ONLINE EDUCATION
Businesswire | April 24, 2023
Sampson Community College, located in Clinton, North Carolina, has selected the YuJa Enterprise Video Platform to provide a comprehensive video and media creation, hosting, storage and distribution solution campuswide. YuJa will replace VidGrid, the institution’s former video enterprise learning platform, which is phasing out its education offering.
The institution was seeking a video tool to record and edit lectures, as well as to create and embed quizzes in Moodle, its learning management system. In addition to user-friendly features that enable instructors to create engaging, interactive content, Sampson Community College will benefit from the ability to auto-caption, gradebook integration, visual analytics, and other features that help elevate teaching and learning. Institutional leaders also wanted a platform that provides support for their team and students. YuJa provides unlimited live support, training and a dedicated support staff for all users.
“YuJa has worked with many former VidGrid customers to transition to a comprehensive video and media platform that can help create a rich learning environment for their students,” said Nathan Arora, Chief Business Officer at YuJa, Inc. “In addition to ongoing support, we provide an experienced implementation team to help create a seamless transition for instructors and students alike. We’re excited for Sampson Community College to experience all the features YuJa has to offer.”
ABOUT YUJA, INC.
YuJa is a leader in ed-tech solutions. Our platforms provide organizations of all sizes with the tools to educate, engage, inspire and collaborate. We serve learning enterprises within all sectors, including higher-ed, K-12, government, healthcare, non-profit and corporate. We have legal headquarters in Delaware with primary U.S. offices in Silicon Valley, California, and Canadian offices in Toronto.
ABOUT SAMPSON COMMUNITY COLLEGE
Located in Clinton, North Carolina, the mission of Sampson Community College is to provide accessible and affordable education, workforce training, and lifelong enrichment. This mission is accomplished through effective teaching, student support, public outreach, and partnering with others to improve the quality of life for the people of Sampson County. Sampson Community College is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, Commission on Colleges to award the associate degree.
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TALENT DEVELOPMENT
Businesswire | April 27, 2023
Summer, the certified B Corp committed to addressing the national student debt crisis, announced that it has raised $6M in new capital, with $18M raised in funding to date. General Catalyst, QED Investors, Flourish Ventures, Greycroft, Story Ventures, Gaingels, Calm VC, Partnership Fund for NYC, Fenway Summer, BDMI, and Avidbank participated in the financing.
The company also announced it has surpassed $1 billion in total projected savings for borrowers, and it has hired Leigh Gross as Chief Revenue Officer to lead partnerships with recordkeepers and other financial institutions interested in Summer Secure, the company’s automated solution for SECURE 2.0 retirement matching.
Student loan debt in the United States now stands at $1.75 trillion, according to the Federal Reserve, exceeding credit card and auto debt. It is often the first meaningful debt that young people incur, and can lead to a domino effect on their financial life–making it harder to save for retirement or buy a home years after graduating. Summer works with leading financial institutions, employers, and unions to provide a high impact, comprehensive digital solution that helps individuals plan for college costs, reduce the burden of student loan debt, and optimize retirement savings. To date, the company has delivered more than $1 billion in total projected savings for borrowers across the United States, offering assistance on every leg of the personal finance journey.
“We’re thrilled to announce this new funding, especially at a time when the need for better college planning and student loan solutions has never been more acute,” said CEO and co-founder Will Sealy. “As student loan forgiveness hangs in the balance and payments are set to resume for the first time in years, we’re excited to share our solution with more people to enable them to unlock financial freedom.”
Summer’s funding comes at an exciting time for the business as it continues to expand partnerships with retirement recordkeepers and payroll providers on the heels of its partnership with Fidelity Investments in 2022. Due to the recent passage of the SECURE 2.0 Act, many institutions are turning to Summer to support their employer clients with student loan retirement matching, leveraging Summer’s digital API suite and its expertise with operationalizing complex student loan policies into high-adoption solutions.
In a recent survey, 91% of employees with student debt said they would save more money for retirement if their employer offered a student loan repayment program. By ensuring that an employee’s student loan payments count toward the retirement match provided by their employer, Summer’s workplace solution can relieve student loan borrowers from having to make an impossible decision between paying down their debt or saving for retirement.
Summer was founded in 2017 by Sealy, a former Policy Analyst and Assistant to Sen. Elizabeth Warren and a veteran of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Chief Product Officer Paul Joo, with previous experience at the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the Boston Consulting Group, and Chief Product Officer Vincent Tran, who previously led product at Pave and Orchard and was an investor at the Partnership Fund for NYC.
Summer’s recent partnership milestones include a student loan benefit launched with Intuit’s personal finance subsidiary, Credit Karma, and an expanded partnership with the American Federation of Teachers to support their 1.7 million teachers, government employees, and healthcare workers. Summer will use the new funding to expand the platform to help even more borrowers with a holistic approach to financial well-being.
About Summer
Summer partners with financial institutions and employers to empower their populations to reduce education costs and student debt through proven technologies, policy expertise and human support. Founded in 2017 by industry experts, Summer’s mission is to alleviate student loan debt for 46 million borrowers by providing leading solutions for college cost planning, automated enrollment for loan assistance plans, tuition assistance, student loan contributions and retirement matching, and emergency savings. Summer is a certified B Corporation.
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TALENT DEVELOPMENT
Alliance for Decision Education | April 19, 2023
The Alliance for Decision Education, a national nonprofit organization leading the movement to have decision-making skills taught in K-12 schools, today announced that it has expanded its distinguished group of Board and Advisory Council members. Lopa Desai and Simon Hallett joined the Alliance Board along with Advisory Council additions, Carl Wieman and Baruch Fischhoff. With their diverse backgrounds and expertise, they will help guide and support the Alliance in its mission to make Decision Education a part of every student's learning experience.
“The addition of these visionaries to the Alliance team further reinforces the importance of Decision Education, and strengthens our efforts to bring decision-making skills and dispositions to the classroom,” said Alliance Executive Director, Joseph E. Sweeney, Ed.D. “Their expertise, perspectives, and influence will help us advance and accelerate the Decision Education movement."
Joining the Alliance Board:
• Lopa Desai, Managing Director of Niraat Family Office, Advisory Board Member at Transcend Wealth Partners, and Executive Committee Member at the Forge Community
• Simon Hallett, Vice Chairman of the Executive Committee at Harding Loevner asset management firm, and Chairman/majority owner of Plymouth Argyle Football Club
Joining the Advisory Council:
• Carl Wieman, Nobel Laureate, Professor of Physics and of the Graduate School of Education at Stanford University
• Baruch Fischhoff, Decision Scientist, Professor in the Department of Engineering and Public Policy, and the Institute for Politics and Strategy at Carnegie Mellon University
The new advisors join dozens of other business, education, and sports industry leaders who serve on the Alliance Board and Councils and are committed to the mission of the Alliance.
About the Alliance
The Alliance for Decision Education is a national nonprofit and field builder leading the growing call to have Decision Education taught in schools across the country. Founded in 2014 and backed by experts in decision science and education, including several Nobel laureates, the Alliance believes that better decisions lead to better lives and a better society.The Alliance is working with teachers, academic and business leaders, families, and community members to raise awareness and improve lives by empowering students with essential skills and dispositions for making better decisions.
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