Resource Library

This part of the fourth collaboratory focuses on the business case for recognition of non-institutional learning, the processes required for recognition, and the
resulting possibilities of recognition. With the assistance of Lumina, ACE and Corporation for a Skilled Workforce, university participants explored, developed,
piloted, tested and shared tools and processes with an intended outcome of determining best practices in the following:
• Partnering with non-university/college organizations
• Determining the ROI of workplace – education partnerships
• Developing and implementing processes to evaluate non-institutional learning as academic credit opportunities

The Employer Engagement Best Practices Toolkit is designed to help guide institutions of higher education (IHEs) through the process of exploring, launching, maintaining and evaluating partner relationships with employer organizations. In addition to information on each of these steps, it also includes a variety of tools and templates to help you get started.

You may want to read this toolkit cover-to-cover before getting started, or you may prefer to draw on specific tools as needed. Either way, we recommend you familiarize yourself with the four stages of partnership around which the toolkit is organized, as well as the partnership type continuum model. These two core elements are foundational to the toolkit, language and assumptions throughout. Regardless of the approach you take, we challenge you to consider the benefits of partnering with employers in competency-based education, and use this resource to help you get started.

The return on investment (ROI) Estimator was designed to help calculate and predict the ROI and break-even point for CBE programs and potential new workforce partnership programs. This model allows for baseline (existing) operating revenue and costs to be identified separately from the revenue and costs which would be associated with a potential new workforce partnership program that might be considered.