Academic Partnerships:

Elevating Higher Education Online

Our mission is simple: helping universities grow and students succeed by increasing access to high-quality, affordable and workforce-relevant education delivered online. We are in the business of changing lives through education.

Academic Partnerships to Rebrand as Risepoint

May 1, 2024

A message from CEO Fernando Bleichmar

This past year has been a time of tremendous growth and impact for Academic Partnerships, including our January acquisition of Wiley University Services. During the integration, we’ve identified an opportunity to be clearer about who we are and the value we deliver for universities and their students.

Today, I am excited to share that we are launching a rebrand of the combined companies under a new name – Risepoint.

Our new name and logo express our commitment to help university partners and their students reach new heights. Every university and student face inflection points, moments that can change their trajectory in ways that have lasting impact. We call these moments Risepoints. For a student, it could be when they decide to get the degree that will help them advance their career or when they need support to stay on course for graduation. For a university, it could be the decision to offer programs online for the first time to better serve the needs of working adults. We’ve seen these moments and others like them, and we know what it takes to help universities and their students reach those Risepoints.

How do we do it?

  • With expertise, scale, and determination.
  • By helping universities make life-changing education more accessible. More affordable. More meaningful for local communities.
  • Through a continued focus on high-ROI, workforce-focused degrees, especially in nursing, education, and business.

The rebranding will roll out in phases, including a new website this fall. We look forward to sharing more in the coming months.

Fernando Bleichmar

Chief Executive Officer

Ipsos Finds Strong Return-on-investment For Graduates In AP-supported University Programs

AP partnered with Ipsos, a renowned global research firm, to conduct a survey among graduates of AP-supported programs. It found recent graduates of AP-supported programs averaged double-digit salary increases, a rapid tuition payback period of just 1.2 years, and overwhelmingly affirmed the value of their degrees.

Ipsos Logo

In talking to hundreds of universities and students over the years, I know the life-changing benefits of education. I’ve also seen the challenges many students face to access affordable education in a flexible way that allows them to achieve their goals. It’s an honor to lead a mission-driven company, like Academic Partnerships, that supports the needs of our university partners with a single-minded focus on advancing university and student success.

Fernando Bleichmar
Chief Executive Officer
Video I – Mission and Impact

Academic Partnerships – Our Mission & Impact

Learn more about AP overall, our mission and how we are specifically designed to support our university partners and their students, primarily regional universities and working adults, with a total weighted average tuition of only $16,000.

More About Us
 
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2022/2023 Impact Report

AP’s Impact Report provides a transparent look at how we help students realize a high return on their investment by supporting regional universities’ delivery of high-quality, affordable and workforce-relevant education.

View Report
What We Do
Our Services

Academic Partnerships meets regional universities where they are to help them launch and manage accelerated online programs. We provide upfront investment and collaborate with our university partners to align their operations for streamlining the entire student journey. From first contact to graduation, we support students as they pursue their educational and career goals. AP provides potential student outreach, marketing, technology, and student retention services for online programs – all to prepare our partners for sustainable growth and to expand their impact.

University Services

We prepare stakeholders for success by assisting in aligning operational systems, helping plan and design engaging online programs and supporting faculty with training and professional development opportunities.

Integrated Marketing Services

We promote brand and program offerings through proprietary data-driven processes that flow across channels of performance-based marketing and field-based marketers to attract qualified students.

Student Support Services

We produce successful students and graduates by supporting them with high-touch communication plans carried out by dedicated specialists from application through matriculation to graduation.

Video II – Commitment to Student Success

Commitment to Student Success

Hear directly from graduates of our university partners’ AP-supported programs and see how these working adults advanced their careers through affordable, high-quality online education.

 
Where We Succeed
Results that reach beyond

Our goal at Academic Partnerships is not only to meet the performance expectations of our university partners but to exceed them—and to transform lives in the process. Since 2007, we have helped universities develop and deliver robust and engaging online programs that have served 380,000+ working adult students—and counting.

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55+

University Partners

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~90%

of AP-Supported Programs are in High Growth Industries

AP online programs icon

1,000+

Undergraduate and Graduate Degree Programs

AP students icon

380,000+

Students Supported since 2007

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>25%

Of AP Partners are Minority-Serving Institutions

Source: Academic Partnerships internal data

With Academic Partnerships’ support, Arkansas State University has created high-quality online education programs that are affordable and convenient for working teachers in Arkansas and beyond.

Thilla Sivakumaran, Ph.D.
Vice Chancellor for Enrollment Management and Global Outreach (former)
Arkansas State University

View more testimonials »

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To expand their impact in these challenging times, universities face urgent imperatives: reach underserved students, increase their enrollments, and serve the workforce with relevant education. AP has the expertise, the tools, and the resources to help.

 

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