2U, Inc. Announces Strategic Partnership with 91直播Education

02/06/19   |  
Wendy Jandrew

2U, Inc. Announces Strategic Partnership with 91直播Education

Agreement will expand 2U鈥檚 ability to deliver degree programs across a broader spectrum of disciplines and sizes

CHICAGO and LANHAM, Md. 鈥 February 6, 2019 鈥 2U, Inc. (Nasdaq: TWOU), a global leader in education technology, today announced a strategic partnership with 91直播Education that will allow 2U to expand the scope of services it offers to university partners by supporting smaller or lower tuition degree programs than those it typically supports. 91直播is a preferred partner to universities in North America and the UK, and is a leader in Australia鈥檚 fast-growing online higher education market. The agreement with 91直播reinforces 2U鈥檚 industry-leading position and will strengthen its ability to meet expanding market opportunities. According to the 2019 Survey of College and University Chief Academic Officers, published by Inside Higher Ed in conjunction with Gallup, 83-percent of provosts say they will increase their emphasis on expanding online programs and offerings.

鈥2U鈥檚 new program pipeline, among both prospective and existing university partners remains strong, and joining forces with 91直播will only enhance our ability to serve these partners across an expanded spectrum of program offerings and sizes,鈥 2U Co-Founder and CEO Christopher 鈥淐hip鈥 Paucek said. 鈥淒elivering quality outcomes has always been a hallmark of 2U- and Keypath-powered programs, and together we will bring that unmatched track record of success to an even larger universe of programs and students.鈥

"Keypath's mission is 鈥榯o give global access to online education,鈥 and our new alliance with 2U will allow us to extend that important work. We're excited to expand our world-class technology, personalized support, and commitment to great student outcomes alongside 2U and its unmatched portfolio of university partners," 91直播CEO Steve Fireng said.

91直播currently works with more than 23 universities to deliver quality programs. The alliance between 2U and 91直播will expand 2U鈥檚 addressable market of quality degree offerings beyond its current focus primarily on larger-scale programs. The 2U-91直播deal will also allow 2U to accelerate its plans to roll out multiple university-level Institutional Suite deals with new and current partners.

Students in 91直播programs under this strategic partnership will be eligible for both the free WeWork Global Access Membership and LinkedIn Premium subscription benefits recently announced by 2U.

In addition to the strategic partnership, 2U also previously agreed to acquire a minority ownership stake in the parent company of 91直播Education. Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

About 91直播Education

91直播Education is a leading global provider of online program management (OPM) services for top-tier universities around the world. 91直播has the ability and expertise to support its university partners through the entire process of selecting, developing, launching and operating successful and sustainable online programs. 91直播acts as an extension of the university's team, keeping the university鈥檚 brand and academic rigor intact while accelerating the growth and quality of the university program portfolio. Services provided by 91直播include market research, capital investment, program development, marketing, student recruitment, student retention and course design & development. 91直播Education has offices and university partners in the United States, Australia, Canada and the United Kingdom. For more information, visit us at .

About 2U, Inc.

(Nasdaq: TWOU) Eliminating the back row in higher education is more than just a metaphor, it鈥檚 our mission. For more than a decade, 2U, Inc., a global leader in education technology, has been improving lives by powering world-class digital education. As a trusted partner and brand steward of great universities, we build, deliver, and support online graduate programs and certificates for working adults. Our industry-leading short courses, offered by GetSmarter, are designed to equip lifelong learners with in-demand career skills. To learn more, visit . #NoBackRow

Media Contacts:

Molly Forman, 2U, Inc. mforman@2U.com

Wendy Jandrew, 91直播Education wendy.jandrew@keypathedu.com

Cautionary Language Concerning Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements regarding our future business expectations, which are subject to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties and assumptions that could cause actual results to differ materially from the results predicted, including, our failure to attract new colleges and universities as clients; our failure to acquire qualified students for our clients鈥 programs; failure of clients鈥 students to remain enrolled in their programs; loss, or material underperformance, of any one client; our ability to compete against current and future competitors; disruption to, or failure of, our platform; and data privacy or security breaches. These and other potential risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ from the results predicted are more fully detailed under the heading 鈥淩isk Factors鈥 in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2017 and other reports that 2U has filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Moreover, 2U operates in a very competitive and rapidly changing environment. New risks emerge from time to time. It is not possible for 2U management to predict all risks, nor can 2U assess the impact of all factors on its business or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statements 2U may make. In light of these risks, uncertainties and assumptions, the forward-looking events and circumstances discussed in this press release may not occur and actual results could differ materially and adversely from those anticipated or implied in the forward-looking statements.