Former Regent Education SVP of Sales, Marketing, and Product Management joins StraighterLine management team
StraighterLine, the innovative, low-cost online college course provider, today announced it has appointed Lesley Phelps to the executive team as Vice President of Strategic Initiatives, a role responsible for several key functions including customer implementations, customer support, and new account acquisition.
“Lesley’s background coupled with the reputation she has developed in the higher education industry make her uniquely qualified for this role,” said Burck Smith, StraighterLine founder and CEO.
Phelps’ career spans a variety of leadership roles in the higher education sector. Prior to joining StraighterLine, Phelps served as SVP of Sales, Marketing and Product Management for Regent Education, Regional Director of Student Finance for DeVry University, and VP of Product and Business Development for Wachovia’s Education Finance Division. Phelps will bring extensive experience to StraighterLine with respect to product development and management, implementations and operations, as well as sales and marketing.
“I am thrilled to join the StraighterLine team and help further StraighterLine’s work in providing a low cost option to degree attainment,” said Phelps. She added, “I have observed StraighterLine’s work over the years and have become increasingly impressed with the company’s ability to deliver a solution that is good for both students and schools -- and plays such a critical role in reducing costs and improving educational outcomes. StraighterLine has established itself as the leading alternative education provider, and I am honored to be a part of that work.”
About StraighterLine
StraighterLine is an innovative higher education model that provides high quality online general education courses that colleges recognize for credit. StraighterLine’s low-cost online courses are offered to students for a $99-a-month subscription.
StraighterLine is among a select few online course providers to be invited to participate in the Department of Education’s EQUIP (Educational Quality through Innovation Partnerships) Program, which allows students to access federal financial aid for the chosen programs.
StraighterLine has developed a network of over 100 leading adult-serving colleges and universities that guarantee acceptance of StraighterLine courses. Having been evaluated and recommended by the American Council on Education’s College Credit Recommendation Service (ACE CREDIT), StraighterLine courses will also be considered by more than 2,000 other colleges and universities for transfer to their degree programs upon request. StraighterLine currently serves 20,000 individual students a year.