IBL News

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  • Codeacademy, Another EdTech Startup is Able to Raise Capital Amidst the Pandemic

    Codeacademy, Another EdTech Startup is Able to Raise Capital Amidst the Pandemic

    IBL News | New York

    Coding instructional platform Codeacademy announced yesterday it raised $40 million in a Series D round after years without raising capital. The round was led by Owl Ventures, with participation from Prosus and Union Square Venture.

    Other startups like Udacity, CourseHero, Quizlet, and Class Dojo have been equally raising new funding as capital is flowing into the EdTech industry during the pandemic. The global health crisis has notoriously woken up VCs’ appetite for the remote learning sector.

    New York-based Codeacademy said it will use the funding to add new products and courses and expand its footprint in growing markets like India. So far, the firm has raised $82.5M from investors.

    Founded in 2011, the online learning platform claims to host 50 million learners, after seeing a large uptick with five million new users—150,000 paid subscribers of Codecademy Pro, and 600 customers of Codecademy for Business—in 2020.

    “The company has been cash-flow positive for over two years and has consistently grown in new users and revenue,” said Zach Sims, CEO and Co-Founder.

    Codeacademy provides online training on popular coding languages suitable for data science, machine learning, and game development-based careers. Along with a basic plan, it offers a $19 a month Pro membership.

    Their Codeacademy for Business unit offers regular exercises, assessments and certificates intended to provide new skills on coding to corporate learners.

     

  • Ranking of the Top Private Colleges and Universities in the U.S. for 2021

    Ranking of the Top Private Colleges and Universities in the U.S. for 2021

    IBL News | New York

    Each fall, over 400,000 students join private colleges. It means that one in five students chooses a private, nonprofit higher education over the public option.

    With this data in mind, AcademicInfluence.com released this month its rank of the 50 Best Private Colleges & Universities of 2021.

    Criteria in this ranking included full accreditation, operation as a nonprofit organization, and a minimum student body of 1,000 students.

    “These schools stand out due to their influential faculty and alumni, and for their many unmatched accomplishments in academics,” explained Dr. Jed Macosko, Academic Director of AcademicInfluence.com and professor of physics at Wake Forest University.

    The following schools are featured in the ranking:

    • Amherst College
    • Bard College
    • Barnard College
    • Brandeis University
    • Brown University
    • Bryn Mawr College
    • California Institute of Technology
    • Carnegie Mellon University
    • Case Western Reserve University
    • The Catholic University of America
    • Claremont McKenna College
    • Columbia University
    • Cooper Union
    • Cornell University
    • Dartmouth College
    • Duke University
    • Emory University
    • Georgetown University
    • George Washington University
    • Hampshire College
    • Harvard University
    • Haverford College
    • Johns Hopkins University
    • Kenyon College
    • Massachusetts Institute of Technology
    • Morehouse College
    • New School
    • New York University
    • Northwestern University
    • Oberlin College
    • Pomona College
    • Princeton University
    • Reed College
    • Rice University
    • Sarah Lawrence College
    • Stanford University
    • Swarthmore College
    • Tufts University
    • University of Chicago
    • University of Pennsylvania
    • University of Rochester
    • University of Southern California
    • Vanderbilt University
    • Vassar College
    • Washington University in St Louis
    • Wellesley College
    • Wesleyan University
    • Williams College
    • Yale University
    • Yeshiva University

    The top 10 schools are:

    1. California Institute of Technology
    2. Harvard University
    3. Massachusetts Institute of Technology
    4. Stanford University
    5. University of Chicago
    6. Princeton University
    7. Columbia University
    8. Yale University
    9. Johns Hopkins University
    10. Duke University

    Behind the ranking is Fort Worth, Texas-based Influence Networks, which was created in 2016 with funding assistance from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA).

    • Detailed Ranking of Top Schools

  • Google For Education Announces 50 New Features on Its Products

    Google For Education Announces 50 New Features on Its Products

    IBL News | New York

    The Google for Education division announced this month over 50 new features across its products—whether it’s Search, YouTube, Google Classroom, or Chromebooks.

    • The first change that administrators and educators will see points to the fact that Google’s free edition G Suite for Education will be renamed Google Workspace for Education Fundamentals. It will include:
      • Gmail;
      • Calendar;
      • Meet;
      • Docs;
      • Sheets;
      • Slides;
      • Forms;
      • Classroom;
      • Assignments;
      • Sites;
      • Groups;
      • Drive; and
      • Admin.

