EarlyIQ(SM) Launches First Truly Holistic Early Alert Tool to "Help Schools Help Students Succeed" and Improve Institutional Retention Rates

CHICAGO, IL--(Marketwire - March 8, 2010) - EducationDynamics' Enrollment and Retention Services Division (http://www.educationdynamics.com), a leader in the development and implementation of innovative student engagement tools, today announced at the 2010 NASPA Annual Conference in Chicago, IL, the launch of EarlyIIQ(SM), a web-based early alert and intervention system for colleges and universities. EarlyIQ(SM) helps administrators identify at-risk students by capturing data from a multifaceted range of sources, including the student's support system (faculty, staff, parents, roommates, and friends), surveys, and information from learning management systems. Armed with this information, administrators can quickly intervene to help students in need.

"We surveyed institutions and found there was great need for advanced early alert tools as demonstrated by the number of schools dissatisfied with their current process. EarlyIQ(SM) answers that need by providing a comprehensive system that quickly identifies at-risk students and empowers administrators to deliver timely and relevant support to those students," says John Mathew, President of EducationDynamics' Enrollment and Retention Services Division. "EarlyIQ is an effective, easy-to-use system that not only helps identify students at risk, but also facilitates intervention by producing a customized action plan."

Developed in collaboration with higher education early alert and intervention experts throughout the country, EarlyIQ(SM) helps colleges and universities capture in a central location the information necessary to quickly spot students at risk, intervene appropriately, and track follow-up. Among its benefits to enrollment and retention administrators, the early alert and intervention system:

-- Offers the first truly holistic approach to early alert and intervention -- information "touch points" include listening to students themselves through periodic surveys; capturing issues as reported by faculty, staff, and concerned community members (parents, roommates, friends, etc.); and considering information from student information and learning management systems. This data is analyzed to quickly identify and support intervention with at-risk students.

-- Facilitates rapid and collaborative response -- EarlyIQ(SM) enables multiple responders -- residence life, student health, disciplinary services -- to follow clear action plans and timelines, while providing feedback and recommendations that can be tracked throughout the EarlyIQ(SM) process until each issue is resolved.

-- Provides customized action plans -- the EarlyIQ(SM) system enables administrators to create student action plans customized for their college (drawing upon an array of pre-written action plan templates provided with the system). These action plans enable student services and responders to collaborate with one another and with students to help solve problems and promote retention.

-- Integrates easily with existing processes, systems -- EarlyIQ(SM) is designed to seamlessly integrate into existing campus work-flows, rather than adding an additional layer of work and complexity, so that administrators can focus on using the results to improve student outcomes and retention rates.

-- Delivers actionable information to a central dashboard -- With an easy-to-navigate, intuitive interface, the EarlyIQ(SM) system provides administrators with a powerful central dashboard with which they can review incoming requests for information and recently flagged students, assign tasks to responders or deploy self-management content, initiate and review progress against action plans, and assess program engagement and outcomes.

"We've been using EducationDynamics tools to retain our students for three years," says Kurt Keppler, Vice President of Student Affairs at Valdosta State University. "Their strategy of engaging students on the front end and building early alert systems for administrators on the back end has helped our students better adjust and our staff prioritize and manage follow-up with at-risk students. We are excited about the enhanced early alert systems with the EarlyIQ(SM) solution. We know EducationDynamics understands how to identify and deliver content to struggling students."

The EarlyIQ(SM) system will be available June 2010, with pre-order and beta participation beginning March 2010. For more information, visit educationdynamics.com/earlyalert or contact Ingrid Ramos at partnerships@educationdynamics.com or 201.377.3329.

About EducationDynamics

EducationDynamics, a portfolio company of Halyard Capital, is higher education's leading marketing services company dedicated to helping institutions find, enroll and retain students. Its content-rich and highly visible education websites, including EarnMyDegree.com, eLearners.com, GradSchools.com, StudyAbroad.com, and its more than 50 special interest microsites, make EducationDynamics the premier provider of qualified prospective students for colleges and universities. In addition, the company offers a full suite of Web-delivered services proven to drive enrollment growth and reduce student attrition. Through its Market Research and Advisory Services division, the company brings a decade of proprietary research, unparalleled market and student intelligence, and best practice insights to its clients. For more information, visit http://www.educationdynamics.com.

Contact Information: Contact: Kim Dority 303.433.7020