Tuition Management Systems’ (TMS) acquisition last month by KeyBank National Association aligns two companies that are dedicated to helping families by making education more affordable. KeyBank has long been synonymous with “excellence” in the education marketplace. More than just a bank, KeyBank has been committed to offering schools, students, and families a variety of services so that they can make better financial decisions.

"From day one, our company's mission has been to provide options that make education more affordable for families across the country," said Steven Dodd, co-founder of Tuition Management Systems. "Key shares that mission, and by joining forces, we will now be able to offer our clients the complete array of products, services and resources of one of the largest, most reputable financial organizations in the nation."

Brothers Jon and Steven Dodd spent nearly a quarter of a century developing payment-plan systems, technology and customer service designed to help families with the education payment process. “Payment is regularly cited as the most stressful thing in the college-application process,” said Steven Dodd. “Students and families want to talk to someone who is knowledgeable and empathetic.”

Tuition Management Systems was based on a desire to help other lower middle-income families like theirs afford an education. The Dodd’s parents, who struggled to help finance education for four children, dealt with many of the same issues families face today. They experienced first-hand the difficulties piecing together Pell Grants, Guaranteed Student Loans, and Work Study to get the education bill paid. It took more than a little sacrifice and creativity at the kitchen table. A commitment to helping families like theirs resulted in the founding of Tuition Management Systems. But for the company’s growth to continue, the Dodds had to decide whether to bring in other private investors or to sell the company.

"TMS's two decades of experience have enabled it to develop best-in-class processes that utilize both on- and off-campus resources to make education more affordable by minimizing debt," said Rick Vonk, Key Education Resources (KER) president. "The addition of this industry-leading payment program effectively complements the Key suite of products. We're excited to be able to provide even more options to our clients looking for a smart way to finance education expenses."

Combined, KER and TMS will help more than 750,000 families pay approximately $5 billion annually in K-12, and college and university expenses at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. The combination will enable KER to continue with its open architecture platform, which provides independent choices for families to identify affordable financing alternatives in the rapidly changing educational finance industry.

“We see it as a way for us to dramatically increase our growth rate,” Steven said. Jon Dodd added, “It’s a wonderful platform to grow instantaneously. This was a process of trying to find the right partner, not trying to find the right price.”

Tuition Management Systems is greatly benefiting from KeyBank’s financial strength, resources and marketplace expertise. The company continues to accelerate the improvement and breadth of the products and services that can help client schools better meet their objectives and remains committed to providing the same high level of service on which it has built its reputation.