    The “Standard” edition will cost $3 a year per student.

    • In Classroom, there is new advanced analytics.
    • On Meet, a new feature is the ability to set policies for who can join their school’s video calls. Also, the possibility to end meetings for everyone and the option to quickly mute everyone all at once. Emoji reactions—scheduled by the end of the year—will give students lightweight, non-disruptive ways to engage. Meet will also work better with low bandwidth.
    • In Chrome OS, the search giant is launching over 40 new models. A new feature is a screen recording tool.
    • In Google Cloud Student Success Services, there are new features intended to better understand student needs and scale support across digital and in-person learning.
    • Later this year, the Classroom Android app will work offline so students can download their assignments and complete them without relying on a steady connection.

    “We’re committed to building technology that empowers every educator with simple, assistive tools, teachers can focus on helping students reach their full potential,” wrote Ben Gomes, SVP Learning and Education at Google.

     

  • Learning App Babbel Adds Live Classes by Certified Teachers

    Learning App Babbel Adds Live Classes by Certified Teachers

    IBL News | New York

    Babbel, the German subscription-based language learning app, announced this month that is adding live classes capped at six students and delivered by certified teachers. (Currently, Babbel is working with 100 teachers.)

    Users can add live classes to their existing Babbel subscription for an additional fee, starting at $110 for five classes/month.

    The Berlin-based learning platform also announced language-based games in its app, along with short stories to help students using their new vocabulary.

    In the last year, Babbel claimed it crossed a milestone at 10 million subscriptions sold, with $150 million in revenue. Its CEO, Julie Hansen said to Techcrunch.com that the travel restrictions due to the pandemic didn’t affect the company’s growth.

    “So I was in such a panic by mid-March, thinking that our business is going to go to zero. No one’s traveling. And it was just the exact opposite. People found in language learning — as they did in bike riding and sourdough bread baking — a creative outlet, self-improvement or a rewarding investment in themselves.”

     

     

  • ASU Creates a Virtual Center to Provide Students Career-Related Services

    ASU Creates a Virtual Center to Provide Students Career-Related Services

    IBL News | New York

    Arizona State University (ASU) announced a virtual career center intended to help its community of students and alumni on their professional development and recruitment. Its goal is “to translate their education into meaningful career pathways.”

    W. P. Carey Career Management and Employer Engagement (CMEE) provides resources and hosts events for its business students, including 16,000 bachelor’s and master’s degree students across 50 programs.

    ASU launched this virtual center, hosted at career.wpcarey.asu.edu, in partnership with uConnect.

    Sharon Irwin-Foulon, Executive Director for Career Management and Employer Engagement, explained that the W. P. Carey virtual career center is organized into digital communities with tools for events, internships, and job opportunities; industry guides; mentors; and student organizations.

    Communities also feature a dedicated career coach, as well as professional courses for students.

     

  • President Biden Refuses to Cancel $50,000 in Federal Student Debt

    President Biden Refuses to Cancel $50,000 in Federal Student Debt

    IBL News | New York

    President Joe Biden ruled out yesterday canceling $50,000 in student debt per person. His rejection disappointed student borrowers as well as top Senate Democrats like Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Democratic senator Elizabeth Warren.

    The debate over loan forgiveness emerged during a town hall meeting sponsored by CNN Tuesday night.

    Asked by a viewer about what is happening with the debt relief, Biden replied, “I will not make that happen.”

    However, Biden did say he would support a smaller amount of $10,000.

    One-third of federal student loan borrowers, or 14.4 million people, would see their balances reset to zero if all federal student loan borrowers got $10,000 of their debt forgiven.

    If $50,000 of education debt was forgiven, it would wipe away all debt for 80% of borrowers, or roughly 36 million people.

  • Instructure Sells Its Corporate Platform Bridge to a British Firm for $50 Million

    Instructure Sells Its Corporate Platform Bridge to a British Firm for $50 Million

    IBL News | New York

    Instructure Inc—the owner of Canvas LMS—discretely sold this week its corporate LMS for corporate customers Bridge to London–based Learning Technologies Group plc (LTG), which operates two platforms: PeopleFluent and BreezyHR.

    The news service of the London Stock Exchange (RNS) reported that the acquisition amount was $50 million in cash.

    Bridge registered a revenue of $21 million last year, of which more than 90% was derived from recurring annual and multi-year contracts from 800 customers. It posted an EBITDA loss of $1.3 million in the same period.

