Semester
Semester designs bespoke, custom-branded physical student success planners and complementary coaching and keynote programs for colleges and universities across the US, UK, and Australia, targeting student success, retention, and first-year experience teams.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2021
- HeadquartersLondon, United Kingdom
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Semester does
Semester is a London-headquartered, privately held company founded in 2021 that designs and produces bespoke physical student success planners and complementary coaching programs for colleges and universities. The flagship Semester Student Planner is a fully customized, institutionally-branded planner co-created with each client, embedding structured goal-setting prompts, reflection frameworks, evidence-informed coaching techniques, and direct integration with the institution's own support services, resources, and academic calendar. The product portfolio is delivered as a coordinated system: the physical planner serves as the everyday touchpoint, while Coaching Services (group workshops, individual sessions, and a coach-the-coach model for staff) and Keynote Speeches during orientation or transition periods reinforce the planner's use throughout the academic year. A separate First Year Experience Readiness Assessment diagnostic tool is offered as a lead-generation and standalone product.
The business operates a direct, sales-led go-to-market targeting student affairs, student success, retention, first-year experience, and athletics departments at higher education institutions. Pricing is quote-based and project-based, with a typical minimum order of 250 planners, multi-year contract cadences, and explicit support for grant-funded procurement through federal programs such as TRIO, Title III, and Title V. The company reports 24,610+ planners delivered, 693+ coaching hours, and 39 partner institutions across the United States, United Kingdom, and Australia, with anchor relationships including Duke University, Wayne State University, Tarleton State University, Prairie View A&M University, Newcastle College, and Teesside University. Revenue is generated from planner sales (one-time/perpetual license model bundled into multi-year contracts) and professional services for coaching and keynotes.
The company is founder-owned and bootstrapped, co-founded and operated by Nathan Marr (CEO) and Joe Hilton (COO), with a headcount of 1-10. The product is predominantly physical with marketing references to an AI-enhanced tool layer, but no proprietary AI models, research, or technical depth are disclosed. Operating geographies span the US, UK, and Australia, with a dedicated APAC website variant supporting regional expansion.
Semester firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Semester
- Legal name
- Semester
- Website
- https://semesterstudentplanner.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2021
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Semester designs bespoke, custom-branded physical student success planners and complementary coaching and keynote programs for colleges and universities across the US, UK, and Australia, targeting student success, retention, and first-year experience teams.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Semester industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Higher Education Student Success Solutions
- SIC
- Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Academic Advising & Degree Planning (EDALABAA)
Keywords
Where Semester is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- London
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Markets served
Semester business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others
Revenue model
- Bespoke Student Planners: Physical student planners sold directly to colleges and universities. Each planner is fully customized for the institution including branding, content, layout, and academic calendar structures. Pricing varies based on customization level and quantity ordered. Typical minimum order is 250 planners. Revenue is project-based per order, though many institutions engage for multiple years.
- Coaching Programs: In-person and virtual coaching sessions delivered to students, often integrated with planner distribution. Includes group workshops during orientation week, ongoing coaching throughout the academic year, coach-the-coach sessions for staff, and keynote speeches. Delivered as standalone services or bundled with planner programs.
- Keynote Speaking: Live keynote delivery sessions (15-60 minutes) delivered during orientation, freshers week, and term start. Scalable to cohorts of any size. Often serves as an entry point for broader planner and coaching partnerships.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| One time/ perpetual license | Multi-year contract | Bespoke Student Planner - Custom Order |
| Unit Pricing | Multi-year contract | Coaching Programs |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels5 records
Semester product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Semester designs and produces fully bespoke, custom-branded physical student success and wellbeing planners for colleges and universities, integrating goal-setting, reflection prompts, and evidence-informed coaching frameworks. The company complements the planner with in-person and virtual coaching programs, keynote speeches during orientation, and a First Year Experience Readiness Assessment diagnostic. The planner is co-created with each institution, with content tailored to academic calendars, branding, and specific student populations.
Product overview
Semester offers a suite of student success products centred on its flagship Semester Student Planner — a fully bespoke physical planner co-created with each institution. The portfolio includes Coaching Services (group sessions, individual coaching, and coach-the-coach programs) and Keynote Speeches as complementary add-ons delivered during orientation and transition periods. The First Year Experience Readiness Assessment is also offered as a diagnostic tool. All offerings work together as an integrated system: the planner serves as the everyday tool, while coaching and keynotes reinforce its use and maximise student engagement and retention outcomes.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Semester Student Planner
- Coaching Services
- Keynote Speeches
- First Year Experience Readiness Assessment
Quantifiable outcome
- 24,610+ planners delivered
- +4 more outcomes
Companies that use Semester
Customer profileNamed customers11 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Semester technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature3 records
Semester partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- Allegheny CollegecorePartnership to integrate Allegheny's Life Design program into custom student planners. Planners delivered to first-year students during Gator Welcome Weekend, blending Life Design's reflective approach with Semester's planning framework. 400 planners produced for approximately 1,300 students. Entering first year of partnership.
- Duke UniversitycoreRefreshed existing Duke Blueprint journal into year-long planner by melding it with Semester's planning and coaching framework. Extended journal's reach from 3 months to full academic year. 2,000 planners planned for 2026-2027 academic year. Deep integration with Duke's QuadEx residential community ecosystem.
