1. http://edwardscampus.ku.edu
Initiatives, Inc.
11150 Overbrook Rd.
Suite 110
Leawood, KS 66211
(913) 709-8092
www.initiativesco.com
-Troy L. Carlson
President & CEO
Initiatives, Inc.
troy@initiativesco.com
Initiatives,Inc.
2015
KansasCityRegionEmployer
EngagementProject
The purpose of this report is to build a clear understanding
of regional employer needs that will serve as a roadmap for a
more effective operational model. This will enable KU
Edwards to design and deliver curriculum much more
responsive to today’s workplace. Initiatives, Inc. interviewed
43 professionals representing 34 organizations located in the
Kansas City region.

2. 1
Table of Contents
Project Overview………………………………………………………………...1-3
Executive Summary………………………………………………………...….4-12
Interviewees………………………………………………………..………….13-16
KANSAS CITY REGION EMPLOYER ENGAGEMENT PROJECT
ORGANIZATIONAL NEEDS................................................................................17-84
1) What does your organization need the most from KU Edwards to address your
needs? ....................................................................................................................17-29
2) Last spring, KU assigned all of Continuing Education to the KU Edwards
Campus. This gives KU Edwards the ability to deliver customized training in
hybrid formats; online and onsite to meet employer needs. How significant is
this for your organization?....................................................................................30-36
3) Are there technology-based delivery modes that work best for your
organization?...........................................................................................................37-42
4) Is on-site delivery at your location important for your organization?...........43-46
5) What types of education programs are the most important to your
organization?..........................................................................................................47-54
6) How important are credit programs vs. non-credit programs for your
organization?..........................................................................................................55-59
7) How important is it to your organization to train technical experts and
scientists to be managers?....................................................................................60-65
8) How valuable are professional development programs to your
organization?..........................................................................................................66-70
9) Where are you currently sending your employees for training?.....................71-76
10)What influences your organization’s decision the most to select an educational
institution/training provider?...............................................................................77-83
STRENGTHS………………………………………………….……………..84-95
11)What are KU Edwards’ greatest strengths?.......................................................84-90
12)How would you rank KU Edwards compared to its competitors?...............91-95

3. 2
WEAKNESSES………………………………………………………………96-107
13)What are KU Edwards’ greatest weaknesses?.................................................96-101
14)What would you like to see KU Edwards improve or change?..................102-107
OPPORTUNITIES…………….…………………………………………..108-130
15)What are KU Edwards’ greatest opportunities?...........................................108-115
16)Are there educational institutions/associations/organizations with which KU
Edwards should develop partnerships? Who are they?..............................116-123
17)What is the most important role you see technology playing in the delivery of
higher education?...............................................................................................124-130
THREATS………………………..………………………………………...131-143
18)What are KU Edwards’ greatest threats?.......................................................131-137
19)Who are KU Edwards’ strongest competitors?............................................138-143
BRANDING & MARKETING……….…………………………………..144-160
20)How familiar are you with KU Edwards? Could you describe its brand before
this interview?.....................................................................................................144-147
21)What is the most effective way KU Edwards can connect with and recruit
Kansas City employers?....................................................................................148-153
22)How can KU Edwards best market and work with the Missouri side of the
metro?..................................................................................................................154-160
OTHER…………..…………………………………………………………161-182
23)Is there any type of follow-up you would like to see from KU Edwards after
this interview?.....................................................................................................161-166
24)Who else should we interview?........................................................................167-172
25)Is there anything else that should have been asked?....................................173-182

4. 1
http://edwardscampus.ku.edu
Kansas City Region Employer Engagement Project
Our education system nationally is experiencing a growing “disconnect” with industry
and the business community. The market is rapidly changing the types of skills
needed due to the high-tech/knowledge-based economy while employers are
increasingly challenged with a lack of qualified talent. Companies are requiring
technical and workplace skills that college graduates are often not prepared to deliver.
Positions are often left unfulfilled or fulfilled by other means.
New disruptive education delivery paradigms are emerging to address emerging skill
sets and delivery modes driven by technology. The trend is clear; educational
institutions that adapt to meet market demand will win and those that don’t will lose
to those that do. The good news is most business and industry leaders are willing to
work with higher education institutions to find a solution to this growing skills gap.1
The leadership at KU Edwards clearly understands this need and wants to take the
opportunity to effectively connect with and engage employers in the Kansas City
region. There is a growing sense of urgency to make KU Edwards more accessible
and responsive to workforce needs in a timely and effective manner.
Initiatives, Inc. was asked to interview Kansas City region employers to build a clear
understanding of their needs that will serve as a roadmap for a more effective
operational model. This will enable KU Edwards to design and deliver curriculum
and services much more responsive to today’s workplace. The goal is to make the
Edwards campus the “front porch” for The University of Kansas when employers in
the Kansas City region are seeking to recruit and develop qualified talent.
1
Pg. 23: 2013 Lumina/Gallup Study, “What America Needs to Know about Higher Education Redesign.”

