Hobsons Acquires National Transcript Center from Pearson

Hobsons announced today the acquisition from Pearson of National Transcript Center (NTC), the world's largest e-transcript exchange provider, serving more than 137,000 institutions that represent more than 14 million students. (Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120607/CL19787LOGO ) "K-12 and higher education institutions demand better ways to evaluate student progression through the learning lifecycle," said Craig Heldman, chief executive officer of Hobsons, "NTC helps us expand our role in helping educators operate more efficiently and better serve students as they transition among academic institutions." Hobsons, an education solutions company, empowers students to develop personalized academic and career plans based on their goals, interests, abilities, and learning styles. It also enables institutions to manage lasting relationships with students for their programs and supports them as they progress to achieve their goals. The e-transcript and record exchange between K-12 institutions and higher education represents one of the most critical points of data collection in the student lifecycle. This strategic acquisition further bolsters Hobsons' expertise in ensuring student success during the transition from K-12 to higher education. This acquisition complements Hobsons existing offerings, such as Naviance eDocs, which this year alone has been leveraged by thousands of institutions around the globe to deliver more than 18 million documents to over 1,800 destinations, including every Common App member. It also augments the company's Apply Yourself and Intelliworks application management solutions that are used by more than 700 higher education institutions. Through this acquisition, Hobsons looks to collaborate with other organizations to develop a new standard for operating transcript exchange networks. "This acquisition is a welcome addition to the movement to electronic delivery underway in K-20," said Rick Torres, National Student Clearinghouse president and CEO. "We look forward to working with Hobsons to provide a free, open, and standards-based network through which institutions around the globe will be able to securely exchange electronic student academic records." NTC member institutions can send records and transcripts electronically to more than 137,000 academic institutions, employers, licensure agencies, and scholarship organizations. "Hobsons, with its deep experience in e-transcript and records exchange, is well-positioned to fulfill the commitments and expectations of NTC's customers, particularly statewide programs. This is a productive union for both organizations and the institutions, states, and students they serve," said Jonathan Harber, CEO, Pearson K-12 Technology. About Hobsons Hobsons helps educators, administrators, students, and families maximize success through every stage of the learning lifecycle. Hobsons' personalized learning, academic planning, post-secondary enrollment, and student support solutions serve millions of students across more than 7,500 schools, colleges, and universities worldwide. About Pearson Pearson PSO is the world's leading learning company, providing educational materials and services and business information through the Financial Times Group. Pearson serves learners of all ages around the globe. For more information, visit www.pearson.com.