UC Berkeley Center for Educational Partnerships (CEP)

What UC Berkeley Center for Educational Partnerships (CEP) does

UC Berkeley Center for Educational Partnerships (CEP) is a non-profit department within UC Berkeley's Division of Student Affairs, founded in 1969, that operates ten direct-service college access programs serving K-14 students (middle school through community college), families, educators, and partner institutions across California. Its programs include CAL Prep, DCAC, EAOP, EBSCC, NAF at Berkeley, Puente, CCTS, TRiO-ETS, and TRiO-UB; in 2024-25 the legacy Transfer Alliance Project (TAP) and Community College Transfer Services merged into a unified CCTS program that regularly serves 45 California community colleges for transfer advising. The center's products and services portfolio spans Online College Advising Courses, College Knowledge Curricula, College Advising Webinars, Capacity Building & Program Development, a free statewide Transfer to Success webinar series, and a curated Resource Directory of 400+ links organized by student type and audience in English and Spanish.

CEP's underlying technology stack is operational rather than differentiated: student intake runs on Google Forms, transfer tracking uses UC TAP and ASSIST.org, and proprietary planning tools (checklists, PIQ writing tools, brag sheets, decision worksheets) are distributed as Google Docs/Sheets. Distribution is field-led rather than digital — advisers are embedded in 180+ partner K-12 schools, districts, and community colleges, with earned-media amplification from a 2025 PBS documentary series "The Class" spotlighting the DCAC/EAOP adviser-student model at Deer Valley High School.

CEP's business model is institutional funding plus philanthropy rather than commercial revenue. As a public university outreach department it receives UC Berkeley institutional budget support and federal TRiO grants, supplemented by tax-deductible philanthropic gifts to the Center for Educational Partnerships Fund (FU0788000) from individuals, foundations, and corporate sponsors. All programs and services are provided free of charge to students, families, and educators; no pricing model, no fees, no commercial customers. In 2024-25 the organization served 21,000+ students, generated 28,000+ college acceptances among program-intensive participants, and held 300+ family workshops with approximately 10,000 attendees. The center employs 15 core staff at its Berkeley, CA headquarters (1 Hearst Field Annex, Building C), with the broader field-adviser network operating across partner sites.

Name

UC Berkeley Center for Educational Partnerships (CEP)

Legal name

The Regents of the University of California

Website

https://cep.berkeley.edu

Company type

Public

Founded year

1969

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

UC Berkeley CEP is a non-profit outreach department operating ten college access programs serving 21,000+ K-14 students, families, and educators across California with free advising, transfer support, and professional development, funded by UC Berkeley, federal TRiO grants, and philanthropy.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Educational Outreach and College Access Services

NAICS

Educational Support Services (61171)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Education Professionals (Teacher/Administrator CE, CPD) (EDAAALAE)

Keywords

• College access programs
• Transfer advising services
• Professional development education
• College preparation programs
• Educational outreach services

Headquarters

HQ city

Berkeley

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Donor Gifts and Philanthropic Support: CEP is funded through charitable donations from individuals, foundations, and corporate sponsors. The Center for Educational Partnerships Fund (FU0788000) accepts tax-deductible gifts online or by mail. Donation impact examples include $25 for student workshop lunches, $100 for community college textbooks, $350 for College Carnival materials, and $2,500 for city-wide College Fair hosting.
2. Institutional Funding (UC Berkeley / Division of Student Affairs): CEP is a department within UC Berkeley's Division of Student Affairs, receiving institutional budget support from the university. As a public university outreach unit, its programs are provided free of charge to students and families.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

CEP provides outreach and engagement with K-14 students, families, and educators to increase access to higher education through ten direct-service college access and success programs. Its services include individualized academic advising, college application support, financial aid guidance, transfer preparation (notably via Community College Transfer Services), family workshops, and professional development for educators, all delivered free of charge through embedded advisers, webinars, and an online Resource Directory.

