New Universities Select Knewton to Power Math College Readiness Courses

NEW YORK, June 15, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, educational technology company Knewton announced that its award-winning Adaptive Learning Platform™ has been selected by Penn State University (PSU), University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV), the State University of New York (SUNY), and Mount St. Mary's University to power college readiness courses that will help condition incoming students for the rigors of college-level academics and identify and address academic areas of improvement for each student.  Recognizing the successful implementation of blended learning at ASU, both state universities with large student bodies like SUNY, Penn State, and UNLV, and small selective private universities like Mount St. Mary's are turning toward Knewton's Adaptive Learning Platform™ to power their college readiness programs.

College preparedness continues to be an issue that impacts students across the nation and can hinder a student's chance of completing a four-year university program. According to the Alliance for Excellence in Education, 50 percent of students who enter college remediation programs fail to reach graduation.  

Knewton, with its highly sophisticated and personalized courses, empowers universities to address the specific academic needs of incoming students head-on and ensures that all students are quickly on a level playing field. Specifically, Knewton dynamically optimizes each student's learning experience around the current set of concepts most critical to that student's success, continuously delivering uniquely personalized recommendations to the student based on what he knows and how he learns best.

"The rapid adoption of our Math College Readiness Course, built on our Adaptive Learning Platform™, shows that we are able to deliver to universities a fast and highly efficient way to get students up to speed and ensure they are put in position to succeed in school and beyond," said Knewton CEO Jose Ferreira.  "We have long been saying that the future of education must incorporate a blended learning environment that provides a uniquely personalized and highly scalable learning experience for each student that optimizes learning content, delivers powerful analytics about student performance, and ultimately identifies the best way to teach to each student."

Arizona State Expands Beyond Math Readiness with Knewton

In addition to welcoming new universities, today Knewton also announced that Arizona State University (ASU), the flagship partner launching Knewton's college readiness solution, has requested that additional courses become fitted for Knewton's Adaptive Learning capabilities. Knewton's relationship with ASU began with the Math Readiness contract and quickly accelerated to include the powering of blended learning math courses for on campus students—MAT 117 (College Algebra) and MAT 142 (College Mathematics)—in partnership with Pearson, the world's leading learning company.

"We are thrilled to expand our relationship with Arizona State and apply our adaptive learning technology to a broader array of courses. The use of personalized data on students' learning habits is redefining the education model at universities, and schools like Arizona State have rightly recognized its ability to drive higher academic achievement," said Knewton CEO Jose Ferreira.

Comments from University Partners

ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY

"We first anticipated using Knewton for a single project," said Phil Regier Executive Vice Provost and Dean of ASU Online. "However, Knewton's tremendous potential has a viral effect. The more we become familiar with Knewton, the more we begin conceptualizing its use in different disciplines, and the more we are interested in exploiting its potential to construct a comprehensive profile that can assist us in improving any individual student's educational experience."

UNIVERSITY OF NEVADA, LAS VEGAS

"Knewton is an integral part of our new math tutoring program for students who need help readying themselves for college level math," said David Forgues, Assistant Dean/Director of Learning Support. "The difference with this program is that it responds to the student and works with them from their starting place.  We believe our students will really benefit from this new and innovative program."

MOUNT ST. MARY'S UNIVERSITY

"Mount St. Mary's is committed to excellence in student learning, and in a global community driven by science and technology, solid foundations in these areas are more important than ever," says David B. Rehm, Provost. "We are excited to employ Knewton in preparing students for academic success, in particular because Knewton allows us to focus on students as individuals, each with different learning styles."

PENN STATE UNIVERSITY

"Penn State is always eager to deploy the newest and best technology to ensure that its students have the necessary support and resources to succeed," said Wayne Smutz, Executive Director of the World Campus at Penn State. "In examining Knewton, we think their adaptive learning courses could be a great offering to improve outcomes for our students."

To learn more about how Knewton's Adaptive Learning Platform™ College Readiness and Blended Learning solutions can help your students, visit: http://www.knewton.com/college-readiness/.

About Knewton

Knewton has developed the world's first Adaptive Learning Platform™, which customizes educational content to create a uniquely personalized learning experience for every student. Knewton's patent-pending algorithms currently power its Math College Readiness, GMAT prep, LSAT prep, and SAT prep courses, and Knewton is continuing to partner with universities, publishers and other educational organizations to make personalized learning available to everyone worldwide. Knewton was founded in 2008 by Jose Ferreira, a former executive at Kaplan, with Series A, B, and C funding from Bessemer Venture Partners, Accel Partners, FirstMark Capital, First Round Capital, and prominent angel investors. For more information, visit http://www.knewton.com.

SOURCE Knewton