Corporate /college partnerships and their impact on corporations and institutions of higher education: A higher education perspective

The purpose of this multi case study was to explore partnerships between corporations and institutions of higher education that contribute to the academic attainment of the employees/students. Corporations have increasing expectations that their employees be knowledgeable. One vehicle to achieve this is through partnerships among corporations and institutions of higher education. Increasingly, higher education institutions are forming partnerships with these corporations to provide the education for a more knowledgeable workforce. These partnerships provide education, training and development opportunities for employees, often for academic credit. This translates into new expectations for workforce knowledge, training, skills, and provides perpetual learning opportunities for employees, students and customers. Corporations and institutions of higher education recognize evolving technologies, the emergence of a global economy, the need to serve, develop and maintain an educated and competitive workforce in the 21st century. The researcher purposely selected six institutional representatives responsible for the development of corporate partnerships with corporations. The six institutions of higher education were four private and two public, and had formulated partnerships with corporations. An informal interview with a standard questionnaire consisting of open-ended questions was used. Other data from tours and printed documentation was collected at each institution of higher education. The research findings in this study include the following (1) descriptions of the characteristics and structures of partnerships between corporations and institutions of higher education, (2) activities involved in developing partnerships with corporations and/or with institutions of higher education, (3) organizational and financial arrangements of partnerships, (4) success factors and problem factors in developing partnerships, (5) the effects these partnerships have on the institutions of higher education, and (6) future directions for these partnerships. The study concludes with recommendations for future research