American Public Education has announced it is building an AI-powered Student Lifecycle Platform (SLP) using Salesforce for its American Public University System (the ‘System’) to transform how current and prospective students and alumni engage throughout their educational journey.
This innovation builds on APEI’s broader AI strategy and its ongoing work to modernise the student experience across the System, which includes American Military University, American Public University, Rasmussen University and Hondros College of Nursing.
Built on the next generation student information system (SIS) from Salesforce, along with Data 360 and Agentforce, the new platform enables a unified view of every student – with AI agents working around the clock to support staff and students.
The SLP will streamline admissions and transfer credit, deliver personalised, proactive support throughout the student experience and deepen alumni engagement – all grounded in the Salesforce Trust Layer, which provides built-in guardrails like data masking, zero-data retention and toxicity detection to protect student data as AI scales. Together, these capabilities will help the System better align education with career outcomes while delivering a connected experience across every stage of the student journey.
“Our vision has always been to expand access to high-quality education that transforms lives, advances careers and improves communities,” said Angela Selden, President and Chief Executive Officer of APEI and Chancellor of the American Public University System. “This collaboration advances that vision by creating an experience that is simpler, more personal and more responsive to every learner’s unique journey.”
By leveraging Salesforce’s proprietary AI capabilities, open APIs and a flexible architecture to rapidly develop new student experiences that evolve with learner needs, the Student Lifecycle Platform will unify admissions, financial aid, advising, tutoring and career services into one connected experience, reducing complexity for students and increasing operational efficiencies.
“We’re building more than a technology platform,” said James Kenigsberg, Chief Innovation and Technology Officer of APEI and the American Public University System. “We’re building academic units that sense what learners need, adapt to where they are and remove unnecessary friction before it becomes a barrier. Salesforce will provide the foundation, while our AI-native architecture will allow us to continuously innovate and create experiences uniquely designed for our students.”
“Students expect the same personalised, connected experiences in their academic journey that they get everywhere else in their lives,” said Margo Martinez, Vice President and General Manager, Education, Salesforce. “APEI is reimagining what’s possible by putting AI at the centre – empowering students while freeing up staff to spend less time on manual work and more time helping students succeed. When technology anticipates a student’s needs, removes barriers before they arise, and supports students from enrolment through their careers, education becomes a lifelong relationship. That’s the future APEI is building with Salesforce.”
