IN THE BEGINNING
Karmela Gaffney recalls first encountering the then-new world of digital space via the online PDF brochures for the websites of the hotels she worked for in her early career. She recalls telling her hotel owners at Best Western International that they needed to be in on the digital environment. She was in a senior leadership role at the time.
“It was just disbelief,” Gaffney says of the reaction she got back then. “’Who is going to book a hotel on a computer? That just doesn’t make sense. You have to go to your travel agent.’ And then fast forward another seven or eight years, and you have smartphones. And it was ‘Who will ever purchase anything on a phone? So you can see how far we’ve come.”
Wanting to fulfill her growing desire to find a career that really made a difference, and having always been passionate about education, Gaffney moved into the field of online education, first for the University of Phoenix which dominated e-learning in Phoenix, where she lived at the time. There, she helped transform their messaging, branding and digital media platforms.
“I was just hooked,” she says of her early work in e-learning. “You can actually transform people’s lives through education. And when I got the call from Academic Partnerships, I thought it was even more intriguing than what I was already doing. Because the thing that drew me to Academic Partnerships was its mission.”
That Academic Partnership (AP) mission involves partnering with approximately 55 universities – most of them regional public universities, and all of them not-for-profit – to help expand affordable education online. The average weighted tuition for an entire degree (e.g. MBA, MEd, etc.) from an AP-supported program from one of its university partners is less than $15,000, and the average tuition of an AP-supported RN-to-BSN degree is less than $9,000.
“The universities we partner with are often the economic engines of their communities. We get so much satisfaction helping support these critical institutions as they reach students that may not have been able to pursue a traditional on-campus education. When you’re able to reach a student through these online programs, you know that you’ve helped make a difference in their family’s lives, because they’re almost always working adults as well. These are teachers, working nurses, and they’re juggling family responsibilities as well as their education. So, it’s really such a great feeling to finish the day knowing that you’ve made a positive impact in someone’s life,” Gaffney says.
MISSION-POWERED CULTURE
As an online facilitator, Academic Partnerships helps make its university partners’ high-quality programs available to students who seek the flexibility of online education by optimizing the conversion of traditional courses to an online modality. The universities and their faculty retain full control over all academic and admissions matters, while Academic Partnerships provides support services. There is no difference in the quality of education from the online degree and the in-person degree. That’s a lot different than the kind of home schooling everyone has seen parents struggling with during the COVID pandemic.
“That is not what we do,” Gaffney is quick to remind us. “We are not taking a classroom and putting it on Zoom. I don’t know if you have children, but that was just a horrendous experience for most people. And that is not at all what true online education is.”
“What we do is work with faculty, and help convert their on-campus program to an accelerated online format. These online courses provide an asynchronous and accelerated approach that provides flexibility and a more digestible format for working students. And I think that’s what’s critical,” she continues.
The culture of Academic Partnerships is defined as “OneAP,’ and that credo is built on top of the companies’ core values, which include:
- Act with Integrity Show Initiative
- Support Teamwork
- Drive for Results
- Foster Kindness
- Embrace Diversity & Inclusion
- Be an Upstander
“It’s a really special place,” Gaffney says of AP. “It’s about expanding access to high-quality, affordable education, and you can’t replace the feeling of that mission. I think the AP employees all embody that.”
“There is nothing like receiving a letter from a student and they’re so excited for their little girl to see them walk across that stage. It means so much to their family’s life,” Gaffney continues. “Everything we do is driven with the goal of student success. For example, after the university admits and enrolls students, our retention specialist team assists those students by systematically following their progress and directly engaging with them to help support their successful completion of their degree programs. When students have questions or challenges, AP’s retention specialists offer support and, when necessary, direct them to university resources for additional assistance. It’s a lot to take on as a working parent: balancing family and professional responsibilities as well as pursuing educational goals. We’re proud to help play a role in their success.”
CANDIDATES
When it comes to the kind of new employees that AP wants to attract, Gaffney says believing in the culture and mission is key.
“We all work hard, but we also know it’s equally important to have fun and be respectful. Feeling good at the end of the day because you made a positive difference is a critical component to someone’s success here,” she says.
Remote work has served Academic Partnerships well in the time since the pandemic took over all the headlines, but that ‘talent for camaraderie’ that Gaffney prizes is still an essential part of the cocktail at the company. We seek talented individuals who are focused on producing good outcomes through the day but also doing that alongside a team that makes you laugh and cares about you, Gaffney says. Despite the primarily remote working environment, culture remains a strong factor for company and employee success.
Also essential for a good fit at the company: “That hunger to learn more.”
“That is necessary when you’re in the higher education industry, but that hunger is even more critical when you’re in the digital space, because the landscape changes on a daily basis. Every day brings new challenges and new opportunities, so the most successful employees have a desire to continually learn and improve,” Gaffney says. “Everyone finds motivation in different ways, and there’s a place for everyone and everything. But first and foremost, a critical quality is the hunger for continuous learning and a continuous desire to improve.”
THE NEAR FUTURE
As employees continually look for ways to reskill and upskill, Gaffney predicts growth for short courses and alternative credential programs over the next five years. She also says that AP will continue to work with companies to help improve access to affordable education for their employees, and to educate employers on the importance of benefits like tuition reimbursement.
“We bring significant value to the universities we serve because we are also able to share employers’ needs which helps inform the way they customize their online programs,” she adds. “Finally, I would be remiss not to mention that every company and every university continues to focus on encouraging affordable degree completion for people who started but didn’t finish their undergraduate degree, which is only increasing now with the interruptions caused by the pandemic.”
“When I look at Academic Partnerships, the mission, the leadership, and the culture, it’s second to none. The ‘OneAP’ foundation that our CEO instituted years back has now permeated all the way from the receptionist to the C-suite, and everyone truly believes it,” she says in closing. “I’m truly fortunate to be part of such a wonderful organization.”
