October 2010

EdLink: The First Year
An Interview with EdLink CEO John Zappa

This month marks EdLink's first anniversary. What do you see as EdLink's greatest accomplishments?
There were many accomplishments in the process of getting EdLink established as an organization, starting with operations. Clearly there was a huge investment in terms of energy and thought in the planning and implementation of the supporting systems we need to do our work and create a solid foundation for growth. Each supporting element needed to run the business — whether that's human resources, financial capital, or information technology — has been important to building the business.
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Legislative Update: Support Education Assistance

Section 127 of the Internal Revenue Code makes it possible for millions of working learners to take advantage of employer-provided tuition assistance without the sting of tax liability. However, this law may no longer exist after this year.
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Saving Our Economy through Education:
The New Corporate Mandate

By Dr. Jennifer Moss
Director, Bellevue University Human Capital Lab

Dorothy Martin, National Program Manager for Verizon Wireless' LearningLINK tuition assistance program, has been invited to contribute in a national forum called Earn and Learn. Organized by Corporate Voices for Working Families and funded by the Gates Foundation, Earn and Learn is a forum of leaders with the collective mission of promoting post-secondary educational attainment in the United States. Comprised of governmental agencies, corporations, Gates Foundation representatives, municipal services providers, healthcare, and workforce development experts, this forum hopes their collective message and research will gain the ear of the high-level decision-makers in our current administration.
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ROI in Performance Improvement: Myth Versus Reality

By Patti P. Phillips, Ph.D., President and CEO of the ROI Institute, and
Jack J. Phillips, Ph.D., Chairman of the ROI Institute

The use of ROI to show value of projects, programs, and initiatives continues to grow. Yet, in spite of its growing use, myths and misconceptions still cloud the vision of those who want to implement this comprehensive approach to accountability. This article attempts to clear up the ROI skies by addressing and dispelling the most often cited myths.
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The 3 E's of Corporate Education in the 21st Century

By Felicia Haslom
National Director, Corporate Accounts at DeVry University

Economy, Environment, E-Learning
Today's economic and environmental challenges demand new ways of looking at corporate learning. E-Learning is an attractive, practical solution that can maximize training budgets, reduce your organization's carbon footprint, and positively impact business growth.
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AARP Scholarship Program Gives Older Women a Fresh Start through Education

The U.S. Department of Education estimates that 90 million individuals participate in some form of adult education each year, including training and basic education offered outside traditional higher education.
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Students Graduate Faster — and Spend Less — When Learning is Assessed for College Credit
Results of CAEL Study

When adult students are awarded credit for learning gained outside of the classroom — through employment, military training and service, and other activities — they graduate at double the rate of other students, according to a recent study by CAEL. They also shave between 10 weeks to 10 months from the time needed to earn their degrees.
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Fall 2010 CLO Symposium
Unleashing Learning: From Strategy to Execution

EdLink CEO John Zappa participated in two events at the Fall 2010 CLO Symposium--Unleashing Learning: From Strategy to Execution. The symposium took place September 27-29 in Dana Point, California.

John Zappa, CEO of EdLink, facilitated the University of Phoenix Panel Discussion: Linking Your Tuition Assistance Investment to Your Talent Management Strategies. The event featured two of our clients --Dorothy Martin of Verizon Wireless and Mimi Gilbert-Quinn of Lockheed Martin Corporation --who demonstrated how tuition benefit links with talent management, using real-life examples of creative solutions to maximize the value of the tuition program investment.
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New Developments

New Clients

EdLink continues to grow. We are proud to announce that another large financial services client based out of Texas awarded us the contract to administer its tuition program for the company’s employees.

Client Forum Summary

"Targeting Your Tuition Assistance Program" was the focus of EdLink's most recent Client Forum, held on Tuesday, July 13th. In addition to our online forum, hosted from EdLink's Chicago offices, two of EdLink's client companies hosted regional in-person forum events to engage attendees around the country. EdLink's CEO, John Zappa, and Relationship Manager Mindy Mettner, attended the west coast meeting in Seattle. EdLink's VP for Sales & Marketing, Lynn Schroeder, and Relationship Manager Jolene Sullivan, attended the East coast meeting in Boston.
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Featured Provider Network

Jason Mulrooney Joins EdLink to Expand Featured Provider Network

EdLink is pleased to announce that Jason Mulrooney has joined the EdLink team to support its expanding Featured Provider Network (FPN). As Manager, Education Partnerships, Jason will be responsible for growing the size and overall value of the FPN for our clients and education partners.
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EdLink Welcomes New FPN Members

We are pleased to announce that we have added four new educational institutions--Argosy University, The Art Institute of Pittsburgh, South University, and University of Redlands-- to our Featured Provider Network.  
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FPN News

Special Savings

We have renewed our partnership with The Princeton Review and they are now offering more discounts on online courses: 10% OFF Classroom courses and 20% OFF Online courses (NEW discount offer as it was previously 10% off) for the GMAT  LSAT, MCAT, GRE, USMLE, SAT, ACT, and PSAT. The Princeton Review can help you and your employees get into the school of choice through their guaranteed score-raising strategies and passionate, expert instructors.  Call 800-2Review (800-273-8439) or visit www.princetonreview.com/edlink for discount promotional codes and more details.

Webinar Series

Kaplan University offers a variety of free webinars featuring respected authors, notable persons and experts in various fields on a wide range of interesting topics in an interactive webinar environment where you can participate. Topics may range from "How to give powerful presentations" to "Building your personal brand" to tips and advice on how to bolster your resume and improve your job search. Prerecorded and upcoming webinars are available on the Kaplan University Facebook Fan Page.

Boston University Metropolitan College offers a variety of free webinars about their degree and certificate programs. Click here to see a listing.

Online Executive Master and Master of Business Administration at California State University Monterey Bay

Classes begin October 11, 2010 and applications can be submitted now. To view more information, please visit the CSUMB website for the Executive Master in Business Administration and  Master of Business Administration.

Upcoming Events

CAEL Conference 2010
Create the Wave: Workforce, Education and Change
The annual conference of the Council for Adult and Experiential Learning (CAEL), taking place in November 10-12 in San Diego, California, provides an international forum for 500 participants to learn, network, exchange ideas, and work with other sectors to transform lifelong learning. For more information, click here.

EdLink, LLC
55 E Monroe, Suite 1930 Chicago, IL 60603
www.edlinktuition.com