Purdue Global named education partner for Team USA
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As the Summer Olympics in Paris draws near, Team USA this month announced a partnership with Purdue Global to provide opportunities for current and former athletes with access to tuition-free education.
Purdue’s online university was selected by Colorado-based education benefits management company Guild as a preferred online degree provider for the partnership.
Current Team USA athletes–including Olympians, Paralympians and hopefuls–along with those who have represented the U.S. in top international competitions in the past 10 years are eligible for the program.
Purdue Global Chancellor Frank Dooley told Inside INdiana Business that Team USA approached Guild to find an education partner.
“What Team USA was saying is, ‘We have all these athletes who have dedicated so much time, they didn’t get a degree along the way. We want to start providing an education benefit to them,'” Dooley said. “So it started between the two of them, and I think Team USA saw Purdue and said, ‘Purdue Global, that sounds like a really good partner for us.’ So we got pulled in relatively early.”
Dooley said Purdue Global has worked with Guild since 2019 and the new partnership with Team USA will cover a five-year period.
Purdue Global says 43% of Team USA athletes are working either full-time or part-time in addition to their training, which makes the flexibility of its online platform more conducive to their schedules.
“We think of Olympians—and there are certainly sports where you can have a living—but a lot of the other sports you don’t, but they are such competitive individuals,” said Dooley. “So I think we quickly saw the way we are structured and the kinds of education we have in place, it immediately made sense to everybody.”
Purdue Global said the goal of the partnership is to improve the economic outlook, employability, skilling and support for athletes when they move onto the next chapter of their lives.
Dooley says there are about 12,000 current and former athletes that are being informed of their eligibility. Those that choose to take advantage of the education benefit from Team USA will be able to choose from about 70 degree programs.
“Given our mission of serving working adults, Purdue Global is uniquely qualified to serve these adults who are working so hard at their sport and their passion so that they can move forward with their educational goals at the same time,” he said. “They can consider Purdue Global and Guild their coaches for their educational journey, helping them to the finish line.”
Dooley said nearly 60% of Purdue Global’s students are employer-sponsored, and he believes partnerships like the one with Team USA will continue to drive that number up.
“What companies are finding is they’re gaining a commitment from the employees,” he said. “I think, for the employee in those kinds of situations, if you’re willing to make an investment in me, I’m going to take you fairly seriously.”
Purdue Global currently has more than 36,000 students enrolled and awards an estimated 11,000 degrees and certificates each year.