Regent Education Raises $9 Million to Expand Sales and Support of Financial Aid Management Solutions

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Jul 07, 2014, 03:44 ET

FREDERICK, Md., July 7, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Regent Education, the leading provider of financial aid management and enrollment optimization software solutions for higher education institutions, today announced a $9 million round of funding to support and accelerate the company's growth.

The company closed a $4 million Series C equity financing from both new and existing investors: New Markets Venture Partners joins current lead investor Chrysalis Ventures in the investment syndicate. Additionally, Ares Capital Corporation provided $5 million of debt financing. The funds will be used to allow the company to respond to the tremendous demand for its solutions.

"To prosper in the 21st century, higher education institutions need to offer innovative solutions and modify the way they deliver education," said Robb Doub, General Partner at New Markets Venture Partners. "Increasingly, all types of institutions are turning to non-traditional enrollment models such as non-term, self-paced and competency-based education to meet students' changing needs. Regent's financial aid management system, Regent 8, is the only solution on the market today that can fully support these models, properly positioning these institutions for the changing landscape in higher education."

"We have seen extraordinary demand for our solutions from all types of institutions: large and small, for-profit and not-for-profit," said Randy Jones, CEO of Regent Education. "Our recurring revenue base has grown more than 300 percent in the last two years because of the ability of our products to solve some of the most challenging administrative processes in higher education, particularly for schools offering non-traditional enrollment models. As institutions adopt these new models in order to meet their growth and service objectives, they are hindered by the limitations of their existing systems. We not only remove that barrier, but also help them control costs through our advanced automation."

In addition to Regent 8, Regent Education offers a variety of other solutions that help colleges attract more students and manage the onboarding and administration of those students more efficiently. The company's software-as-a-service platform successfully integrates with a variety of other systems that institutions use to manage their operations.

"We're excited about Regent's continued growth potential," said Wright Steenrod, Partner at Chrysalis Ventures. "The company's innovative solutions resolve complex administrative and regulatory problems for its customers through advanced automation, and theirs is the only solution that supports the rapidly-changing business models in higher education today."

About Regent Education:

Founded in 2006, Regent Education is a leading provider of software solutions that have revolutionized financial aid management and enrollment processes for schools using non-traditional enrollment models. Today, Regent 8, the eighth version of Regent's financial aid management system, is the only solution that provides end-to-end automation for non-term, nonstandard term, and standard academic years. Regent SNAP enables schools to provide estimated awards to prospective students in 15 minutes or less—a process that normally takes days or weeks. Regent Review is the industry's only fully-automated verification solution.

Regent is a nationally recognized leader in results-driven enrollment optimization and financial aid management solutions—solutions that are web-based, easy-to-use and interoperate with any existing student information system. Regent offers software-as-a-solution (SaaS) tools that help institutions increase enrollment, improve retention, speed student processing, mitigate compliance risks and deliver bottom-line results. Visit http://www.regenteducation.com/ for more information.

About New Markets Venture Partners:

New Markets Venture Partners is a venture capital firm that invests in and actively assists innovative education, information technology, and business services companies. The New Markets Team has decades of experience investing in and building high growth companies, maintains proprietary relationships with centers of innovation, and has particular domain expertise around technology and education. It prides itself on working to add value before, during and after the investment process. Visit http://www.newmarketsvp.com/ for more information.

About Chrysalis Ventures:

Chrysalis Ventures manages one of Mid-America's largest funds for early-stage and growth investments with approximately $400 million under management. Since 1993, the firm has invested in over 65 companies, primarily in the healthcare and technology sectors. With headquarters in Louisville, Kentucky, Chrysalis has offices in Cleveland, Pittsburgh, and Ann Arbor. The firm seeks to partner with entrepreneurs to build enduring businesses in industries undergoing significant transformation. For more information, please visit http://www.chrysalisventures.com/ .

About Ares Capital Corporation:

Ares Capital is a leading specialty finance company that provides one-stop financing solutions to U.S. middle market companies and private equity sponsors. The Company originates and invests in senior secured loans, mezzanine debt and, to a lesser extent, equity investments through its national direct origination platform. Ares Capital's investment objective is to generate both current income and capital appreciation through debt and equity investments primarily in private companies. Ares Capital has elected to be regulated as a business development company, and is externally managed by a wholly owned subsidiary of Ares Management LLC. Ares Management is a global alternative asset manager and a SEC-registered investment adviser with approximately $77 billion of assets under management as of March 31, 2014. For more information, visit http://www.arescapitalcorp.com/ .

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SOURCE Regent Education