IN APRIL, SEVERAL prominent players in
higher education announced their plans
to acquire or merge with other companies
as a bid to expand their reach and
add new capabilities:
Online program manager 2U
announced its acquisition of Trilogy Education,
which delivers boot-camp-style
training programs to more than 45 universities
and 2,000 companies. Offered
in-person and online, its boot camps
teach coding, analytics, user experience
and interface, and cybersecurity. 2U will
pay US$750 million—$400 million in
cash and $350 million in newly issued
shares of 2U common stock.
With this acquisition, 2U will obtain
Trilogy’s boot camps, which come with
a network of 1,200 instructors. Trilogy’s
programs will allow 2U to strengthen its
presence in Mexico and Europe, and enter
the Australian and Canadian markets.
“Universities are attempting to
add practical, technical skills to their
degrees,” says Christopher “Chip”
Paucek, 2U’s co-founder and CEO. “We
simply future-proof the degree by adding
this type of technical competency.”
McGraw-Hill and Cengage have announced
their plans to merge as a way to
expand their services to educators and
students in K-12, higher education, and
English language teaching, as well as to
the professional, medical, and library
reference markets. The two companies,
which will combine an all-stock merger
on equal terms, plan to expand access to
learning materials and technology platforms
while investing in digital transformation
and advanced learning science.
Cengage offers a subscription service
that gives students access to e-books,
online homework and study guides, and
services such as tutoring. McGraw-Hill
seeks to lower costs for college students
through digital materials and partnerships
with educators and authors.
Michael E. Hansen, CEO of Cengage,
says the new company will offer students
the “learning materials needed to succeed—
regardless of their socioeconomic
status or the institution they attend.”
Finally, global publishing company
John Wiley & Sons has signed an
agreement to acquire Knewton, a New
York City-based supplier of courseware
and adaptive learning technology. With
the purchase, Wiley extends its reach
into the affordable courseware market
through Knewton’s Alta courseware
platform, which delivers open educational
resources to more than 300
colleges and universities in subjects
such as math, chemistry, and economics.
Wiley also enhances its ability to deliver
custom learning experiences through
Knewton’s adaptive learning algorithms.
According to Brian Napack, Wiley’s
president and CEO, “The demand has
never been greater for courseware that
addresses two critical needs in education—
outcomes and affordability.”