The University of Memphis expands corporate workforce education opportunities by partnering with InStride
May 13, 2021 - The University of Memphis has partnered with InStride to join its academic network,
increasing both entities’ ability to reach more corporations interested in sponsoring
strategic workforce education for their employees. The University of Memphis has a
proven track record in online learning, launching its first online programs more than
25 years ago in 1995, and now boasting more than 100 accredited academic programs
and thousands of students worldwide.
The University of Memphis branded its collective of online programs UofM Global five
years ago and already collaborates with corporations to produce innovative, customizable
partnerships. Most notably, the University has established strong programs with organizations
such as FedEx’s LiFE (Learning inspired by FedEx) program, the City of Memphis’ COMPETE
and RISE programs and Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare’s MAAP program, which allow
eligible employees the opportunity to pursue a higher education degree with potentially
no out-of-pocket costs and robust student support services, including 24/7 tutoring
“It is very exciting for the University of Memphis and UofM Global to partner with
InStride, an outstanding global company,” said UofM President M. David Rudd. “During
UofM Global’s five years, we have consistently expanded access to quality online programs
for students from all across the world. We are thankful that InStride chose to be
a part of the UofM’s momentum, and we are looking forward to working with InStride’s
network of employees in earning degrees.”
“The opportunity to join Instride’s exclusive network not only places UofM Global
among an elite group of post-secondary institutions offering quality online education
but also expands our reach to corporations around the globe investing in employee
professional development,” added Dr. Richard Irwin, executive dean of UofM Global,
Academic Innovation and the College of Professional & Liberal Studies.
With the addition of the University of Memphis, InStride’s academic network now has
a well-regarded partner with strong ties to the thriving corporate environment around
the City and the University. The InStride network is comprised of universities and
education providers throughout the United States and on four continents, with courses
ranging from skills training to high school completion to bachelor’s and master’s
InStride’s more than 30 corporate partners recognize that investing in strategic education
programs at all levels addresses attraction of qualified candidates, retention, upskilling
and retraining of current employees; critical diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives,
and keeps corporations relevant. The more skilled and educated employees are, the
better a business performs. More importantly, these opportunities create a deep and
lasting impact for learners, their families and the communities in which they live.
“The University of Memphis is recognized for the tremendous relationships they have
already established with large corporations, especially those with a strong presence
in its geographic region,” said Vivek Sharma, CEO of InStride. “We’re fortunate to
have the opportunity to work with academic partners like Memphis who share our drive
to enable enterprises and their people to continually advance through education.”
As a public benefit company, InStride drives business and social impact forward through
workforce education. InStride partners with industry-leading companies such as Aramark,
Carvana, Labcorp and Prime Communications to offer their employees the life-changing
benefits of a college education through a network of top-tier universities. As a result,
InStride’s corporate partners have enrolled more than 35,000 employee-learners in
higher education, helping them avoid more than $300 million in student debt.
As the premier global provider of strategic enterprise education™ programs, InStride
enables employers to provide career-boosting degrees and credentials to their employees,
through leading global academic institutions across the U.S., Mexico, Europe and Australia.
InStride helps organizations achieve transformative business and social impact by
unlocking the power of education, through advanced technology-enabled experiences
for learners and corporate partners alike. Given its focus on generating social impact,
InStride received Fortune’s Impact 20 and Inc.'s Best in Business awards in 2020.
For more information, please visit www.instride.com or follow InStride on Twitter and LinkedIn.
University of Memphis
Laura Burks Robbins
John James Nicoletti