Carnegie announces its acquisition of Sextant Marketing (Sextant), a top global Online Program Experience (OPX) service provider, and with it, Carnegie's official entry into the OPX market. Together, Carnegie and Sextant will meet market demand for flexible, transparent online marketing and enrollment services and offer higher ed an alternative to the traditional Online Program Management (OPM) model.
WESTFORD, Mass. and TAMPA, Fla., Nov. 21, 2024 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Carnegie, a leader in higher education marketing and enrollment strategy, announced today its acquisition of Sextant Marketing, an Online Program Experience (OPX) service provider, marking its official entry into the OPX market. With this acquisition, Carnegie is thrilled to expand its marketing and enrollment capabilities and strengthen its capacity to serve professional, continuing, and online clients. The Sextant team has been at the forefront of building scaled online programs with over twenty-three years of experience in delivering coordinated new student recruitment, yield, and retention campaigns. Together, Carnegie and Sextant will meet market demand for flexible, transparent online marketing and enrollment services and offer higher ed an alternative to the traditional Online Program Management (OPM) model.
Carnegie, motivated by its promise to deliver the most innovative marketing and enrollment solutions in higher education, is expanding its strategy to include the OPX landscape, particularly for institutions transitioning from legacy Online Program Management (OPM) agreements. Online Program Experience (OPX) is a nascent term in higher ed, encompassing a spectrum of services that support colleges and universities delivering online education. OPX, as compared to OPM, allows for services to be unbundled and offers a fee-for-service model versus revenue sharing. Carnegie and Sextant are leaning into their strengths to disrupt the OPM market and deliver best-in-class marketing and enrollment solutions for their online partners.
"To be successful in the OPX market, campus stakeholders need increased transparency, flexibility, and reliable partners to drive enrollment outcomes. Having supported professional, continuing, online, and graduate recruitment efforts for over 35 years, we are in a unique position to offer that partnership. Carnegie is committed to being part of the OPX solution, serving clients looking for online recruitment marketing partners, independent of OPMs," said Gary Colen, CEO of Carnegie. "Sextant's talented team of enrollment strategists, digital managers, student success specialists, and performance marketers will help us deliver a best-in-class solution to the OPX market."
Sextant will join the Carnegie team, adding more marketing and enrollment talent to the Carnegie ranks. "We're excited to join Carnegie, which has a long history of innovation and market disruption. Similarly, Sextant was founded on the belief that old models for student recruitment were unsustainable. Our combined expertise will offer institutions cutting-edge, fee-for-service recruitment solutions that preserve long-term enrollment revenue while accelerating online program growth," said Adrian Marrullier, CEO of Sextant. In addition to Sextant's digital capabilities, they also bring their Enhanced Student Service, staffed by trained higher ed professionals who provide omnichannel, full student lifecycle support for all higher ed audiences. This enrollment concierge offering is ideal for clients seeking a high-touch, 360 approach to recruiting and retaining students, while Sextant clients can tap into Carnegie's full portfolio of marketing and enrollment services. "We're looking forward to leveraging Carnegie's end-to-end portfolio for our residential and online clients who will benefit from their extended digital capabilities, branding, research, and expertise in Student Search," said Matthew Speer, Chief Operating Officer at Sextant. "Together, we will empower clients to provide transformative enrollment solutions that lead to student success—a founding principle for both companies."
"The vision for this acquisition extends beyond immediate synergies—it's about architecting a sustainable solution for online program delivery, which is essential to the future of higher education. No institution today can be without an online strategy, and all institutions need flexible service models fine-tuned to their particular needs and focused on the success of their students," said Dr. Paul LeBlanc, Former President of Southern New Hampshire University and Carnegie Board Member.
Carnegie continues to push the boundaries of innovation in higher education marketing and enrollment management, a legacy that dates back to its founding in 1985.
About Carnegie
Carnegie is the human connection company. They believe success is predicated on connecting. Literally and figuratively. Carnegie connects colleges and universities with students by fusing human psychology with marketing and enrollment innovation. Carnegie offers groundbreaking marketing and enrollment solutions that lead to action, enrollment, retention, and lasting affinity. Learn more at carnegiehighered.com.
About Sextant
Sextant Marketing is a fee-for-service marketing and consulting company delivering omnichannel marketing and end-to-end enrollment cycle solutions exclusively to higher education clients. Recognized by HolonIQ as a leading Global OPX company, Sextant is uniquely positioned to understand and articulate higher education brand and program value propositions and deliver effective, turn-key full-funnel recruitment, enrollment, and retention services. Learn more about their innovative approach and how they've helped build hundreds of programs at sextantmktg.com.
Media Contact
Christine Kramer, Carnegie, 1 2159060234, [email protected], carnegiehighered.com
SOURCE Carnegie
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