    “This latest addition enables LTG to provide a holistic learning and talent development offering to meet the needs of small, mid-size and large enterprises,” said Jonathan Satchell, Chief Executive of LTG, in a press announcement. Significantly, Instructure has not announced the transaction yet.

    The acquisition of getBridge LLC—the company behind Bridge—is expected to complete on 26th February 2021. It will be funded from LTG’s existing cash resources, according to the company.

    Bridge represents LTG’s seventh acquisition since May 2020, including Open LMS / Moodle Rooms. Its Board announced that “it will continue to pursue high-quality acquisition targets financed through its own cash resources and modest levels of debt.”

    LTG’s businesses include LEO Learning, Gomo, PRELOADED, Rustici Software, PeopleFluent, Affirmity, Watershed, VectorVMS, Instilled, and Open LMS.

     

  • VR Labs Company Raises Another $60 Million to Remotely Educate Science Students

    VR Labs Company Raises Another $60 Million to Remotely Educate Science Students

    IBL News | New York

    Virtual laboratory and 3D simulations producer Labster raised this month another $60 million in Series C funding, benefiting from the increased demand of students forced to learn from home.

    The round brings Labster’s total capital raised to $100 million. Well-known investors such as Andreessen Horowitz, GGV Capital, Owl Ventures, Balderton Capital, and EduCapital participated.

    Michael Bodekaer, Founder & CEO of Labster, said that the company would use the funding to further expand—especially in South America—and develop new science courses.

    Named one of Newsweek’s 50 U.S. Businesses That Stood Out During the Pandemic, Labster’s staff of 200 employees serves 2,000 universities and high-schools in 70+ countries.

    “Labster recognizes that if you combine the best aspects of in-person instruction and a game-based platform, it’s a transformative learning experience for students,” said Scott Kupor, Managing Partner at Andreessen Horowitz, the VC that led the funding round.

    Based in Copenhagen, Denmark, Labster says that its interactive simulations are a complementary learning tool for in-person university and high school education, as well as a resource to many hybrid and online courses.

  • A University Offers Certification for Skills on the Cannabis Industry

    A University Offers Certification for Skills on the Cannabis Industry

    IBL News | New York

    Certified on cannabis?

    The cannabis industry is now a fast-growing job-sector, “yet a significant shortage of qualified professionals exists,” argues Western Washington University. This institution has started to offer non-credit certificates “with focused instruction from top experts in the cannabis industry.”

    Its Professional and Continuing Education division has adopted four certificate programs in Business, Agriculture & Horticulture, Healthcare & Medicine, and Law & Policy.

    The programs—taught by expert instructors and developed in partnership with Green Flower education company—are offered 100% online. Each 24-week program costs $2,950 and includes three eight-week modules. Courses begin in March 2021.

    “After completing a certificate, students will have access to Green Flower’s Employer Network–providing priority access to open positions, hiring contacts, and networking opportunities within multiple large national and regional cannabis companies,” explained this university founded in 1893.

     

  • The Culinary Institute of America Launches an Online Master’s Degree in Wine and Beverage Management

    The Culinary Institute of America Launches an Online Master’s Degree in Wine and Beverage Management

    IBL News | New York

    The Culinary Institute of America (CIA) announced this month an Online Master’s Degree in Wine and Beverage Management.

    Enrolling for Fall 2021, this program follows the in-person wine and beverage management master’s and the Online Master’s in Food Business—both of which graduated their inaugural classes in September 2020.

    The Online Master’s Degree in Wine and Beverage Management will be a 30-credit curriculum program and will immerse students in every facet of the business, from bottle to glass, exploring global wine business management; spirits, fermented, and non-alcoholic beverages; entrepreneurial innovation, marketing, distribution; and much more.

    The program will include three short residencies: two in Napa, CA―the heart of wine country―and one at the CIA’s Hyde Park campus, in New York’s Hudson Valley.

    “Today’s beverage professionals need a foundation that goes beyond product knowledge,” said Cathy Jörin, Senior Director of the CIA School of Graduate and Professional Studies. “Solid business acumen, an understanding of sustainability and world cultures, and the ability to innovate are vital. By bringing this program online, we’re making it accessible to even more people, giving them an opportunity to develop these skills without putting their current careers on hold.”

    To enroll, students must have a bachelor’s degree.

    https://youtu.be/slg4-s_WRKg