' projected 23% job growth for medical and health services managers.
• Supply Chain Management Program Program covering forecasting, logistics, sourcing, and operations management. Prepares students for careers in the growing logistics field with a projected 17% job growth for logisticians.
• Engineering Dual-Degree Program ABET-accredited dual-degree program in Biomedical, Chemical, Civil, Electrical, Mechanical, and Petroleum Engineering offered in partnership with University of North Dakota. Students graduate with degrees from both UND and their home campus.
• Game Development Program Program centered around the Unity game engine, preparing students for two Unity certifications. Covers game design, Unity development, C# programming, and game production.
• Certified Financial Planning Program CFP Board-approved program preparing students for the CFP Certification Examination. Covers financial planning principles, risk management, insurance, investment planning, tax planning, retirement planning, and estate planning.

Quantifiable outcome

• 23% projected job growth for medical and health services managers (Bureau of Labor Statistics)
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• GooglecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 8 September 2020Google supports the LCMC collaborative Computer Science major by providing guidance and curriculum input. This collaboration offers cutting-edge, industry-relevant computer science courses to students throughout the LCMC member campus network. Google contributed its Applied Computing Series expertise to help address the shortage of computer science professors in the United States.
• LCMC (Lower Cost Models Consortium)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019The Lower Cost Models Consortium is a coalition of private colleges and universities that partnered with Rize Education to deliver premium online courses. Rize serves as the operational arm of the consortium, helping member schools develop new shared majors using curricula developed in collaboration with top academic experts. The partnership enables small colleges to offer high-demand degree programs without独自 developing them.
• University of MichigancoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDr. Charles Severance from University of Michigan served as a primary curriculum architect for Rize's technology programs including Web Design and Computer Science. His contributions and curriculum form the backbone of many of the technology majors offered through the consortium.
• Tiffin UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerTiffin University's School of Business developed the Human Resource Management curriculum offered through the LCMC. The university's business department created courses that are accredited by the Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs (ACBSP).
• University of North DakotacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUniversity of North Dakota partners with LCMC to offer ABET-accredited engineering degrees (Biomedical, Chemical, Civil, Electrical, Mechanical, and Petroleum). UND is ranked #2 Online Engineering provider in the country and provides the engineering curriculum while students attend their home campuses.
• International Game Developers Association (IGDA)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe IGDA, a nonprofit professional association for game developers, provided significant input on the Game Development and Esports & Gaming Administration curricula, conforming to the IGDA 2020 curriculum framework.
• Dr. Russell 'Skip' BarbourminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDr. Barbour, former Associate Director for Research Methods and Analysis at Yale's Center for Interdisciplinary Research on AIDS, contributed to the Public Health program curriculum development.
• National Neuroscience Curriculum InitiativeminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe NNCI, a collaboration between educators and neuroscientists, supported the development of the Neuroscience program, creating engaging and interactive exercises for teaching through a peer-review process.
• Dr. Robert HansenminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDr. Robert Hansen, Professor of Business Administration at Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College, served as a key faculty advisor for the Healthcare Administration program development.
• Randy RovestiminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerRandy Rovesti, Professor of IT and Cybersecurity at Penn State University and Engineering Manager at Naval Nuclear Laboratory, served as the primary designer of the Cybersecurity program.
• Risto MiikkulainenminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDr. Risto Miikkulainen, Professor of Computer Science at UT Austin and VP of AI Research at Cognizant Advanced AI Labs, served as the primary program consultant for the Applied AI program.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• 2U: 2U is a leading online program management (OPM) company that partners with nonprofit colleges and universities to deliver degree programs online. Both Rize and 2U enable institutions to expand course catalogs without building infrastructure internally.
• Noodle: Noodle partners with universities to build and operate online degree programs, providing program design, marketing, and student support services. Comparable to Rize in serving institutions seeking to expand offerings through outsourced expertise.
• Wiley Education Services: Wiley Education Services provides program design, marketing, and support for online degree programs at universities. Overlaps with Rize's curriculum development and institutional partnership model.
• Keypath Education: Keypath Education partners with universities to launch online programs, with particular strength in career-focused fields like healthcare and business. Similar focus on high-demand workforce-aligned programs at partner institutions.
• Academic Partnerships: Academic Partnerships helps universities grow online degree enrollments by providing marketing, recruitment, and program support. Comparable GTM of helping institutions expand reach into adult and online learners.
• HotChalk: HotChalk partners with colleges to deliver online courses and degree programs. Targets similar small-to-mid-sized institutional customers seeking turnkey online program infrastructure.

Broad incumbents

• Coursera: Coursera partners with universities to offer online degrees and certificates at scale. Operates as a broad incumbent in the online higher education space with much larger reach than Rize.
• edX (2U): edX offers massive open online courses and degree programs from global universities. A broader incumbent in higher education online learning with extensive catalog and brand recognition.

Emerging players

• Guild Education: Guild Education partners with employers to fund employee college education through university partnerships. An emerging player with adjacent model connecting institutions to non-traditional learners.
• StraighterLine: StraighterLine provides low-cost online general education courses that transfer to partner colleges. Adjacent model of providing standardized courses that institutions accept for credit.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds2 records

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Rize Education