Risepoint

What Risepoint does

Risepoint is a Dallas-based, privately held education technology company that partners with more than 100 regional public and private universities across 40 U.S. states and 5 countries to launch, market, and operate online degree programs. The company, formerly known as Academic Partnerships before its 2022 rebrand, sells a four-module service platform covering marketing and student recruitment, partner success, student support and retention, and faculty support including instructional design and course conversion. Programs are staffed and credentialed by partner university faculty, while Risepoint retains 100% intellectual property ownership for the university and explicitly avoids involvement in admissions, financial aid, curriculum, grading, or graduation decisions; approximately 95% of students enrolled are working adults, and the company reports a 1.5-year average student payback period on education investment.

Revenue is generated through two models: a fee-for-service structure where universities pay for specific deliverables, and a fee-for-persistence model where compensation is tied to student persistence or completion outcomes, both typically structured as multi-year contracts. The company monetizes a proprietary longitudinal research product, the Voice of the Online Learner report (now in its 15th year, with an Australia edition launched in 2024), which doubles as a thought-leadership and demand-generation asset. Strategic emphasis is on workforce-critical fields such as nursing, teaching, business, and public service, with growing portfolio depth in AI-related credentials (e.g., NKU MBA concentrations in AI and supply chain analytics, Goldsmiths programs in AI and computer science).

Risepoint operates a remote-first organization of 1,500+ employees across the U.S., Canada, the U.K., and Australia, and has accumulated a track record of repeated Comparably workplace awards (Best Career Growth, Best Leadership Teams, Best Sales Teams, Best Product and Design Teams in 2026) and inclusion in Forbes' 2026 America's Best-in-State Companies list. AI integration is positioned at the curriculum and faculty-workflow layer through guidelines on responsible AI use and AI-augmented simulations in courses such as Healthcare Leadership, rather than as a proprietary model layer.

Name

Risepoint

Legal name

Risepoint

Website

https://risepoint.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2007

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1,001–5,000 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Higher Education Services

NAICS

Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (611310), Educational Support Services (611710)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200), Services-Advertising Agencies (7311)

akta.pro primary industry

Online Divisions of Traditional Universities (Hybrid/Extension) (EDAHALAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Higher Education Course Design & Online Program Development (EDAGAKAB), University/College Continuing Education (Extension) Programs (EDAAAEAA), Public Research Universities with Major Extension & Outreach Missions (EDAHAAAG)

Keywords

• Online education services
• University partnerships
• Online degree programs
• Student recruitment
• Higher education technology

Headquarters

HQ city

Dallas

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Fee-for-Persistence Model: One of two business models offered. Universities pay based on student persistence or completion metrics.
2. Fee-for-Service Model: Second business model offered. Universities pay for specific services rendered.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Risepoint partners with regional public and private universities to launch and grow workforce-focused online degree programs in nursing, teaching, business, and public service. It delivers four integrated service modules (Marketing Services, Partner Success, Student Support, Faculty Support) under either fee-for-service or fee-for-persistence contracts, and produces proprietary research such as the Voice of the Online Learner report. Curriculum, admissions, and academic decisions remain entirely with the university partners.

Product overview

Risepoint is an education technology company offering a platform of services to university partners for developing and growing online degree programs. The core offering consists of four integrated service modules: Marketing Services (student recruitment), Partner Success (program development support), Student Support (retention services), and Faculty Support (instructional design and course conversion). The company also produces proprietary research products including the Voice of the Online Learner report series (U.S. and Australia editions) and Impact Reports. All programs focus on workforce-critical fields such as nursing, teaching, business, and public service, with curriculum developed and owned by university faculty. Risepoint operates two business models: fee-for-persistence and fee-for-service.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Marketing Services Marketing and prospective student outreach services to help university partners attract and enroll students in online degree programs.
• Partner Success Support services focused on helping university partners throughout their entire journey with program development, launch, and growth.
• Student Support Student support and retention services to help enrolled students complete their online degree programs.
• Faculty Support Support services for university faculty including instructional design, course conversion to online format, and quality review.
• Voice of the Online Learner Report Annual industry research report surveying prospective, enrolled, and graduated online learners to understand their needs, motivators, and challenges; now in its 15th year.
• Voice of the Online Learner Australia Australia-specific edition of the annual Voice of the Online Learner research report, drawing insights from the largest survey of Australian adult online learners to date.
• Risepoint Impact Report Annual impact report highlighting student outcomes from Risepoint-supported online degree programs, reporting metrics on students pursuing educational goals and program completions.

Quantifiable outcome

• 107,000+ students pursued educational goals; 40,000+ completed programs in 2025
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers19 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability4 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

