Backed by a record investment in innovation, the new AI-forward platform powers a redesigned CampusGroups student mobile app, upgraded Data Intelligence, and Dean, a conversational AI assistant, with policy-driven AI controls institutions set themselves
CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Oct. 28, 2026 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Ready Education today announced ReadyCampus, a next-generation modular platform that connects every dimension of campus life. Across the rest of edtech, innovation in student engagement technology has slowed in recent years, even as AI reshapes what students and institutions expect. This year, Ready Education answered with a landmark investment to rebuild its technology foundation, supported by the strongest performance in the company's 20-plus-year history.
The result is ReadyCampus. Students get one place to belong. Institutions get one platform to guide, engage, and retain them.
ReadyCampus is the foundational layer that brings together the flagship CampusGroups module, a redesigned native student app, a major upgrade to Data Intelligence, and Dean, a new conversational AI assistant that works across every module. All of it runs on one shared, enterprise-scale infrastructure that grows with an institution's needs. Pre-built, configurable integrations connect ReadyCampus to the systems institutions already run.
A New Foundation for a New Era in Student Engagement
AI and the accelerating pace of technology change are redefining what campus software must do. Vendors can't meet that moment by layering new features onto aging systems. They have to replace the foundation itself. Ready Education made that commitment this year, rebuilding its platform from the ground up so institutions can adopt AI responsibly and keep pace with what students expect.
The stakes for institutions are high. Even as first-year persistence holds steady nationally, more than one in five students who started college in fall 2024 were no longer enrolled the following fall, according to the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center. Institutions must close that gap with tighter budgets, leaner teams, and a patchwork of apps that are costly to maintain and hard for students to navigate.
ReadyCampus replaces that patchwork with one platform from one vendor. Most importantly, the new foundation lets Ready Education go much further in helping students get engaged on campus and succeed. Students can more easily find opportunities, get involved, and feel connected. Student affairs teams see engagement and participation data together, so they can spot disengagement sooner and act before a student drifts away. CIOs gain a shared foundation built for security, compliance, and accessibility that connects with existing campus systems.
"Innovation in student engagement technology has stalled, while AI is changing what students and institutions expect from every tool they use. You can't meet that moment with incremental updates, so we made a landmark investment to rebuild our foundation," said Gary Ambrosino, CEO of Ready Education. "ReadyCampus is the next evolution of our platform. It lets us go much further in helping students get engaged and succeed, and it gives every campus one place to connect students to the people, programs, and resources that matter, with sovereign AI that each institution governs on its own terms. We connect students to success."
What's New in ReadyCampus
The ReadyCampus foundation powers the flagship CampusGroups student engagement module, Data Intelligence analytics, and Dean, a new conversational AI assistant. Existing customers receive upgrades to their current modules at no additional cost.
- A student mobile app redesigned around students: The completely rebuilt native iOS and Android CampusGroups app delivers the consumer-grade experience students expect from the apps they use every day. A cleaner, more intuitive interface makes it faster for students to discover what's happening, join communities, register for events, and connect with peers. Each school can brand the app with its own logo and colors, and multilingual support helps every student feel at home. Current students move to the new app automatically, with no new download or account required.
- Powering events at scale: CampusGroups helps institutions manage high-volume registration and check-in for large campus events. It now supports ten times the concurrent registrations of the previous version. A faster experience helps turn student interest into real attendance.
- Upgraded Data Intelligence: Twice as many engagement signals, 100 prebuilt charts, and new precision filters help teams understand participation across students, cohorts, clubs, and events. Richer historical data supports year-over-year comparisons, and additional datasets cover posts, emails, notifications, connections, chats, and revenue. AI-generated reports help teams measure program results and return on investment (ROI) of engagement programs.
- Introducing Dean: A conversational AI assistant that works across all modules. Students can discover what's happening on campus and find and register for events that match their interests. Staff can explore adoption and engagement trends and chat with their data to quickly see how programs are performing. Dean also answers support questions in the moment, such as how to configure account permissions, and creates a support ticket for follow-up from a Support Specialist when a question needs personal assistance. Dean is included at no extra cost for existing CampusGroups and Data Intelligence customers.
