Rize Education: 2023 Year in Review

The Rize team just said our goodbyes after a successful holiday party filled with wacky competitions and a dash of productive collaboration (check out a picture of our growing team at the end). 

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As we reflected together on the year, maybe the cozy sweaters & hot chocolate contributed to the buoyant mood, but it seemed beyond a doubt that 2023 was the best year in our history.

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Our growth mindset will never change - we have signed up for an ambitious 2024 roadmap that will make us better partners to you and your students. Nonetheless, we thought you might want to join us in some cheerful reflection.

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If you want to go deeper, please register for our Year in Review webinar in January! With so much to cover, we will share a Part 2 newsletter in January that will focus on Student Experience!

Growth in Programs, Students & Impact

During 2023, there was significant growth in Rize programs and course registrations. 

• Partnering with you on ~500 collaborative programs, we are now collectively serving nearly 5,000 student registrations.

• By zooming out another year, the growth is even more striking. Approved programs have increased 4x and student registrations have increased ~5x compared to 2021.

• When calculating program growth, we noticed an important trend: a lot of our growth is coming from existing partners. 2 out of 3 partners who have been working with Rize for at least a year have expanded their partnership by adding more programs.

• The value of Rize programs also grew in 2023. Partners who have been actively working with Rize for at least a year have an average of ~10 enrolled students per program, generating an estimated 5x+ return-on-investment.

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New Offerings

The menu of Rize programs expanded in 2023 with several notable additions:

• Based on market trends, partner needs and student feedback, we upgraded Data Analytics into two distinct tracks: Data Science & Business Analytics (webinar recording here)
• Seeking to expand the health & wellness portfolio, we launched Nutrition, a program that has grown 70% over the last 5 years.
• Focused on amplifying the enrollment impact & student outcomes for Computer Science & Cybersecurity, our top two programs, we added 8-week course options.

Looking ahead, we are also researching potential Fall 2025 launches.

• Artificial Intelligence & Climate/Sustainability: We’ve been carefully circling both of these fields for months, assessing how to create programs with clear student outcomes. We won’t launch anything until we develop that conviction, but we think we are getting close!
• Graduate Programs: Current partners have identified a need to support MBA students with expanded concentrations that are financially and logistically difficult to offer.

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Expanded Team

Now I get to brag about my amazing colleagues. How did we achieve the results above? We added incredible talent across all verticals, including the launch of our Partner Success team and the significant expansion of Instructional Design.

Partner Success: Our new PS team is entirely dedicated to maximizing the value of our partnership together through enrollment and student success. Meet Dylan, Caleb, Lauren and Elizabeth!

Instructional Design: The instructional design team grew at Rize, allowing us to continue ensuring curriculum and curriculum design delivered to students is top quality. Meet Alyssa, Laura, Matthew, William and Greg!

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New Ways to Engage with Rize

Before wishing you relaxation and merriment, a plug! Rize has been eagerly attending conferences, meeting with industry leaders and producing content for our partners. See below for some greatest hits from 2023, as well as a list of conferences you can find us at early next year!

Podcasts/Sessions:

1. Charlie Anastasi on the EdUp Experience
2. Kevin Harrington and Dr. Jeffrey Docking on Grow, Grow, Grow with Gray DI
3. Gregory Edwards on The Intentional Teaching Podcast
4. Charlie Anastasi and Rize Partners at ASU+GSV

Linkedin Newsletter - Rize Up (Subscribe Here): Practical, actionable advice for small colleges from the business world. I spend a lot of time (maybe too much time) learning  about startups, great businesses, and higher education. My goal is to package the best business lessons into higher ed applications.

Early 2024 Conferences: 

1. January: CIC Presidents Institute (Hollywood, FL); CCCU Presidents Conference (Washington DC)
2. February: ACCU Annual Meeting (Washington DC)
3. March: AGB National Conference on Trusteeship (Boston, MA), Academic Impressions Provost Summit (Denver, CO)
4. April: ASU + GSV (San Diego, CA) and the HLC Annual Meeting (Chicago, IL).

Thank you all for another great year. We are deeply appreciative of your partnership. Happy holidays and we look forward to growing with you again in 2024!

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Flashback: Read the 2022 annual recap