- Hartlepool College of Further EducationminorLife skills workshops delivered across 6 separate days throughout academic year for vocational learners. Content adapted for trade-based learning environments focusing on core life skills, time management, communication, confidence, and wellbeing.
- Bishop Auckland CollegeminorFull-day workshops and coaching during orientation week for approximately 500 new students. Sessions on time management, personal effectiveness, proactive wellbeing, and building positive routines from day one.
- Middlesbrough CollegeminorEngineering department partnership with 10 interactive workshops over 3 months for approximately 300 students. Focus on communication, confidence, workplace readiness, and motivation. Content designed to complement existing teaching.
- Teesside UniversitycoreThree custom planners created for Business School, Creative Arts, and Entrepreneurship programs. Over 1,000 planners with 100+ hours of interactive workshops delivered throughout academic year. Multiple-year collaboration with ongoing refinement.
- Campus Living Villages - Murdoch VillageminorCustom resident planners for student accommodation village housing 800+ students. 200 planners with keynote, 8 weeks of marketing email support, and ongoing in-person presence at wellbeing events. Integration with CLV's resident app.
- Prairie View A&M UniversitycoreFirst-Year Student Success Planners for all first-year students (2,500 planners), including 300 PAWS mentors and 30 CliftonStrengths champions. Aligned with five-year Title III grant. Blends CliftonStrengths program into Semester coaching framework.
- Wayne State UniversitycoreStudent-athlete planners for 480 student athletes across 17 varsity programs. Expanded partnership includes keynote, group coaching, and coach-the-coach sessions for coaches. Moving into second year of partnership.
- Newcastle CollegecoreEntering fourth year of partnership. 1,500-2,000 custom planners produced annually for full-time on-campus students. Includes week of in-person group coaching workshops reaching 500+ students. Annual content refresh based on student and staff feedback surveys.
- Tarleton State UniversitycoreStudent success planners for 6,000 freshman and sophomore students for 2025-2027 academic years. Includes keynotes and in-person/virtual coaching. Partnership with student affairs team and supporting functions across the institution.
Scale indicators5 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Semester competitors and assessment
Company assessmentEmerging players
- Knack: Knack operates a peer-tutoring and student-support platform connecting college students to academic and wellbeing support. It overlaps with Semester's mission of putting more accessible, proactive student success tools into the hands of college students, though delivered via marketplace rather than physical planner.
- EdSights: EdSights is an AI-powered student engagement platform that surfaces risk signals and automates outreach to support persistence and wellbeing. It targets similar student-success buyer teams but focuses on predictive digital interventions rather than a tactile, co-created planner deliverable.
Broad incumbents
- Civitas Learning: Civitas Learning provides student-success analytics and advising tools (now under Anthology's umbrella). It is comparable because its institutional buyers, retention outcomes, and advising workflows overlap directly with what Semester's bespoke planners and coaching programs are designed to drive.
- EAB (Navigate platform): EAB's Navigate (formerly Starfish) is a leading student-success technology platform advising institutions on retention, advising, and early-alert workflows. It competes with Semester for institutional retention budgets but at far greater scale and as a pure software platform rather than a bespoke physical-plus-coaching model.
- Signal Vine: Signal Vine provides AI-driven two-way text messaging and nudge campaigns for student engagement, retention, and re-enrollment. It overlaps with Semester on the retention/student-engagement outcomes institutions care about, though delivered as digital outreach rather than a physical planner + in-person coaching.
- Anthology: Anthody is a large, PE-backed education software suite (encompassing the former Campus Management and Civitas Learning assets) addressing student retention, advising, and lifecycle management. It is a broad incumbent competing for the same institutional wallets as Semester's student-success programs.
Others
- StarRez: StarRez is a leading student-housing and residence-life management platform. It is comparable because Semester already serves student accommodation operators (e.g., Campus Living Villages - Murdoch Village) and competes for the same residential-life and student-transition budgets across higher education.
Direct peers
- InsideTrack: InsideTrack (a Strada Education company) provides one-on-one and group student coaching for college persistence and completion - the closest direct competitor to Semester's coaching and student-success offering, serving the same institutional buyers (student success, first-year experience, retention teams) at US universities.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Semester social profiles
Digital presenceSemester financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Semester leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles2 records
Semester funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Semester 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 Semester
What does Semester do?
Semester designs and produces fully bespoke, custom-branded physical student success and wellbeing planners for colleges and universities, integrating goal-setting, reflection prompts, and evidence-informed coaching frameworks. The company complements the planner with in-person and virtual coaching programs, keynote speeches during orientation, and a First Year Experience Readiness Assessment diagnostic. The planner is co-created with each institution, with content tailored to academic calendars, branding, and specific student populations.
Is Semester a public or private company?
Semester is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Semester founded?
Semester was founded in 2021. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Semester based?
Semester is headquartered in London, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
How does Semester make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Bespoke Student Planners are the primary driver. The others are coaching Programs and keynote Speaking.
Who are Semester's main competitors?
Emerging players on record are Knack and EdSights. Broad incumbents are Civitas Learning, EAB (Navigate platform), Signal Vine and Anthology. StarRez is listed as an others. InsideTrack is listed as a direct peer.
Does Semester have an API?
No public API is recorded for Semester.
What industry is Semester in?
Semester's product category is Higher Education Student Success Solutions. Its primary akta.pro industry code is EDALABAA, Academic Advising & Degree Planning. Its SIC code is 8742.