Halyard Education Partners, a portfolio company of Halyard Capital, announced today the acquisition of GoalQuest, provider of the most comprehensive web-based programs to help colleges and universities recruit, enroll, retain and communicate with its critical audiences, including current and prospective students, alumni and parents during the critical admissions and enrollment process. The acquisition of GoalQuest advances Halyard Education Partners’ objective of investing in leading service providers to assist colleges and universities in acquiring and retaining students.

“GoalQuest is the ‘silver bullet’ that colleges and universities are looking for in their recruitment, enrollment and retention practices. It’s the one-stop-shop for web-based communications and engagement programs that reach prospective and existing students, parents and alumni,” said Steve Isaac, CEO of Halyard Education Partners. “The addition of GoalQuest to the Halyard Education Partners’ portfolio presents higher education institutions with a powerful combination of leading online student prospecting and acquisition capabilities with proven conversion and retention tools.”

Founded in 2000 by Peter Kraft, former founder and publisher of Link, the most widely read college magazine in the country, and Tracy Howe, former Vice President of Sales for Link and CTN Media, GoalQuest provides the most comprehensive suite of proven, web-based programs that empower colleges and universities to accelerate recruiting, enrollment yield, retention, parent relations and alumni development. These programs, which cover the entire student lifecycle, include:

• SmartSearch—An interactive program to help convert high school sophomores and juniors from cold leads into inquiries.
• eCRUIT—A recruitment program designed to convert high school juniors and seniors into college applicants.
• EYOp (Enrollment Yield Optimization)—A program designed to engage prospective students during the “window of vulnerability” between their acceptance and enrollment.
• FYRe (First Year Retention)—A program to combat attrition, enhance campus engagement and support student development.
• SenTrans—A program designed to guide graduating seniors through their final year and transition to their post graduation work.
• PICS (Parents Involved In College Selection and Success)—A program that helps build an alliance with parents of prospective and existing students.
• AlumNet—A communications vehicle designed to inform, enrich, and entertain while putting a fresh face on capital campaigns and alumni relations efforts.
• gCRUIT, GYOp and GRP—Programs that leverage GoalQuest’s tools to improve application, yield and retention for graduate programs.

All of these programs are driven by proprietary technology that continuously monitors and reports target audiences’ engagement and automatically deploys custom, interactive content based on their engagement levels. Currently serving more than 100 colleges, universities and specialty schools, GoalQuest has demonstrated significant return on investment for its clients ranging from large improvements in student applications, materially increased enrollment yield, and increased retention rates.

“We are excited to be joining Halyard Education Partners,” says Peter Kraft, CEO of GoalQuest. “GoalQuest has been building and implementing powerful recruitment, enrollment, retention and student communication tools for our clients for the past six years; our programs have demonstrated a proven track record of success among higher education institutions.”

GoalQuest is the third acquisition in the education space by Halyard Education Partners in the past two years, including eLearners.com, Educational Directories Unlimited and now GoalQuest. In combination, these companies serve the marketing needs of more than 3,000 higher education institutions nationwide. Bruce Eatroff, Partner at Halyard Capital, added, “The GoalQuest transaction further expands both our capabilities and our client base as we continue to enhance and differentiate the quality and breadth of services Halyard Education Partners bring to the higher education market.”

The transaction was financed by additional equity from Halyard Capital. In addition, Morgan Joseph & Co, Inc. served as financial advisor to GoalQuest on the transaction.

About Halyard Education Partners (HEP)
Halyard Education Partners is a marketing and information services company focused on the education industry. Halyard Education Partners has assembled a network of industry leading companies that serve as the premier source of information for prospective students and their families seeking post-secondary educational options. As a result, Halyard Education Partners companies are some of the leading, most respected resources for student acquisition and retention services for educational institutions. Current Halyard Education Partners holdings include eLearners.com, Educational Directories Unlimited, and GoalQuest. For more information on Halyard Education Partners, please visit www.HalyardEducationPartners.com.

About Halyard Capital
Halyard Capital is a New York-based private equity fund with over $500 million of capital under management focused on investing in media, communications and business services companies. The Fund specializes in middle-market leveraged buyouts, growth equity and structured equity investments. Additional information regarding Halyard’s strategy, principals and investments can be found at www.halyard.com.

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