Tade Oyerinde’s startup Campus, an online community college, has raised $23 million in a Series A extension round.

The recent funding, spearheaded by the Founders Fund and with the involvement of 8VC, is set to propel Campus’s growth and fortify its position in the ed-tech sector. 

This is Founders Fund’s first ed-tech bet, and while commenting on it, Trae Stephens, Co-founder and partner at the venture firm, said, “I think the structure is kind of a hack. You can get the cost low enough that there are no out-of-pocket costs. That’s very hard to do when there are overhead costs attached.”

This brings Campus’s total Series A funding to an impressive $52 million, following its securing of $29 million last year with participation from OpenAI’s CEO Sam Altman, Discord founder Jason Citron, Figma founder Dylan Field; former head of Stripe Issuing Lachy Groom; Bloomberg Beta; Founders Fund; Rethink Education; Reach Capital and Precursor Ventures among other investors.

About Tade Oyerinde’s Campus

Many students in the United States enter community colleges intending to transfer to four-year universities, but only 16% of those students receive bachelor’s degrees within six years. 

Furthermore, most adjunct professors at the top universities in the United States, including UCLA, Princeton, and NYU, earn such low salaries that a quarter qualify for government assistance. Campus, an online alternative to traditional community colleges, is trying to change that and democratize education.

It was founded in 2021 by Tade Oyerinde, the first Black 29-year-old college dropout to become a college’s Chancellor. The ed-tech startup is an accredited college offering live online and in-person associate degrees and certificate programs. 

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Dubbed Campus Scholars programs, its degree programs are taught by a network of professors who also teach at leading universities and HBCUs, such as Princeton, Spelman, NYU, and Vanderbilt. 

Tuition for these programs is offered at less than the maximum Pell Grant award, enabling many students to forgo out-of-pocket tuition expenses. Students are given the resources to ensure academic success, including a free laptop, free WiFi, unlimited tutoring, and individual support coaches. 

For faculty, Campus pays professors $8,000 per course, significantly higher than the national average. “I got obsessed with the idea of giving everybody access to these amazing professors,” said Campus founder Tade Oyerinde.

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Federal Pell Grants fully cover the annual tuition of $7,200 for eligible students, enabling about 40% of enrollees to attend for free. Students are paired with coaches who are tasked with making sure that everyone stays on track. 

According to Oyerinde, enrollment has been growing fast. He said that students want to be part of something modern and new, and they think of Campus as a trampoline into a four-year program.

The new funding will expand the Campus’s innovative offerings, which now include in-person courses in fields like phlebotomy and medical assistance at a physical college in Sacramento. 

Image Credit 📷:  Tade Oyerinde, Campus founder and CEO