- Policy-driven AI: Institutions decide whether to enable AI features and which users can access them. For example, they can make AI tools available to selected users while restricting access in accordance with their institutional policies.
The Foundation for What Comes Next
Every ReadyCampus module runs on one shared foundation that includes enterprise-grade security, scalability, accessibility, and integrations. IT teams get one platform to secure and manage instead of many, and new modules will arrive on the same proven base.
- A data backbone: A common data repository, a unified student profile, and a Snowflake data pipeline give every module the same consistent view of each student. Ready LLM and policy-driven AI draw on that data according to each institution's access permissions and policies. For student affairs, that means one complete picture of each student's engagement, so staff can recognize when someone is pulling away and reach out sooner.
- Built for scale and reliability: A modern architecture supports the most demanding campus activity, including large events. CampusGroups now handles ten times the concurrent registration volume of the previous version, demonstrating the platform's increased capacity under real-world conditions. During orientation, welcome week, and other peak moments, students can register without delays, and staff can focus on the event instead of the technology.
- Integration engine: Automated data mapping connects information across systems, even when fields use different names. Prebuilt, configurable connectors and self-service connections support major student information systems (SIS) and learning management systems (LMS) platforms. Campus teams can configure, test, and publish supported integrations inside the platform.
- Flexible data access and connections: Public application programming interfaces (APIs) support custom add-on applications and analytics tools. The ReadyCampus API offers flexible daily sync options, and MCP servers let the AI chatbots and agent tools institutions already use work with ReadyCampus. Engagement insights can flow into the advising, retention, and analytics tools campuses already rely on, putting them in front of the people best positioned to help students and evaluate retention trends.
- Shared platform services: Single sign-on (SSO), user provisioning, role-based permissions, administrative and security controls, custom fields, and push and in-app notifications are configured and applied across every module. Students sign in with their campus credentials and get updates in one place, and staff manage access once rather than system by system.
- Security and compliance: ReadyCampus is the only student engagement platform that supports institutional security and compliance requirements through SOC 2 Type 2 reporting, ISO 27001 certification, a completed Higher Education Community Vendor Assessment Toolkit (HECVAT), and Texas Risk and Authorization Management Program (TX-RAMP) certification. This allows institutions to adopt ReadyCampus knowing it meets security and accessibility requirements.
- Responsible AI and student privacy: ReadyCampus is FERPA-compliant, and designed to protect student education records. It is also ISO 42001 compliant, governing the responsible, ethical use of AI across the platform. Students can trust that their information is protected, and institutions can adopt AI with confidence.
- Accessibility across web and mobile: ReadyCampus is aligned with WCAG 2.2 AA, supporting inclusive experiences for students and staff across web and mobile. Every student, including those who use assistive technology, can fully take part in campus life.
This new infrastructure enables Ready Education to keep expanding ReadyCampus through new capabilities and modules, with more to be announced in 2027. Existing CampusGroups customers will receive the upgraded mobile app, Dean, and the new integration capabilities at no additional cost. Current Data Intelligence customers will receive the Data Intelligence upgrades at no additional cost.
To learn more, visit www.readyeducation.com/readycampus or join the ReadyCampus vision webinar on November 18, 2026.
About Ready Education
Trusted by more than 700 institutions across 25 countries, Ready Education provides the broadest student engagement platform in higher education, supporting student success from orientation through graduation and beyond. Its global reach includes 75% of the top 20 universities worldwide, 81 leading U.S. research universities, and 11 of the 13 Ivy Plus institutions. Ready Education connects academic and campus life through a comprehensive suite of tools that help institutions strengthen engagement and belonging, build vibrant campus communities, streamline communications, and automate key processes for students, staff, and community partners. Its platform connects with the systems institutions already run, giving student affairs, IT, and leadership teams a shared view of engagement. For more information, visit readyeducation.com.
Source
National Student Clearinghouse Research Center, Persistence and Retention Report: Fall 2024 Beginning Cohort, June 25, 2026. nscresearchcenter.org/persistence-retention
Media Contact
Lauren Mead, Ready Education, 1 +1 (877) 588-7508, [email protected], https://www.readyeducation.com/
SOURCE Ready Education
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