NextTier Education's New Partnership with Parchment Enables Schools to Digitally Submit Student Transcripts and Other Academic Credentials to Colleges and Universities

CHICAGO, IL--(Marketwired - Jan 10, 2017) - NextTier Education Inc. today announced it has finalized a partnership with Parchment that will enable high school students to easily request their transcripts and other academic credentials be sent electronically to colleges and universities, simplifying an historically complicated step in the college planning, search, and application process.

Parchment, the most widely adopted digital academic credentials service, is now fully integrated into the NextTier education platform, providing a single point through which high school counselors and faculty can digitally send transcripts, letters of recommendation and other background materials to multiple institutions in accordance with their unique requirements and deadlines.

NextTier Education is a postsecondary readiness platform that delivers critical information on every two- and four-year college in the U.S. The first platform of its kind, NextTier provides each student with a comprehensive college application plan, including a detailed list of every school's required tasks, step-by-step guidance and deadlines for completing each task in the process. The NextTier platform enables real-time, active collaboration between students, educators and parents. NextTier's database also includes information on more than 20,000 scholarships and grants, and helps students to successfully research and identify the right financial support opportunities.

"At Parchment, we know that credentials matter. For individuals who earn them, credentials represent hard work, accomplishment and identity," said Matthew Pittinsky, CEO of Parchment. "For more than a decade, Parchment has provided a convenient platform to help institutions and individuals securely send and receive more than 20 million credentials online. Our integration with the NextTier platform greatly expands our goal of turning high school credentials into postsecondary opportunities."

Justin Shiffman, founder and CEO of NextTier, added: "While more than 90 percent of high school students desire college educations, fewer than 50 percent achieve that goal, and a primary reason for this is the complicated, disparate search and application process. At NextTier we are leveling that field to provide all students with equal access to the resources they need to navigate that process. Our partnership with Parchment will make it possible for high schools to easily deliver student diplomas, transcripts and other documentation in digital format to all the colleges and universities to which they are applying. At the end of the day, we're making it easier for high school students to achieve college educations."

Parchment is initially available for use by 10 U.S. school districts currently using the NextTier Education platform. The company is in discussion with multiple other school districts and expects to finalize additional agreements in the coming months.

About NextTier Education
Founded in 2014, Chicago-based Next Tier Education, Inc. is the first postsecondary readiness solution with user engagement as its top priority. NextTier helps students find the right-fit schools, navigate the process to plan and apply to schools, and identify ways to finance their investments. Additional information is available at www.nexttier.com or by calling 312.690.9996.