Spelman College Launches eSpelman Online Certificate Enterprise to Expand Educational Opportunities for Adult Learners
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Posted By: Kennedy Williams on August 12, 2021 Spelman College, the leading historically Black liberal arts institution for women of African descent, is expanding its stellar academic model to launch eSpelman. The new enterprise will deliver online education and certificates to support the upskilling and career exploration of working adult learners. Spelman’s certificate programs are designed to benefit those seeking education for career advancement, transition, exploration, and flexibility. Certificates in disciplines such as leadership, business essentials and project management, as well as teacher preparation, cosmetic science, diversity, equity, and inclusion, entrepreneurship and conversational Spanish will be developed and offered through the eSpelman online enterprise. “Spelman College has spent 140 years providing transformative educational experiences for Black women who have become global change agents. We’ve always believed in lifelong learning and are excited to expand and extend our offerings to adult learners who are looking to advance their careers, elevate their expertise or explore new fields,” said Mary Schmidt Campbell, Ph.D., president of Spelman. “As a college that consistently leads in numerous rankings from innovation and social mobility to liberal arts and STEM education, Spelman is creating a slate of online programming that will lead to credentials that catapult careers.” The certificates will be offered to working adult learners, of all genders, through two platforms: directly through eSpelman, or in collaboration with Guild Education, which partners with leading U.S. employers to offer education and upskilling as an employee benefit. “We are thrilled to have Spelman College join Guild’s Learning Marketplace,” said Rachel Carlson, co-founder and CEO of Guild Education, which currently partners with Fortune 500 companies, including Walmart, Chipotle, Waste Management, Lowe’s, The Walt Disney Company, and Discover Financial Services to provide education and upskilling programs to their workforce. “Spelman’s new eSpelman certificate programs were created specifically to address the needs of America’s diverse workforce and will allow working adult learners to embark on their own education and upskilling journeys through this renowned HBCU.” Courses such as Orientation to Education - an introductory course launching this fall for those looking to pursue state teacher certification - will be available to individual adult learners directly from eSpelman. Others will come online in spring and fall 2022. Taught from the perspective of Spelman’s unique HBCU pedagogy, the goals of the certificate programs are to create paths for adult learners to advance into leadership positions, provide foundational skills that directly map to essential skills for frontline manager roles and increase access to explore educational opportunities to shift careers. The College engaged higher education consulting firm, Kennedy & Company, to support them in conducting an in-depth strategic internal assessment and review process to pinpoint exactly where Spelman could make the greatest impact in the online education space while staying true to its mission of delivering a first in-class education to diverse student populations. “It’s a privilege to be Spelman's partner in planning for and launching eSpelman and we feel confident that Spelman's entry into online education will fill an important and underserved space in the landscape of online higher education,” said Ben Kennedy, founder and managing partner of Kennedy & Company. Courses are being developed by the Spelman faculty through a partnership with Collegis Education, a leading provider of technology services that support higher education institutions in managing their technology ecosystem, growing enrollments, delivering quality learning experiences and informing strategic decisions. “Collegis is thrilled to be partnering with Spelman to develop high-quality online courses to support career- and skills-focused education,” said Jamie Cowie, CEO of Collegis Education. “Spelman’s commitment to delivering exceptional, market-relevant education and lifelong learning opportunities to adult learners coupled with our deep expertise in creating and delivering engaging online learning experiences is a powerful combination that we are confident will accelerate the success of eSpelman.” Current employees at U.S.-based companies whose employer offers education benefits are encouraged to contact their HR coordinators to see if Guild and Spelman are options for them. SOURCE: Spelman College If you enjoyed this article, Join HBCU CONNECT today for similar content and opportunities via email! |
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Kennedy Williams
From Loganville, GA Spelman College class of 2020 Member Since July 2016 |
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