Cengage Education
Cengage Education (formerly known as Thomson Education Direct) is a distance education course provider based out of Sydney, NSW, Australia. The company has been providing distance education in Australia since 1910, making it the oldest distance learning provider in Australia. In that time the company has taught more than 700,000 students. The company provides more than 130 online and correspondence courses, from nationally recognised vocational qualifications to a variety of hobby and lifestyle courses.
The company is a part of Open Colleges, a leading provider of distance learning to adult learners.
History
Cengage Education was founded in 1993 as Gatlin Education Services Ltd by Stephen Gatlin. Originally operating as the International Correspondence Schools in Australia, the company was bought by The Thomson Corporation in the early 2000s and became a part of Thomson Learning. The company name was changed to Thomson Education Direct.
In 2007, Thomson Learning was bought by a private equity consortium consisting of Apax Partners and OMERS Capital Partners and the name was changed to Cengage Learning in July 2007.[1] Thomson Education Direct got renamed to Cengage Education.
OMERS and Apax Partners (a fund OMERS invests in) jointly own Cengage Learning, a large education resource company formerly known as Thomson Learning before OMERS and Apax Partners bought it on May 11, 2007.[2]
In November 2010 Cengage Learning entered into an agreement with the Open Colleges Group for the sale of Cengage Education.
Services
Cengage Education provides Vocational Education and Training. Cengage Education is a Registered Training Organisation registered with the NSW Vocational Education and Training Accreditation Board (VETAB) as well as being a member of the Australian Council for Private Education and Training (ACPET). Cengage Education offers a number of courses that provide nationally recognised and government accredited training, from the Statement of Attainment level through to Certificates, Diplomas and Advanced Diplomas. In addition to their Vocational Education & Training courses, Cengage Education offers more than 50 non-accredited courses in areas including Arts & Design, Journalism, Lifestyle & Leisure and Languages.
Brands
In addition to the Cengage Education brand, a number of courses are also promoted under the Australian College of Journalism banner, which was acquired by the group in 2004.
References
- ↑ Cengage Learning Press Release.2004-02-24.http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/thomson-learning-announces-new-name---cengage-learning-52765167.html. Retrieved 2009-12-11
- ↑ "Assets". OMERS. 2007-12-17. http://www.omers.com/Private_equity/Assets.htm. Retrieved 2009-12-11.