By guest blogger Kevin Connors

Regent Education, a provider of financial aid management software currently used by colleges across the country, just received a nice boost to support their expansion efforts: $9 million.

The Maryland-based software provider raised the money during a recent round of funding, led by both new and existing investors. New Markets Venture Partners teamed up with current lead investor Chrysalis Ventures to provide $4 million in Series C equity financing. Then, Ares Capital Corporation contributed $5 million of debt financing, a slightly less risky form of investment. This latest round puts total funds raised by Regent at $23.4 million, according to CrunchBase.

Regent Education prides itself as the only financial aid and enrollment software system that has adapted to the changing enrollment model. They offer a software solution to higher-ed institutions that fully supports “non-traditional enrollment models such as non-term, self-paced and competency-based education,” their press release states. These non-traditional models can create administrative headaches for some back-office processing. 

The new funds will be put towards Regent’s accelerated growth plan. Their recurring revenue base has increased 300 percent in the past two years and more than 1.5 million students are currently processed through Regent software. This was Regent’s fifth round of financing since its inception in 2006, and there are currently four equity investors in the company.

While the future is promising, questions remain. Will the non-traditional enrollment trend continue? How much equity are they are willing to give up to pursue their growth plans? What does their first round of debt financing signify? And, perhaps most of all, when will Regent be able to sustain its own growth initiatives?

Follow Education Week and Marketplace K-12 for updates on Regent and more Venture Capital news.