CollegeSource
CollegeSource is a privately held SaaS company founded in 1971 that provides transfer articulation, degree audit, academic planning, and policy research software to over 2,100 U.S. higher education institutions, anchored by its TES, Transferology, and uAchieve product families.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1971
- HeadquartersSan Diego, United States
- Headcount51–100
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What CollegeSource does
CollegeSource, Inc. is a privately held, San Diego-headquartered SaaS company founded in 1971 that sells transfer and degree-planning software to higher education institutions in the United States. Its product suite comprises TES (Transfer Evaluation System) for course articulation and equivalency management, Transferology (a nationwide transfer network and student recruitment tool with 430+ member institutions and 36.7M+ stored equivalencies), the uAchieve family (Degree Audit, Planner, and Schedule Builder, with version 5.0 released in 2026), CollegeSource Online (a digital catalog collection exceeding 177,000 catalogs and 171M+ course descriptions), and Policy Central (a database of 344,000+ policies from 3,200+ institutions). The platform is cloud-hosted on AWS with a guaranteed 99.99% uptime SLA for the hosted uAchieve solution and offers three programmable APIs (TES Web Service API, uAchieve API, Transferology Student Lead API).
The company sells through a direct enterprise sales motion targeting colleges, universities, state systems, and boards of higher education, supported by weekly webinars, an annual 4-day conference in San Diego, and an active client advisory board. Revenue is primarily recurring software subscriptions priced on student enrollment, supplemented by professional services revenue from instructor-led training, certification courses, an encoding mentorship program, and conference admission fees. Customer count exceeds 2,100 institutions and includes marquee logos such as Stanford University, University of Southern California, San Diego State University, Maricopa Community College District, Ivy Tech, Saddleback College, and statewide contracts with Louisiana, Illinois, Minnesota, Ohio, and other state boards of higher education. The company has remained under consistent private ownership since founding, has no disclosed external funding rounds, and operates with 51-100 employees.
CollegeSource evolved from the National Microfilm Library (1971) through the Career Guidance Foundation before incorporating as CollegeSource in 2003; its 2008 acquisition of redLantern (formerly DARS) from Miami University added the degree audit capabilities that became uAchieve. Deep integrations with major SIS platforms — Ellucian Banner and Colleague (Ethos Certified, 20+ years), PeopleSoft (20+ years), Jenzabar, Workday, and CAMS — anchor its distribution position and create multi-year switching costs for customers who have invested in encoding degree audits and building custom equivalency libraries.
CollegeSource firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- CollegeSource
- Legal name
- CollegeSource, Inc.
- Website
- https://collegesource.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1971
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 51–100 employees
- Short description
- CollegeSource is a privately held SaaS company founded in 1971 that provides transfer articulation, degree audit, academic planning, and policy research software to over 2,100 U.S. higher education institutions, anchored by its TES, Transferology, and uAchieve product families.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
CollegeSource industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Higher Education Administration Software
- NAICS
- Software Publishers (513210), Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (61131)
- SIC
- Services-Prepackaged Software (7372), Services-Educational Services (8200)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Transfer, Credit Mobility & Articulation Planning Platforms (EDAFAMAO)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Degree Planning, Course Planning & Academic Progress Monitoring (EDAFAMAI), Transfer, Articulation & Credit Evaluation (EDALAAAH)
Keywords
Where CollegeSource is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- San Diego
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
CollegeSource business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Operations, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- Software Subscriptions: Annual subscription-based pricing for TES, Transferology, uAchieve, and CollegeSource Online products. Subscription pricing is based on student enrollment at the institution, providing budget-friendly predictable costs without upfront capital expenses.
- Professional Services - Training: Revenue from instructor-led training courses, workshops, and certification programs for TES and uAchieve products. Includes virtual and in-person options with varying durations and pricing.
- Encoding Mentorship Program: Dedicated Functional Implementation Specialist providing monthly virtual meetings and additional assistance for 6 or 12 month terms.
- Policy Central Subscription: Annual subscription at $599 for access to the policy database with over 344,000 policies from over 3,200 institutions.