18 partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Delaware State UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 10 June 2026Delaware State University, an HBCU and member of the eHBCU Consortium, partnered with Risepoint to support 25 online undergraduate and graduate degree programs launching Fall 2026. Programs span business, healthcare, public service, and social sciences. The partnership aims to expand access to career-connected programs for working adults.
• Longwood UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 2 June 2026Longwood University in Virginia partnered with Risepoint to expand graduate programs in business and information technology. New offerings include MBA concentrations and MSIT programs in cybersecurity, designed to meet workforce demand and support regional economic growth.
• Concordia University, St. PaulcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 24 April 2026Concordia University, St. Paul launched 90-credit, three-year bachelor's degrees in Exercise Science and Business Administration through its CSP Global platform. The accelerated format reduces elective coursework and enables faster degree completion with reduced tuition costs.
• Goldsmiths, University of LondoncoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 5 February 2026Goldsmiths, University of London partnered with Risepoint to launch five online programs covering Artificial Intelligence, Children's Literature, Psychology, Computer Science, and Creative Practice. Teaching began summer 2026, expanding global access to Goldsmiths' educational offerings.
• University of South Carolina UpstatecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 29 January 2026USC Upstate partnered with Risepoint to launch ten new online degree programs beginning June 2026. Programs target working adults in business, leadership, and health disciplines, addressing regional and national workforce needs through the university's Affordable Learning Initiative.
• Aurora UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 5 January 2026Aurora University partnered with Risepoint and participated in the P3EDU conference. President Susana Rivera-Mills spoke on panels about public-private partnerships in higher education.
• University of Mount Saint VincentcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 5 January 2026President Susan Burns of University of Mount Saint Vincent participated in P3EDU conference panels, discussing how online partnerships have transformed the university's offerings and campus culture.
• Northern Kentucky UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 2 December 2025NKU partnered with Risepoint to add AI and supply chain analytics concentrations to its online MBA program. The new concentrations prepare professionals for leadership roles in technology-driven industries across healthcare, finance, logistics, and marketing sectors.
• Northern Kentucky UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 2 December 2025NKU expanded its online MBA program with two new Risepoint-supported concentrations in artificial intelligence and supply chain analytics. Courses explore AI applications in business operations and logistics optimization with predictive modeling.
• Southeastern Oklahoma State UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 23 October 2025Southeastern Oklahoma State University launched a Master of Education concentration in Special Education focused on Autism and Developmental Disabilities. The program addresses teacher shortages by preparing educators with specialized skills, launching January 2026.
• University of TulsacoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 3 September 2025The University of Tulsa launched a fully online MBA portfolio with seven concentration options (Accounting, Business Analytics, Energy, Entrepreneurship, Finance, Information Technology, Marketing) plus a general track, starting January 2026.
• Lamar UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 22 July 2025Lamar University launched a fully online MBA in Cybersecurity Management in partnership with Risepoint. The program targets working professionals and career changers, preparing them for cybersecurity leadership roles with courses beginning October 2025.
• University of Wisconsin-ParksidecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 30 June 2025UW-Parkside launched six new online undergraduate degree programs in Fall 2025, including degrees in marketing, business management (with concentrations in finance, general business, and HR management), criminal justice, and sociology.
• Youngstown State UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 5 June 2025YSU partnered with Risepoint to launch eight new bachelor's programs in Fall 2025, including computer science with cybersecurity, business administration (accounting, business analytics, economics, management), communication, and applied science in public health.
• Southeastern Oklahoma State UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 10 February 2025Southeastern Oklahoma State University expanded its Risepoint partnership to launch its first online doctoral program and expand into nursing. SE serves a student body of 36% first-generation college students and 24% Native American students.
• Sheridan CollegecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 21 August 2024Sheridan College in Ontario partnered with Risepoint to launch SheridanOnline, offering nine fully online programs starting January 2025. Programs include bachelor's degrees in business administration (accounting, finance, HR, marketing, supply chain), arts, social science, and computer science.
• Florida Institute of TechnologycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 2 July 2024Florida Tech partnered with Risepoint to support 35 online degree programs for undergraduate and graduate students. Programs span associate degrees (8), bachelor's degrees (14), and master's degrees (13) in fields including business, healthcare, and technology.
• Texas State UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 27 June 2024Texas State University partnered with Risepoint to offer 19 online undergraduate and graduate programs starting Fall 2024. Programs include degrees in communication, public administration, health information management, public health, and engineering management.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• 2U: One of the largest publicly-traded Online Program Managers, partnering with nonprofit universities to deliver online degree programs. Direct competitor to Risepoint in the OPM category with overlapping customer base of traditional universities, though historically more revenue-share heavy than Risepoint's persistence-fee model.
• Wiley Education Services: The higher education services arm of Wiley, providing OPM-style services including marketing, recruitment, retention, and instructional design to university partners. Directly competes with Risepoint for university partnerships and shares the focus on working adult learners.
• Noodle: An Online Program Management company that partners with universities to build and run online degree programs. Directly competes with Risepoint for university partnerships and serves a similar adult-learner market.
• iDesign: An OPM that partners with universities to launch and grow online programs, providing custom program management services. Direct peer to Risepoint with comparable university-customer focus and full-service OPM model.
• Bisk Education: An OPM partnering primarily with nonprofit universities to deliver online degree programs in workforce-aligned fields. Direct competitor to Risepoint in the university OPM category with comparable service model.

Broad incumbents

• Pearson: Global education incumbent with online program management services and higher education content. A broader incumbent offering OPM-adjacent services alongside K-12, English-language learning, and assessment, providing indirect competition for Risepoint's university partnerships.
• Kaplan: Diversified education provider offering higher education partnerships (Kaplan University Pathways, Purdue University Global support), test prep, and professional training. A broad incumbent with overlapping OPM-style university relationships and adult-learner focus.
• Anthology: Education technology company (formerly Blackboard) offering LMS, SIS, and student success tools to universities. An adjacent EdTech incumbent that competes with parts of Risepoint's technology stack and increasingly bundles services that overlap with OPM offerings.

Emerging players

• Coursera: Online learning platform partnering with universities to deliver degree programs and credentials. Adjacent competitor with growing university partnerships and similar workforce-aligned content focus, though Coursera's platform-led model differs from Risepoint's service-heavy OPM approach.

Others

• D2L (Brightspace): Learning management system provider used by universities for online course delivery. An enabling technology vendor rather than direct competitor, but increasingly relevant as universities evaluate building in-house OPM capabilities on top of modern LMS platforms.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/risepoint
• Facebookfacebook.com/Risepointedu

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A1 record

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about Risepoint