What Student Resource Center does

Student Resource Center (SRC) is a Steubenville, Ohio-based non-profit operating as an Online Program Manager (OPM), founded in 2015. The company partners with accredited public higher education institutions to deliver no- and low-cost online degree and certificate programs in IT, Cyber Security, Healthcare, Social Work, Criminal Justice, and Business to working adults across the United States. Its core technology is an e-learning coursework platform that enables 24/7 flexible access for students balancing work and family obligations. To date, SRC claims to have served over 70,000 students and families and helped enrollees avoid more than $165 million in estimated student loan debt, with 95% of students reporting that higher education would not be an option without the organization.

SRC's go-to-market is community- and channel-led, reaching prospective students through partnerships with America's labor unions across government, education, industrial, building trades, service, agriculture, and transportation sectors, as well as national economic and social justice organizations. These community partners serve as trusted intermediaries recruiting and supporting adult learners. On the supply side, SRC embeds its recruitment, technology, and student support services within partner colleges' online programs under an OPM arrangement, generating revenue through what is characterized as subscription/recurring compensation tied to student enrollment.

The company is led by CEO Phillip Braithwaite and has 11-50 employees. SRC received investment from Advantage Capital in May 2020. Its operating model came under significant regulatory and reputational pressure in 2024 when Eastern Gateway Community College—one of its primary partner institutions, which had enrolled 45,173 students via SRC by 2021—closed amid federal scrutiny of predatory recruitment practices. This event directly catalyzed Ohio's June 2024 OPM regulation law, which now mandates disclosure of OPM partnerships, identification of vendor staff to students, and prohibits OPMs from making decisions about or disbursing student financial aid. The company remains operational, though the partner loss and new regulatory framework materially constrain the prior growth model.

Name

Student Resource Center

Legal name

Student Resource Center

Website

https://student-resource.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Student Resource Center is a non-profit Online Program Manager connecting working adults to accredited online degrees via labor union and college partnerships, offering no/low-cost programs in fields like IT, Healthcare, and Business.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Online Education Services

NAICS

Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (6113), Educational Support Services (611710), Educational Services (611)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Fully Online Universities (Online-First, Degree-Granting) (EDAHALAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Online Professional Schools (MBA/MPA/MPH/Etc.) (EDAHALAE), Public Career & Technical Education (CTE) Centers & Programs (EDAJAAAJ)

Keywords

• Online program management
• Higher education services
• E-learning platform
• Workforce education programs
• Online degree enrollment

Headquarters

HQ city

Steubenville

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Online Program Manager (OPM) Services: SRC serves as a for-profit third-party Online Program Manager that helps colleges and universities launch and operate online degree programs. The company generates revenue by providing technology, recruitment, and support services to educational institutions, receiving compensation for enrolling students in online programs.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels2 records

Core offering

Student Resource Center operates as a for-profit Online Program Manager (OPM), partnering with accredited colleges and universities to recruit, enroll, and support working adults in online degree and certificate programs. It delivers no and low cost higher education options across IT, Cyber Security, Healthcare, Social Work, Criminal Justice, and Business, channeled through labor unions, social justice organizations, and academic institution partners. The company provides the technology, recruitment, and student support services embedded within partner institutions' online programs.

Product overview

Student Resource Center (SRC) operates as an Online Program Manager (OPM), providing a unified platform that connects working adult students to online, accredited degree and certificate programs through partnerships with respected higher education institutions. The platform consists of two integrated offerings: the Online Degree and Certificate Programs (offering IT, Cyber Security, Healthcare, Social Work, Criminal Justice, and Business pathways) and the E-Learning Coursework Platform (delivering flexible, innovative online learning tools). Together, these components provide students with no and low cost higher education options, allowing them to avoid student loan debt while earning advanced credentials.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Online Degree and Certificate Programs

Quantifiable outcome

• 70,000+ students and families empowered nationwide
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Respected Academic InstitutionscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSRC connects students to respected, public, accredited higher education institutions committed to helping learners meet their educational goals. These institutions welcome and support SRC students, working closely with SRC to guide students on their education pathways. Programs span IT, Cyber Security, Healthcare, Social Work, Criminal Justice, and Business fields.
• Labor UnionscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorAmerica's labor unions have long been committed to providing meaningful educational opportunities that improve quality of life for union members and their families. SRC supports a diverse group of unions across multiple industries including government, education, industrial sector, building trades, service, agriculture, and transportation. These unions trust SRC to provide educational pathways for their members.
• Economic and Social Justice OrganizationscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSRC collaborates with national economic and social justice organizations to build transformative change in education for everyday Americans. Their united efforts are rooted in the belief that access to social mobility through education is a right and not a privilege. These partnerships allow SRC to remove financial obstacles while democratizing education for all.
• Eastern Gateway Community CollegeminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerEastern Gateway Community College partnered with SRC as an OPM to offer online programs, growing enrollment to 45,173 students by 2021. The partnership drew federal scrutiny and contributed to the college's 2024 closure, raising concerns about predatory recruitment practices that led to Ohio's OPM regulation law.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• 2U: 2U is a publicly traded Online Program Manager that partners with nonprofit universities to launch and scale online degree programs, including in social work, cybersecurity, and business — directly overlapping SRC's OPM model and target program fields.
• Bisk Education: Bisk Education partners with universities to deliver online degree and certificate programs, providing marketing, enrollment, and student support services similar to SRC's end-to-end OPM stack.
• HotChalk: HotChalk provides OPM services and technology for universities to launch online programs, with comparable program offerings in education, business, and healthcare — overlapping SRC's field mix.
• Wiley Education Services: Wiley Education Services (formerly mthree) is an OPM and education services arm of Wiley that partners with universities to launch online programs, providing marketing, recruitment, and retention services closely aligned with SRC's offering.
• Noodle Partners: Noodle Partners operates as an OPM helping universities design, launch, and support online degree programs with shared-risk revenue arrangements, directly comparable to SRC's model of enabling accredited colleges' online offerings.
• Academic Partnerships: Academic Partnerships is a major OPM that helps public universities recruit and support working adult students in online programs, with a comparable mission-aligned focus on expanding access to higher education for nontraditional learners.
• Keypath Education: Keypath Education is an OPM that partners with universities to develop and market online degree programs, sharing both the operational lift and tuition revenue — a direct functional analog to SRC's college partnership model.

Emerging players

• Guild Education: Guild Education partners with employers and unions to provide tuition-funded education pathways to online degree programs at partner colleges — closely mirroring SRC's union channel model and adult learner focus.

Broad incumbents

• Western Governors University: WGU is a fully accredited, nonprofit online university offering low-cost competency-based degrees to working adults, competing with SRC-enabled programs for the same demographic without an intermediary OPM layer.
• Southern New Hampshire University: SNHU is a large nonprofit university with extensive low-cost online degree offerings serving working adults, providing direct competition to SRC's online program portfolio across multiple fields.

Market position

Strengths2 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/student-resource-center-llc

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

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 Student Resource Center