In September, U.S. News & World Report ranked Arizona State University as No. 1 in the nation in innovation -- again. No surprise here, as ASU has won the title in each of the eight years since U.S. News introduced the category in its university rankings. Winners are chosen based on which university is deemed to be making the most innovative improvements toward curriculum, faculty, students, campus life, technology, and facilities.

One reason for ASU's unmatched success is its partnership with Starbucks, now in its eighth year, which enables eligible U.S. employees to begin or continue online programs at ASU with 100% upfront tuition coverage for first-time bachelor's degrees. As of 2022, nearly 10,000 Starbucks partners (the company's names for employees) had already completed their degrees from the university and tens of thousands more were participating in the program.

With the direct experience gained from the early success of the Starbucks College Achievement Plan (SCAP), ASU saw an opportunity to expand the positive workforce impact by bringing in more corporations and universities. Along with TPG's The Rise Fund, an impact investing fund, ASU helped co-found InStride. Today, the four-year-old public benefit company has over 40 corporate partners and a growing number of new university partners to further expand the educational impact first modeled by SCAP.

Companies in 2023 faced with new difficulties in recruiting and retaining a quality workforce amid the "Great Resignation," will find that enabling their employees to complete college degree programs provides them with a positive return on investment. And the growth potential is even greater, as an estimated 37 million Americans have "some" college but lack degrees.

The InStride "creation story" reflected the university's assessment, based on the success of SCAP, that it could serve more people by creating an intermediary organization that could focus exclusively on learners seeking higher education by recruiting corporate partners and developing corporate relationships.

TPG's Rise Fund executives saw that ASU's partnership with Starbucks contained the seeds for a broader program that could partner with corporations to help tens of thousands of employee learners earn high-quality, debt-free college degrees. Relatively small corporate investments in upfront tuition could yield improved workplace skills and retention of key talent, creating a win-win for both employee and employer.

As an independent company, InStride's has forged partnerships with corporations and academic providers as an innovative way to prepare today's employees for tomorrow's challenges. Success with today's workforce requires a united, strategic effort that ties education to in-demand, relevant skills and career mobility.

InStride's diverse corporate clientele includes retail giant Amazon, healthcare entities from Banfield Pet Hospitals to Labcorp, food services firm Aramark, and financial services leader American Express. In addition to ASU, academic partners include the University of Memphis, City University of New York, Universidad Tecmilenio, Colorado State University, and the University of Wisconsin.

InStride points to its success in getting employees to take advantage of their new opportunities and the improved retention and promotion rates for program participants. Companies typically see a 3-4 times higher retention rate for their employees participating in a workforce education program, creating immediate financial savings with reduced turnover. Empowering employees through education does not mean losing them.

The company lists three key ingredients for successful employer-provided education. The first is to tie the program to the CEO's business goals and to lift employees' career trajectories. The second is that leading universities that focus on driving outcomes are participating, and the third is delivering a frictionless end-to-end experience for learners.

But perhaps the biggest reason for the success enjoyed by InStride, its corporate and academic partners, and employees who take advantage of their new opportunities lies with the disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The InStride program addresses directly pandemic-related increases in the equity gap that has left many underserved students otherwise without access to education due to job function, extended furloughs, and financial constraints.

Of course, inasmuch as InStride is a for-profit enterprise, some of the major benefits accrue to its university partners, all of whom gain motivated students and the tuition and energy that their enrollment brings.

Enrollment at Arizona State University continues to increase, bucking the trend in higher education, nevertheless, given the overall 9.4% decline in college enrollment during the pandemic years, finding innovative ways to get people back in college in 2023 and beyond is critical to the financial health and relevance of universities and students alike -- something ASU obviously understands quite well.

Duggan Flanakin is Director of Policy Research with the Committee For A Constructive Tomorrow; he writes about a multitude of issues, innovations, and ideas