Media Contact: Barbara Fornasiero, EAFocus Communications, 248.260.8466; barbara@eafocus.com

Troy, MI – September 10, 2020 – Edcor, one of the nation’s largest providers of education benefits administration solutions to employers – processing nearly $250M in tuition assistance payments and supporting more than two million employees in 2019 – is expanding its partnership with Ashford University, an online college degree program provider, to stretch the benefit dollars of Edcor customers while expanding learning options for their employees. The program addition was announced by Adrienne Way, Edcor CEO and owner.

“Edcor has a longstanding relationship with Ashford University, and we understand their commitment to educating working adults with a meaningful online curriculum,” Way said. “We are pleased to expand our partnership with Ashford University to bring a new level of educational offerings to Edcor clients while eliminating the need to take on student debt.”

The new program Ashford University is offering is an Edcor-branded professional leadership upskilling program for Edcor clients with leadership training on two tracks: general professional leadership and healthcare leadership. The healthcare leadership cohort for undergraduate students is a three-course sequence: intro to healthcare; managing in health and human services; and healthcare ethics and medical law. For graduate students, the three-course sequence includes foundations in health informatics; healthcare program and project management; and management topics in information governance.

For undergraduates in the general leadership upskilling cohort, which is offered through the Forbes School of Business & Technology at Ashford University, the three-course sequence is principles of personal and organizational leadership; business and communications; and leadership and motivation. For graduate students, the three-course sequence includes leadership and teamwork; leading organizational change; and contemporary issues in organizational leadership.

According to Edcor Vice President of Corporate Growth, Sara VanWagoner, the professional upskilling program meets the needs of today’s adult learners.

“The pandemic has put workers to the test, and many working adults and their employers recognize the need for just-in-time learning to help them handle a new level of work challenges that demand a solution-oriented approach,” VanWagoner said. “Edcor’s professional leadership upskilling programs help employers do more with less and avoid layoffs by aiming to rapidly develop or enhance the skills of their employees to match the needs for how we work now.”

Bob Daugherty, Dean of the Forbes School of Business & Technology at Ashford University, said the new program offerings reflect the nimbleness of using education to quickly adapt to changing workplace scenarios.

“As a thought leader in business innovation, the Forbes School of Business is proud to offer solutions addressing the skills gap challenges employers and employees are experiencing in today’s highly dynamic environment.  Short concentrations of courses, focused on key business segments, enable participants the ability to quickly grow their skills at an affordable price,” Daugherty said. “We look forward to working with our corporate business partners like Edcor to develop additional upskilling options addressing the evolving needs of today’s workforce.”

Edcor first partnered with Ashford University several years ago on the Full Tuition Grant, providing a tuition matching program to Edcor clients who included Ashford University among their employee education providers. The program matches a student’s employer tuition benefit with a grant of up to $5,250 from Ashford to help employees fast track completion of their education while remaining debt-free. Students participating in the program are required to sign a contract affirming that they will not take on any student debt while pursuing classes through the grant.

About Ashford University
Ashford University is a recognized leader and innovator in distance learning and online education. Ashford is designed to meet the needs of working students, offering programs most often sought by those whose primary educational goals relate to developing professional and career-relevant competencies. Flexible schedules, innovative delivery, and accessible academic support tools help working students balance busy lives with academic studies. Ashford offers associate, bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degree programs. For more information, please visit www.ashford.edu, www.facebook.com/ashforduniversity, or www.twitter.com/AshfordU.

About Edcor

Edcor, a certified woman-owned business, is the benchmark in education benefits administration. For nearly 40 years, our customized service and software solutions have allowed clients to use education benefits programs, including tuition assistance and student loan assistance, for employee recruiting, retention and development. Additional information can be found at https://www.edcor.com/.

# # #