Penn Foster Group Honored with Global Catalyst Award for Learner Success

Anthology recognizes NewLeaf platform's role in improving the experience for over half a million online learners

PHOENIX, Aug. 12, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Penn Foster Group, a leader in online education and workforce training, has been recognized with the 2025 Anthology Catalyst Award in the category of Student Success, honoring the institution's innovative use of technology to support student outcomes, enhance institutional excellence, and expand access to education that meets the needs of today's diverse learners.

The Catalyst Awards, presented annually by Anthology, celebrate institutions and individuals who are leveraging Anthology solutions in bold, inspiring, and impactful ways. Winners are selected from across the globe for their leadership, innovation, and commitment to expanding access and advancing outcomes for learners. The Student Success category celebrates organizations that are implementing data-driven strategies to improve student retention, support completion, and strengthen learner outcomes.

"This recognition reflects the real impact of our work to leverage data and technology to deliver a more responsive, supportive, and effective learning experience," said Kermit Cook, CEO of Penn Foster Group. "By harnessing technology in ways that improve the student experience and subsequent outcomes, we're creating systems that adapt to learners' lives and translate into real progress for learners striving for upward mobility."

Central to the institution's award-winning approach is NewLeaf, a unified student experience platform that brings together enrollment, academic support, financial services, and graduation processes into one streamlined system, making it easier for students to navigate their learning journey. By leveraging the flexibility of the Anthology^® Student system application programming interface and real-time data architecture, NewLeaf enables a seamless learner experience and real-time data synchronization, integrating student workflows. 

Since its launch in February 2024, the platform has served over 500,000 learners and driven a notable increase in program completion rates, along with a 10-point increase in Learner NPS scores for those native to the new Learner Center. The out-of-the-box integration between Anthology^® Reach and Student has empowered learner support teams to address learner needs more efficiently. These outcomes reflect the power of technology to deliver more cohesive, responsive, and supportive learning experiences at scale.

"We believe in the Power of Together, and this year's Catalyst Award winners are shining examples of what happens when institutions partner with purpose, vision, and innovation to transform the future of education," said Bruce Dahlgren, CEO of Anthology.

Founded in 2005, the annual Catalyst Awards recognize and honor innovation and excellence in the Anthology global community of practice, where millions of educators and learners work every day to redefine what is possible when leveraging technology. Winners are selected by a cross-functional team of Anthology experts and represent the very best in their field.

For more information about Penn Foster Group, please visit https://www.pennfostergroup.com/. To learn more about the Catalyst Awards and see the full list of 2025 winners, visit https://www.anthology.com/catalyst-awards.

About Penn Foster Group
At Penn Foster Group, we are transforming online learning to help learners by bringing together Penn Foster, Ashworth College, James Madison High School, the New York Institute of Photography, the New York Institute of Art and Design, and other education platforms. Together, we create pathways to greater economic mobility through real-world skills and knowledge that may enable them to achieve long-term success in the workplaces of the future. Our history dates back to 1890 when our founder, Thomas Foster, pioneered distance education by offering training by mail for coal miners to get the necessary skills for safer jobs. Today, with the partners who use our education and training programs, we continue that mission of providing accessible training and education for in-demand skills and are building a workforce that's prepared for the future job market.

About Anthology
Anthology delivers education and technology solutions so that students can reach their full potential and learning institutions thrive. Millions of students around the world are supported throughout their education journey via Anthology's ecosystem of flagship SaaS solutions and supporting services, including the award-winning Blackboard^® (LMS), Anthology^® Student (SIS/ERP), and Anthology^® Reach (CRM). Through the Power of Together, we are uniquely inspiring educators and institutions with innovation that is meaningful, simple and intelligent to help customers redefine what's possible and create life-changing opportunities for people everywhere. www.anthology.com.

SOURCE Penn Foster Group