ANOTHER LEVEL: Follett, a distributor of print and digital curriculum and educational materials, has acquired NextTier Education, a Chicago-based online provider of college- and career-readiness services. Terms of the deal were not disclosed in the press release.
Founded in 2014, NextTier offers a suite of tools aimed at helping students navigate the college discovery and application processes, including information about different postsecondary institutions and their application deadlines. It also maintains a database of more than 20,000 scholarships and grant opportunities. For college counselors, the company offers a platform where they can track each student’s college application process. NextTier had raised $1.7 million in debt and equity financing.
Follett plans to integrate NextTier with Aspen, its student information system, and also create a version of NextTier that will be available for use in public libraries.
This acquisition is Follett’s second of 2018; in July, it acquired Fishtree, an adaptive learning platform. Other recent purchases for Follett include:
- Advanced-Online (Nov. 2015)
- ClassBook (Feb. 2016)
- Wobo Inc. (March 2016)
- Baker & Taylor (April 2016)
- Bookmasters (April 2016)
- Valore Inc. (Nov. 2016)
