Sullivan University

What Sullivan University does

Sullivan University is a private higher education institution headquartered in Kentucky, operating physical campuses in Louisville and Lexington and serving individual prospective undergraduate and graduate students. Founded in 1962 and accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) to award associate, baccalaureate, masters, and doctorate degrees, the university positions itself around a "School of Doing" experiential learning philosophy that emphasizes externships, clinicals, and hands-on training. Its academic portfolio spans Business Administration, Cybersecurity, Culinary Arts, Health Information Management, and Medical Assisting, with courses delivered on-campus during days, nights, and weekends, as well as online through a Blackboard-based learning management system.

The institution's core technology stack centers on the third-party Blackboard LMS for online and hybrid course delivery, supplemented by student, faculty, and email portals for administrative access. There is no disclosed proprietary technology, AI/ML infrastructure, or API surface; the experiential learning platform is described as a pedagogical methodology rather than a distinct software product. Marketing and recruitment are conducted through the sullivan.edu website, degree-finder tools, admissions inquiry forms, and an active social presence on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn.

Sullivan generates revenue primarily through tuition and educational services billed on an annual cadence, with financial aid and tuition guidance offered through the admissions process. Pricing is not publicly disclosed, and no enterprise or institutional customers are named — revenue is distributed across a long tail of individual students enrolling in degree and credential programs. The institution is privately held, has no parent company, no subsidiaries, and no disclosed funding rounds, M&A activity, or recent leadership changes in the provided data.

Name

Sullivan University

Legal name

Sullivan University

Website

https://sullivan.edu

Company type

Private

Founded year

1962

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Sullivan University is a SACSCOC-accredited private higher education institution in Kentucky operating campuses in Louisville and Lexington, delivering career-focused associate through doctorate degree programs in business, cybersecurity, culinary arts, and healthcare via on-campus and Blackboard-based online modalities to individual students.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Lexington

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Tuition and Educational Services: Revenue generated from tuition fees for degree programs (associate, baccalaureate, masters, and doctorate degrees) and credential programs including certificates and diplomas at approved degree levels. Students pay tuition for access to educational instruction, clinical training, externships, and degree completion.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Sullivan University is a private higher education institution that sells degree and credential programs ranging from associate through doctorate, delivered through on-campus instruction at its Louisville and Lexington campuses and online via Blackboard. Programs emphasize hands-on, experiential learning with externships and clinicals across business, technology, healthcare, and culinary disciplines.

Product overview

Sullivan University is a higher education institution offering experiential learning through career-focused academic programs. The university provides a portfolio of degree programs including Business Administration, Cybersecurity, Culinary Arts, Health Information Management, and Medical Assisting. Programs are designed with hands-on training approaches including externships, clinicals, and practical experiences. The institution offers flexible learning options through campuses in Louisville and Lexington plus online courses.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Business Administration

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• DeVry University: A long-standing private for-profit career education institution offering associate through doctoral programs with strong online and hybrid delivery — directly comparable to Sullivan in modality, target student, and career-focused program mix.
• ECPI University: A private career-focused university with concentrated programs in technology, healthcare, and business and a multi-campus footprint — closely comparable to Sullivan on experiential, hands-on curriculum emphasis and target student.
• South University: A private institution offering associate through doctoral degrees in healthcare, business, and technology with online and campus modalities — comparable to Sullivan on degree mix, healthcare anchoring, and online GTM.
• Strayer University: A for-profit university heavily oriented toward adult learners with strong online delivery and career-oriented programs — comparable to Sullivan on target student, modality, and tuition-driven revenue model.

Regional players

• Eastern Kentucky University: A public regional university in Kentucky with career-oriented programs in business, technology, and healthcare — competes with Sullivan for similar in-state students at typically lower tuition, making it a key regional reference point.
• University of the Cumberlands: A private Kentucky university offering associate through doctoral programs with online learning — competes with Sullivan for the same in-state online and adult-learner market, albeit with a faith-affiliated mission.
• University of Louisville: A public research university in Louisville with programs in business, health informatics, and cybersecurity that overlap with Sullivan's portfolio — key in-market competitor for traditional undergraduate students.

Emerging players

• Galen College of Nursing: A healthcare-specialized private institution with a strong nursing and allied-health focus — competes most directly with Sullivan's healthcare tracks (Medical Assisting, HIM) for similar student profiles.

Broad incumbents

• Western Governors University: A large nonprofit online university offering competency-based degrees in business, IT, and healthcare — sets the national price-and-quality benchmark against which Sullivan's online programs must compete.
• Southern New Hampshire University: A large online-first nonprofit university with extensive career-oriented undergraduate and graduate programs — a primary national reference point for pricing, scale, and online enrollment economics in Sullivan's category.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/79483357909
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/sullivan-university
• Instagraminstagram.com/sullivan.university
• Xx.com/SullivanUniv

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

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 Sullivan University