- Annual Conference Revenue: Conference admission fees (General Admission $1,099), pre-conference certification courses, and guest add-ons for receptions.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Other | One time/ perpetual license | Virtual TES Basic Certification Course |
| Other | One time/ perpetual license | Virtual TES Administrator Certification Course |
| Other | One time/ perpetual license | uAchieve Degree Audit Encoding Workshop |
| Other | One time/ perpetual license | uAchieve Encoding Primer |
| Other | One time/ perpetual license | uAchieve Encoding Advanced Topics Workshop |
| Other | Multi-year contract | uAchieve Encoding Mentorship Program |
| Subscription | Annual | Policy Central Annual Subscription |
| Other | One time/ perpetual license | Annual Conference General Admission |
| Other | One time/ perpetual license | Pre-conference Add-ons |
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels9 records
CollegeSource product offering
Product offeringCore offering
CollegeSource develops and sells a cloud-based software suite for higher education institutions to evaluate transfer credit, manage course equivalencies, conduct degree audits, plan academic pathways, and research institutional policies. Core offerings include the TES Transfer Evaluation System, Transferology nationwide transfer network, the uAchieve suite (Degree Audit, Planner, Schedule Builder), CollegeSource Online digital catalog database, and Policy Central. The platform is hosted on AWS with real-time integrations to major Student Information Systems.
Product overview
CollegeSource offers a platform-plus-modules architecture of transfer and degree planning solutions for higher education institutions. The core product portfolio includes: Transfer Tools (TES® for transfer evaluation and course data, Transferology® for nationwide transfer network and student recruitment, CollegeSource® Online for digital catalog collection); Degree Planning Tools (uAchieve® Degree Audit for degree tracking, uAchieve® Planner for academic term-by-term planning, uAchieve® Schedule Builder for dynamic class scheduling); and Policy Central for institutional policy research. These products integrate with each other (TES + Transferology, TES + uAchieve, uAchieve audit + planner + schedule builder workflow) and with major student information systems (Ellucian Banner/Colleague, PeopleSoft, Jenzabar, Workday, CAMS). Additional offerings include APIs (TES Web Service API, uAchieve API, Transferology Student Lead API), training/certification programs, and the annual CollegeSource Conference.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- TES: Transfer Evaluation System - an all-in-one solution for researching transfer credit, tracking evaluations, and managing equivalencies
- Transferology
- uAchieve
- CollegeSource Online
- Policy Central
Products and services
- TES (Transfer Evaluation System) An all-in-one interactive resource for transfer credit research, evaluation tracking, and equivalency management. Includes Course Finder, Evaluation Tracker, Equivalency Manager, Institution Profiles, Advanced Tools, and Complete Catalogs. Designed for registrars, articulation officers, and transfer credit analysts at colleges and universities.
- Transferology
Quantifiable outcome
- Ivy Tech Community College achieved 29% increase in credential production through degree mining using uAchieve
- +5 more outcomes
Companies that use CollegeSource
Customer profileNamed customers12 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles1 record
CollegeSource technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- Yes
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration15 records
Feature14 records
CollegeSource partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Five partnerships are on record, tiered core, minor and secondary.
- ElluciancoreCollegeSource is an Ellucian Ethos Certified partner with 20+ years of experience in real-time Banner and Colleague integration. uAchieve offers real-time integration with Ellucian's Colleague and Banner SIS through Ethos, JDBC, and RESTful Web Services.
- PeopleSoftcoreCollegeSource has offered real-time integration with uAchieve and PeopleSoft for over 20 years. The integration utilizes JDBC or web services (REST/JSON) connectivity for data retrieval. T-Rex (Transfer Rule Extractor) connects with PeopleSoft to obtain transfer rules for Transferology.
- Sophia LearningminorSophia Learning is a Data Partner Program member. They provide 70+ ACE-recommended courses and 100+ partner schools. Their courses gain visibility in CollegeSource platforms, enabling institutions to build equivalencies and students to explore transfer options.
- JenzabarsecondaryuAchieve provides real-time integration with Jenzabar student information system as part of its broad SIS integration capabilities.
- WorkdaysecondaryuAchieve integrates with Workday as part of its third-party system integration capabilities for student information systems.
Scale indicators21 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
CollegeSource competitors and assessment
Company assessmentOthers
- National Student Clearinghouse: The National Student Clearinghouse is a key data and verification infrastructure provider used in transfer processes (verification of enrollment, degrees, and transcripts) - complementary rather than direct, but adjacent in the transfer articulation workflow CollegeSource orchestrates.
- Cengage Group (instructor-led training/education content): Cengage and similar education content providers (Pearson, McGraw Hill) overlap with CollegeSource's training and certification revenue and increasingly move into adjacent digital transfer pathways; competitor for institutional EdTech budgets but not a direct product substitute for transfer/audit.
Broad incumbents
- Jenzabar: Jenzabar is an SIS provider for small-to-mid higher education institutions with adjacent academic planning features; CollegeSource integrates with Jenzabar, but the two compete for the same IT budget at smaller private colleges and community colleges where Jenzabar has strength.
