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Ed Tech Start-Ups Recognized as 2014 EDUCAUSE Game Changers Business Competition Winners

Ed Tech Start-Ups Recognized as 2014 EDUCAUSE Game Changers Business Competition Winners
Higher One, the competition’s sponsor, honors Lumen Learning, Crowdmark and CampusESP

Orlando, Florida, October 3, 2014—Educational technology start-ups focused on open educational resources (OER), online grading analytics and parent engagement strategies, have been recognized as the winners of the second-annual EDUCAUSE Game Changers Business Competition, sponsored by Higher One. As part of the competition, a select group of start-up companies were offered the opportunity to present their business plans, along with their products and services, to EDUCAUSE attendees as part of the conference’s Start-Up Alley exhibitor hall.

The competition’s grand-prize winner, Lumen Learning, utilizes research-based approaches to provide high-quality open courseware and support for institutions seeking to transition high enrollment courses to OER. Lumen’s OER-based courseware and support have been used by more than 60 higher education institutions, including six of the 20 largest U.S. community colleges and system-level agreements in three states.

“It is hard for a start-up to build a high level of awareness—the Game Changers Business Competition was a fantastic way to gain recognition of our story and what we want to accomplish,” said Kim Thanos, Founder and CEO of Lumen Learning. “We are grateful to EDUCAUSE and Higher One for providing this opportunity to share how Lumen Learning is expanding its vision of how students and institutions can benefit from next-generation courseware.”

A judges panel made up of venture capital experts, investors and education technology innovators evaluated competitors on their pitches, choosing those that possess the greatest potential to be “game changers” in the education industry. The competition also honored runner up Crowdmark, a collaborative online grading and analytics platform; and honorable mention CampusESP, a provider of parent engagement strategies and solutions.

“EDUCAUSE’s Start-Up Alley and Game Changers Competition are a great way for start-up companies to interface with larger, more established technology providers, offering the opportunity to share ideas and lessons learned,” said Eric Reich, Senior Vice President of Higher One’s Campus Labs division and competition judge. “To make a lasting impact, successful education technology companies need to foster innovative ideas among start-ups and collaborate to address critical issues in education.”

Lumen Learning will receive a grand prize consisting of a $2,500 cash prize from Higher One and an EDUCAUSE corporate marketing pack valued at more than $26,000; and the runner up will receive a corporate marketing bundle from EDUCAUSE valued at more than $10,000.

About Higher One
Higher One Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: ONE) partners with colleges and universities to lower their administrative costs and to improve graduation rates. We provide a broad array of payment, refund disbursement and data analytics and management tools to institutions that help them save money and enhance institutional effectiveness. And for students, we offer financial literacy programs and convenient, flexible and affordable transaction options to help them manage their finances. Higher One is a leader in higher education, supporting more than 1,900 schools and 13 million enrolled students. More information about Higher One can be found at www.higherone.com.

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