Product overview

UC Berkeley CEP is a university outreach center operating 10 direct-service college access and success programs (CAL Prep, DCAC, EAOP, EBSCC, NAF at Berkeley, Puente, CCTS, TRiO-ETS, TRiO-UB, and CEP Summer Programming 2025) serving K-14 students, families, and educators. Its products and services include Online College Advising Courses, College Knowledge Curricula, College Advising Webinars, and Capacity Building & Program Development. CEP also maintains a Resource Directory with over 400 curated links organized by student type (middle school, high school, community college) and audience (students, families/guardians), covering college applications, financial aid (FAFSA/CADAA), career exploration, and transfer pathways. The Community College Transfer Services (CCTS) program, including the Transfer To Success Webinar Series, supports community college students transferring to UC campuses. CEP's impact in 2024-25 included serving over 21,000 students, generating over 28,000 college acceptances, and hosting nearly 300 family workshops with approximately 10,000 attendees.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• CEP Programs (CAL Prep, DCAC, EAOP, EBSCC, NAF at Berkeley, Puente, CCTS, TRiO-ETS, TRiO-UB) Ten direct-service college access and success programs providing outreach and engagement with K-14 students, families, and educators, including academic preparation, individualized advising, and transfer support.
• Online College Advising Courses

Quantifiable outcome

• Served 21,000+ students in 2024-25 school year
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers13 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered notable, core and supporting.

• PBS (Public Broadcasting Service)notableOthersPBS produced and broadcast 'The Class,' a six-episode documentary series featuring UC Berkeley's DCAC/EAOP program within CEP and adviser Cameron Schmidt-Temple, following six students at Deer Valley High School through the college access process during the pandemic. Episodes were released weekly through April 22, 2025.
• Deer Valley High SchoolcoreOthersDeer Valley High School is the partner school featured in the PBS documentary 'The Class,' where CEP DCAC/EAOP adviser Cameron Schmidt-Temple supported six students through the college application process during the COVID-19 pandemic.
• California Community Colleges (116 campuses)coreOthersCEP's Community College Transfer Services (CCTS) regularly visits 45 California community colleges providing advising, workshops, and transfer support. The Transfer Alliance Project (TAP) serves community college students statewide with over 18,000 students served since 1999.
• K-12 Schools and Districts (180+ partners)coreOthersCEP maintains 180+ active partnerships with middle schools, high schools, and K-12 school districts across the region. These partnerships enable CEP advisers to embed directly in schools, deliver classroom presentations, and provide individualized student support through programs like DCAC/EAOP, TRiO, Puente, and NAF.
• Community-Based OrganizationssupportingOthersCEP partners with community-based organizations as part of its 180+ partnership network to extend college access programming and connect with students and families outside of traditional school settings.
• UC Berkeley Division of Student AffairscoreOthersCEP is an operational department within UC Berkeley's Division of Student Affairs. This institutional relationship provides the organizational structure, staffing, and university affiliation that underpin all CEP programs and outreach activities.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Bottom Line: Nonprofit delivering one-on-one college advising and application support to students from low-income backgrounds. Directly comparable in mission, target population, and advising-intensive service model, but operates across multiple U.S. states whereas CEP is California-focused.
• uAspire: Nonprofit focused on college affordability and financial aid advising for underserved students. Comparable because it addresses the same financial-aid navigation pain point that is central to CEP's college access programs.
• College Track: Nonprofit providing college access, persistence, and graduation support to underserved high school and college students. Comparable because it operates a similarly cohort-based, multi-year advising model with the same target population and mission to expand college access for first-generation and low-income students.

Broad incumbents

• The Princeton Review: Large for-profit test prep and college admissions services company. Comparable in the test prep and admissions-preparation space CEP serves, though delivered through a commercial, paid channel rather than the free, community-embedded model.
• National College Access Network (NCAN): National membership and advocacy organization supporting the college access and success field. Comparable as a broader industry umbrella where CEP's programs operate, providing research, policy advocacy, and a national convening function for similar programs.
• National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC): Professional association for school counselors, college admission officers, and education professionals. Comparable because CEP's professional development and capacity-building services for counselors and administrators operate in the same practitioner ecosystem.

Others

• Common App: Nonprofit college application platform used by 1,000+ colleges. Comparable as enabling infrastructure that intersects with CEP's application-support work, though Common App is a technology platform rather than a service provider.
• GEAR UP (Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs): Federal college-readiness program serving low-income schools and students. Comparable because CEP's TAP, EAOP, and TRiO programs are co-funded under the federal TRIO/GEAR UP umbrella and serve substantially the same target population and mission.
• Khan Academy: Free online educational content provider. Comparable as a free educational content resource competing in part for the same student attention and college-prep content distribution role, though materially broader than college access.

Emerging players

• Strive for College: Nonprofit matching low-income, first-generation students with mentors for college application support. Comparable mentoring-and-application focus to CEP's adviser model, though operated at smaller scale via virtual mentorship.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/berkeleycep
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/berkeleycep
• Instagraminstagram.com/berkeleycep

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Subsidiaries9 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about UC Berkeley Center for Educational Partnerships (CEP)