Higher Ed Partners

What Higher Ed Partners does

Higher Ed Partners (HEP) is a Brighton-headquartered education technology company that operates a B2B2C model, partnering with universities to launch and scale fully online degree programmes delivered under each university's own brand. Founded in 2017 and incorporated in England and Wales, HEP combines its proprietary Ednet Platform — an online learning system featuring auto-enrolment, a multi-currency global payment gateway, real-time progress reporting, and an academic content library covering 170+ programmes and 1,000+ modules in over 100 languages — with a stack of managed services that include omni-channel marketing, student recruitment and enrolment support, retention and student-success services, learning design, faculty training, and analytics.

HEP's business model is managed services combined with platform licensing on a partnership basis; pricing is negotiated per university agreement and not publicly disclosed, and revenue is generated from student tuition flows and partner service fees. The company has expanded internationally with offices in London, Dallas, Bogotá, and Johannesburg, reaching 40,000+ students across 90+ countries. A dedicated vertical, HEP Health, addresses UK nursing shortages in partnership with Schools of Nursing and healthcare providers, while Higher Ed Partners South Africa (HEPSA) provides student success services across Africa. Key customers named publicly include Sheffield Hallam University (delivering TEF Gold-rated online programmes in nursing, healthcare, and post-graduate business and computing) and St Mary University.

The company is privately held, received investment from Graphite Capital in March 2021, and employs 1,001–5,000 people globally. It positions itself as enabling universities to extend educational access and reach to international and working-professional student segments through online delivery.

Name

Higher Ed Partners

Legal name

Higher Ed Partners UK

Website

https://higheredpartners.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

2017

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1,001–5,000 employees

Short description

Higher Ed Partners is a UK-based education technology company that partners with universities to launch and operate fully online degree programmes globally through its Ednet Platform and managed recruitment, marketing, and retention services.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Higher Education Services

NAICS

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

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200), Services-Computer Integrated Systems Design (7373)

akta.pro primary industry

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

akta.pro secondary industries

Enrollment Yield, Matriculation & Onboarding Platforms (EDAFAMAG), Digital Learning, EdTech Enablement & Connectivity for Education (BPADAKAH), Education Access & EdTech for Equity (Low-cost Learning, Skills Platforms) (BPAGALAH)

Keywords

• Online education services
• Higher education technology
• University partnership services
• Online learning platform
• Student recruitment services

Headquarters

HQ city

Brighton

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices5 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. University Partnership Services: Higher Ed Partners generates revenue through partnership arrangements with universities, providing marketing, recruitment, and enrollment services alongside their Ednet platform. The company helps universities launch and grow online programs by handling student acquisition and retention support.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Higher Ed Partners establishes, funds, and operates digital campuses for universities through its proprietary Ednet online education platform and an integrated suite of managed services including omni-channel marketing, student recruitment and enrolment support, and retention interventions. The company partners with universities to launch and scale online degree programs under the university brand, providing technology infrastructure (Ednet), a multi-language academic content library, and operational support enabling program launches within 4-6 months of contract signature.

Product overview

Higher Ed Partners operates as a platform-plus-services model. The Ednet Platform serves as the core technology, combining a fully online delivery platform with an academic content library spanning over 100 languages. Built on top of Ednet are service layers: Core Services (omni-channel marketing, enrolment support, and student retention), Enabling Services (technology integration, faculty training, learning design, and analytics), and the University Partnership Program (comprehensive support for launching online programs under university branding). A specialized vertical, HEP Health - Nursing, addresses healthcare education needs. The platform features auto-enrolment, a global multi-currency payment gateway, real-time progress reporting, and on-demand content delivery, supporting students from over 150 countries.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• HEP Health: A division of Higher Ed Partners dedicated to assisting UK partner institutions in boosting their capacity to generate more high-quality nurses to alleviate the current nursing shortage in the country.
• Ednet Platform
• Higher Ed Partners South Africa (HEPSA)

Products and services

• Ednet Platform

Quantifiable outcome

• 40,000+ students enrolled across partner programs
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Sheffield Hallam UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSheffield Hallam University partnered with Higher Ed Partners to launch new online learning offerings, including nursing and healthcare programs. The university holds Teaching Excellence Framework 'Gold' status. The partnership enables affordable, pay-as-you-study options for students and expands the university's reach to international markets through HEP's Ednet platform and global recruitment capabilities.
• St Mary UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSt Mary University has an established partnership with Higher Ed Partners, evidenced by testimonial from Chief Information Officer Kevin Braim. The partnership involves collaboration on technology and online education delivery initiatives.
• Quality Matters (QM)minorOthersHigher Ed Partners is a member of Quality Matters, a non-profit organization focused on quality assurance in online learning. This membership indicates commitment to quality standards in online education delivery but is a membership rather than a formal partnership.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights7 records

Direct peers

• 2U: 2U is a leading US-based Online Program Manager (OPM) that partners with universities to deliver online degree programs — directly comparable to HEP's OPM model, though with a primarily US university base and edX integration.
• Wiley Education Services: Wiley Education Services (formerly mthree, plus acquired Keypath) operates an OPM platform partnering with universities on online program design, marketing, and student support — a close direct competitor to HEP's platform-plus-services model.
• Academic Partnerships: Academic Partnerships is a long-standing OPM helping public and private universities launch online programs with full-service recruitment, retention, and technology support — comparable in business model and customer base to HEP.
• Noodle: Noodle (formerly Noodle Partners) is an OPM that partners with universities to build and scale online degree programs, providing technology, marketing, and student success services — a direct peer in the B2B university OPM category.

Broad incumbents

• Coursera: Coursera partners with universities to offer online degrees and credentials at global scale, providing both OPM-style services and a consumer marketplace — overlapping with HEP on degree delivery while competing on student acquisition and brand.
• Pearson: Pearson is a global education and assessment company with online higher-education partnerships and digital learning products — broader portfolio than HEP, but overlapping on university-facing services and content distribution.
• Kaplan International: Kaplan operates pathway, language, and university-partner programs globally, including online degree pathways — a broader incumbent with comparable B2B university partnerships and international student reach.
• Laureate International Universities: Laureate (now under various ownership after wind-down) historically operated a global network of for-profit and online university partners — comparable international university-partnership footprint, though now restructured.

Regional players

• Global University Systems (GUS): GUS operates multiple higher-education brands and online programs primarily across Europe, the UK, and Canada — comparable to HEP as a multi-brand university operator with online delivery, though with stronger campus-based assets.

Emerging players

• Studiosity: Studiosity provides student support, learning analytics, and retention services to universities — a narrower but comparable services layer to HEP's retention and student success offerings, often embedded with university partners.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Subsidiaries3 records

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 Higher Ed Partners