- Workday (Workday Student): Workday Student is a comprehensive SIS with built-in academic planning, advising, and (more recently) transfer credit capabilities aimed at four-year institutions that CollegeSource also serves. As Workday deepens native planning features, it increasingly competes at the high end of the market against uAchieve.
- Oracle PeopleSoft Campus Solutions: PeopleSoft Campus Solutions is a long-standing SIS with audit and planning capabilities, integrated by CollegeSource for 20+ years but also a potential competitor as institutions standardize on Oracle's roadmap. Targets the same large university and system-office buyers.
- EAB (Encoura, Civitas): EAB's Encoura (recruitment marketing) and Civitas (student success analytics) compete for the same institutional enrollment and persistence budget that funds tools like Transferology and uAchieve Degree Discovery, especially in outcomes-based funding environments.
- Liaison International (TargetX, Othot): Liaison International (with TargetX for admissions CRM) competes with the recruitment/marketing side of Transferology via CAS applications, Slate CRM, and enrollment marketing analytics, targeting the same registrar/admissions buyer personas in U.S. higher education.
Direct peers
- Watermark (Anthology): Watermark (now part of Anthology) provides assessment, accreditation, and faculty activity reporting in higher ed, competing for academic affairs budget at the same institutions that buy uAchieve and TES. Overlaps on academic operations buyer relationships.
- Anthology (Concourse, Acalog/Smart Catalog, Campus Management): Anthogy's Concourse suite (transfer articulation, degree audit, catalog) and Acalog (academic catalog management) directly compete with TES, CollegeSource Online, and uAchieve across transfer and planning workflows. Serves the same mid-market and community college buyer with overlapping SIS integrations.
- Ellucian (Degree Works): Ellucian's Degree Works is the most direct competitor to uAchieve in degree audit and transfer articulation within higher education, integrated deeply with Banner/Colleague SIS that CollegeSource also integrates with. Competing head-to-head for the same registrar and academic affairs buyers at U.S. colleges and universities.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
CollegeSource social profiles
Digital presenceCollegeSource financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
CollegeSource leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles4 records
CollegeSource subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries1 record
CollegeSource funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
CollegeSource M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about CollegeSource
What does CollegeSource do?
CollegeSource develops and sells a cloud-based software suite for higher education institutions to evaluate transfer credit, manage course equivalencies, conduct degree audits, plan academic pathways, and research institutional policies. Core offerings include the TES Transfer Evaluation System, Transferology nationwide transfer network, the uAchieve suite (Degree Audit, Planner, Schedule Builder), CollegeSource Online digital catalog database, and Policy Central. The platform is hosted on AWS with real-time integrations to major Student Information Systems.
Is CollegeSource a public or private company?
CollegeSource is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was CollegeSource founded?
CollegeSource was founded in 1971. It employs 51 to 100 people.
Where is CollegeSource based?
CollegeSource is headquartered in San Diego, United States, in the North America region.
How does CollegeSource make money?
Five revenue lines are on record. Software Subscriptions are the primary driver. The others are professional Services - Training, encoding Mentorship Program, policy Central Subscription and annual Conference Revenue.
Who are CollegeSource's main competitors?
Others on record are National Student Clearinghouse and Cengage Group (instructor-led training/education content). Broad incumbents are Jenzabar, Workday (Workday Student), Oracle PeopleSoft Campus Solutions, EAB (Encoura, Civitas) and Liaison International (TargetX, Othot). Direct peers are Watermark (Anthology), Anthology (Concourse, Acalog/Smart Catalog, Campus Management) and Ellucian (Degree Works).
Does CollegeSource have an API?
Yes. CollegeSource offers three main APIs: (1) TES Web Service API - a premium service for TES subscribers that allows institutions to create equivalencies, evaluation tasks, and customized public view outside of TES, enabling real-time data entry for building equivalencies in both TES and external systems; (2) uAchieve API - a library of tools for uAchieve subscribers to retrieve and manipulate uAchieve data for custom development projects and business needs; (3) Transferology Student Lead API - retrieves student information requests submitted by students and exports them as CSV or JSON files, enabling direct integration to import student leads and contact information into systems like Slate.
What industry is CollegeSource in?
CollegeSource's product category is Higher Education Administration Software. Its primary akta.pro industry code is EDAFAMAO, Transfer, Credit Mobility & Articulation Planning Platforms, with a secondary code of EDAFAMAI, Degree Planning, Course Planning & Academic Progress Monitoring. Its NAICS code is 513210 and its SIC code is 7372.