Issue Summary
Empowering Regional Workforces
As pillars of their communities, the country’s 520 regional public universities (RPUs) are fundamentally linked with the needs and development of their local workforce.
Often founded as normal schools or state teachers’ colleges, RPUs historically produced the educators, nurses, engineers, accountants, entrepreneurs, data scientists, and other professionals needed to grow America’s economy.
RPUs seek to expand their regional workforce by implementing policies and pathways that support on-time degree completion while improving student retention. By partnering with industry and community leaders, RPUs meet not only the educational needs of their local communities but also support economic and social growth, benefiting graduates and the workforce.
Regional public universities create pathways to prosperity for all students, providing an affordable education while promoting degrees that meet local workforce needs.
RPUs: Learn Local, Stay Local
University of Nebraska at Kearney
Rural America is facing a health care crisis. The lack of qualified graduates and consolidation of educational opportunities to large population centers are slowly suffocating rural hospitals across the nation. In Nebraska, the health science department at the University of Nebraska at Kearney (UNK) has partnered with rural hospitals and the University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC) to secure a talent pipeline of future, local health care professionals. Through extensive collaboration and professional development initiatives like the Kearney Health Opportunities Program (KHOP), the health Sciences department has grown into the largest academic program at UNK. In exchange for full tuition scholarships from UNK, and guaranteed admission to UNMC, students commit to practicing in rural Nebraska.
In addition, UNK has invested at both ends of the talent pipeline through programs that foster interest in health care-related occupations among future students and placement partnerships for recent graduates. The Hospital Partner Program offers recent health science graduates positions in rural-serving hospitals, while Health Science Explorers, a pipeline program for students in the seventh through 12th grades, currently serves more than 800 participants each year.
90%
acceptance rate among health science students applying to clinical and professional school.
(three-year average)
19
rural hospitals across Nebraska have joined the Hospital Partner Program.
234
KHOP students have matriculated to UNMC since inception.
RPUs: Educating Tomorrow’s Educators
Nevada State University
Committed to building a larger teacher workforce in Nevada, the Nevada State University’s School of Education founded the Teacher Academy Pipeline Project (TAPP). Partnering with local high schools, this initiative offers concurrent enrollment opportunities—commonly known as dual-credit courses—to build a pipeline of future teachers who ultimately graduate with education majors and go on to strengthen and revitalize the state’s workforce.
TAPP offers scholarships and intensive college preparation workshops, creating pathways to degree attainment that align skills and knowledge gained with workforce needs. Credits earned in high school can shorten students’ enrollment periods and reduce their student loan debt. Students gain early professional identity formation and a sense of belonging, both of which have been shown to support persistence and timely college graduation.
627% enrollment increase
Starting in 2017, TAPP enrollment at Nevada State has grown from 18 students in fall 2018 to 131 students enrolled in fall 2023.
- Nearly 75% of TAPP students stay in southern Nevada after graduation.
- Students dedicated to pursuing a degree in education have risen considerably, from seven education majors in fall 2018 to 85 in fall 2023, with TAPP persistence rates 6-8% higher than average.
RPUs: Accelerating Graduation
Lehman College (CUNY)
If most learning in life occurs outside the classroom, shouldn’t students get credit for past relevant work experience? Lehman College (CUNY) thought so. To make higher education more affordable and support degree completion, Lehman College extended its Credit for Prior Learning (CPL) initiative to all students—from traditional learners to near completers to high school graduates transitioning to higher education—allowing them to earn elective credits, required by New York for degree completion, through various approved programs.
Unlike traditional CPL programs, Lehman’s is not only focused on granting adult learners credit for educational experiences outside the college classroom but also extends to traditional students who may be a few credits shy of graduating. Via the new CPL approach, students could earn one to three elective credits at the end of their degree to satisfy missing elective credits. CPL may be granted for certificates, military service credits, proficiency exams, and second-language competencies, among other options.
- Nearly 50 students earned CPL credits to complete their degrees during the spring and fall semesters of 2019.
- In AY2023-24, Lehman College awarded 2,052 students a total of 5,278 credits through CPL.
- During the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, Lehman College implemented a COVID-19 certificate that allowed students to earn one credit for completing all of the required training to obtain employment as a COVID-19 tracer, enrolling 192 students in the program.
RPUs: Responsive, Flexible, Innovative
East Tennessee State University
To secure a talent pipeline in the fields of information technology (IT) and advanced cybersecurity, BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee (BCBST) approached East Tennessee State University (ETSU), which led to the creation of the BlueSky Tennessee Institute. Through extensive collaboration, BCBST and ETSU created a curriculum, organized internships, and established job-embedded experiences for the BlueSky Institute. In connecting with local business needs, the partnership intrinsically embraced emerging best practices in the IT and data science fields.
In two and a half years, students at the BlueSky Institute can earn a bachelor’s degree in computing with a concentration in information systems and hands-on experience working in real-world business environments. Successful graduates are guaranteed a full-time job offer with full benefits from BCBST; however, they can elect to work for another employer without facing any financial (or other) penalty. Before the development of the BlueSky Tennessee Institute:
120
jobs were outsourced by BCBST due to a lack of qualified candidates.
50
positions were found to be consistently vacant every year by BCBST.
4,500
job openings are available in Tennessee for graduates with less than two years of experience.
RPUs: Partners in Prosperity
Stockton University (NJ)
Collaboration is at the heart of successful community engagement efforts between postsecondary institutions and local economies. In New Jersey, Stockton University partners with businesses and corporations in the Atlantic City hospitality, health care, and nonprofit industries to address education and workforce development barriers while managing chronic summer labor shortages.
The Atlantic City Summer Experience Live, Work, Learn program provides employment opportunities and internships to students participating in experiential learning opportunities. Corporations partner with the university, creating a scaffold for guided work experiences that encourage students to network among local businesses and explore employment opportunities post-graduation. Employment opportunities range from accounting, finance, human resources, marketing, IT, administration, and public safety to hospitality, health care, and various other experiences.
700
applied for the inaugural year; 153 students were accepted—substantially higher than the anticipated enrollment of 40 students. In 2024, 256 students were enrolled in the program.
Qualified students
receive campus housing in the city for the summer (paid by the employer), badging certification for completing career readiness workshops, paid employment, and a discount on summer courses.
RPUs: Securing Futures and the Homeland
Middle Georgia State University
Robins Air Force Base (RAFB) is the region’s largest employer in Houston County, Georgia. As its mission transitions from repairing, modifying, and overhauling aircraft to working with Advanced Battle Management Systems, a new high-tech platform, it requires more IT and computer science professionals.
To respond to the base’s significant shift in technology needs and retain high-paying jobs in the central region, Middle Georgia State University (MGA) launched a dual-enrollment program to educate nearby high school and current undergraduate students. This program, designed to support the base’s science, technology, engineering, and math workforce, aims to connect current and prospective students with lucrative careers in high-need fields, all while staying local. While MGA currently offers majors and degree pathways related to the employment needs at RAFB, it recognized the potential of creating a strategic program where the base and Houston County School District could meet and graduate more people into technology jobs.
- The program provides on-site classes with the potential for paid internships at the Synergy Innovation Center in Warner Robins.
- Students share space with the base’s software engineers and information technology professionals.
- Students who complete all courses earn a Certificate in Information Technology from Middle Georgia State University.
- During its first two years, 36 students enrolled and registered for 82 classes.
- Six students have successfully earned
the Certificate in Information Technology.
Several others are progressing toward
its completion.
Questions about how RPUs empower regional workforces? Let us know.
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