PSG (a leading growth equity firm specializing in partnering with technology-enabled services companies) announced a strategic growth investment today in two software companies serving career, community, trade, and higher education institutions and their students: Verity IQ and Campus Ivy. Verity IQ is a customer relationship management (CRM) and student information system (SIS) provider. And Campus Ivy is a provider of financial aid solutions.
These investments aim to enrich each company’s existing offerings with additional features and functionality, and to strengthen the seamless integration of their solutions. Financial terms were not disclosed. And both of these companies were founded by experienced education professionals who recognized the limitations of existing tools in the market.
Verity IQ’s solutions – which includes “Verity Dialog CRM” and “Verity Student SIS” – helps higher education institutions manage the entire student lifecycle. And the CRM facilitates multi-channel communication for student recruitment and retention and guides prospective students through the admissions process with paperless and e-signature workflow automation. The SIS tracks student attendance, academic progress, documents, and student account ledgers, supported by digital payment processing for tuition and fees along with capturing progress to graduation and post-grad job placement.
Campus Ivy works with institutions in transforming their financial aid administration with a focus on the student experience to help improve financial aid efficiency and compliance for institutions and students across three offerings: 1.) Cloud-based financial aid automation software, including a user-friendly interface for students to access important information related to their awards 2.) Outsourcing services, encompassing processing, packaging and file review, reconciliation, and verification; and 3.) Professional services for expert guidance in federal student aid management, from compliance audits to Title IV training, etc.
Some of the additional education technology companies in PSG’s portfolio include Aztec Software, DigitalEd, Lumaverse, Packback, Pathful, and SchoolStatus.
KEY QUOTES:
“PSG has a deep conviction in the potential for innovative technologies to transform education, and we have been actively investing in edtech for many years. We’ve closely monitored the increasing demand for trade and vocational schools, as well as community colleges, driven by the shortage of skilled vocational workers and the rising costs of higher education, among other tailwinds. In our view, Verity IQ and Campus Ivy have distinguished themselves as leading providers of crucial solutions that support the entire student lifecycle, evidenced by the many institutions that choose to work with both providers.”
– Marco Ferrari, Managing Director at PSG
“We started this company as a direct result of our experience with the challenges caused by school departments operating with outdated and incompatible products and services and have seen first-hand the impact this has on the student experience. We built Verity IQ to provide essential systems to address notable pain points – decentralized data, lack of visibility across departmental performance, lack of automation, and inefficiencies in school operations. We believe that PSG’s expertise investing in the education technology market and shared commitment to solving for these inefficiencies stood out from the beginning. We value their know-how and shared enthusiasm for what we are building.”
– Cornelia Anderson, Co-Founder & CEO, and Aaron Anderson, Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer of Verity IQ
“PSG’s track record investing in education technology and their excitement about the future of our industry make them a strong partner to accelerate our vision. We’re excited for what’s ahead as we bolster our existing products that have been helping to transform school operations and financial outcomes nationwide.”
– Cid Yousefi, Co-Founder, President & CEO, and Siana Stewart, Co-Founder, Chief Operating Officer of Campus Ivy