5. 2
KU Edwards Purpose Statement
The mission of KU Edwards Campus is to bring the high-quality academic programs,
research and public service of the University of Kansas to the greater Kansas City
community to serve the workforce, economic and community development needs of
the region.
KU Edwards at a Glance
Campus Overview Student Overview
 Located at 12600 Quivira Avenue, OP,
KS 66213
 1800+ students on campus
 12.5% increase in enrollment
 Increase accounts for 63% of overall
university headcount growth
 Research faculty with a practical
orientation
 Full service campus
 Average age: 31
 Nearly 50% work full time
 80% seek career advancement or career
change
 27% have children under age 18
KU Edwards Academic Programs
Undergraduate
• Biotechnology
• Business Administration
• Exercise Science – NEW
• Information Technology
• Literature, Language & Writing
• Molecular Biosciences
• Public Administration
• Psychology
• Social Work
• Graduate Certificates – NEW
• Business (8 options)
• Global & International Studies
Graduate & PhD
• Architecture Management
• Accounting – NEW
• Business Administration
• Communication Studies
• Curriculum and Instruction (MSE, EdD
– NEW)
• Design Management
• Early Childhood Unified – NEW
• Educational Administration (MSE, EdD)
• Educational Technology – NEW
• Engineering Management
• Environmental Assessment – NEW
• Global & International Studies
• Information Technology
• Interaction Design
• Marketing Communications
• Project Management (2)
• Public Administration
• Special Education - adaptive
• Social Work

6. 3
KU Edwards Milestones
Johnson County Education Research
Triangle
Continuing Education
 Created November 2008
 Generates more than $15 million a year
to fund higher education and degree
offerings through a unique partnership
among Johnson County, the University
of Kansas and Kansas State University
 Includes the development of the
Business, Engineering, Science and
Technology (BEST) Building and new
degree programs at KU's Edwards
Campus
 KU Edwards programs funded by the
Triangle:
o Business
o Engineering
o Science
o Technology
 Expected $1.4 billion economic impact
over the next two decades
 KU Continuing Education was located to
the KU Edwards campus spring 2014.
This gives KU Edwards the ability to
deliver customized training in hybrid
formats; online and onsite to meet
employer needs
 Courses designed by KU faculty and
industry experts include:
o Aerospace Short Courses
o Engineering Courses
o Conference Management
o International Continuing
Education
o Professional Management
Education
o Conferences and Seminars
o Biomedical Training
o Continuing Legal Education
o Fire Service Training
o Law Enforcement Training
o Osher Lifelong Learning
o Non-Credit Courses

7. 4
Kansas City Region Employer Engagement Project
Executive Summary
Initiatives, Inc. was asked to provide a process designed to build a clear understanding
of regional employer needs that will serve as a roadmap for a more effective
operational model. This will enable KU Edwards to design and deliver curriculum
much more responsive to today’s workplace. The goal is to make the Edwards
campus the “front porch” for The University of Kansas when employers in the
Kansas City region are seeking qualified talent.
Initiatives, Inc. interviewed 43 professionals representing 34 organizations located in
the Kansas City region. All interviews were conducted in-person with the exception
of one interviewee. The interview process was structured in four sections:
1. Organizational Needs
2. SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities & Threats)
3. Branding & Marketing
4. Other (Miscellaneous)
We looked at the interview data from two perspectives: The first focused on
consensus responses. The second focused on “key insights” which are responses
from subject matter experts that can guide future strategy and action steps.
Listed below are highlights of the findings:
ORGANIZATIONAL NEEDS
Consensus
 What do organizations need the most from KU Edwards?
1. 21% said business management & interpersonal acumen skills
2. 17% said qualified IT talent
3. 13% said a paradigm shift to competency-based delivery
4. 11% said broader & deeper community/business partnerships

8. 5
 37% think assigning Continuing Education to KU Edwards is very significant
and 21% think it is significant to their organizations
 42% prefer online and 33% prefer flipped courses as technology-based delivery
modes for higher education
 67% said onsite delivery is important to their organizations
 25% said certificates, 14% said competency based training, 14% said all as the
types of education program that are the most important to their organization
 44% indicated either no preference, it depends or both on the importance of
credit vs. non-credit programs. 31% said non-credit programs were more
important and 25% said credit programs were more important
 50% said it is very important and 39% said it was important to train technical
experts and scientists to be managers
 61% value professional development programs
Key Insights
 Companies have brilliant technical personnel who don’t know how to manage a
project, people or market
 Entrepreneurial companies are growing in KU Edward’s area. Johnson County
has more equity funded companies and Inc. 5000 companies than anywhere in
the metro
 There are currently 1965 tech openings in the region with only 950 graduates.
Companies are finding alternative ways to fill this gap
 There is a growing cluster around IT that is not connected to the strengths of
the university system. Most IT training currently comes from vendors, trade
schools or MOOCs. They are producing more tech talent in KC than all the
regional colleges and universities combined
 The region does not have enough volume and depth in the area to meet
demand; especially in software development and systems engineers
 Other universities and community colleges in the region are effectively
interacting and collaborating with business. KU Edwards is “late out of the
gate” compared to them
 Individual professors have historically driven research, internships, etc. KU
Edwards should drive these relationships on more levels with KU Lawrence
 The KC metro area does not have a major university presence but a
partnership with other universities in the area could have a significant impact
on the region’s future economy. KU Edwards should lead this effort

9. 6
 There is significant entrepreneurial activity in the Crossroads District and
downtown; especially in IT. KU Edwards has the opportunity to activate this
in Johnson County as two-way resource into the metro
 It would send a powerful signal to the market if KU Edwards offered a
certificate program on the UMKC campus and vice versa based on their
respective competencies.
 Create a KU Edwards satellite opportunity in the Crossroads and into other
meaningful areas. The millennials will be downtown; understand the
demographics of your students
 Preference is growing towards more certification and competency based
curriculum and less towards a degree. Degree programs take too long and
employers see decreasing value in them
 IT professions place much more value and emphasis on targeted competency
based skills than credit programs
 Perform yearly surveys and one-on-one meetings with HR departments to
determine if KU Edwards is meeting current and future industry needs
 Larger companies are creating their own in-house training programs to address
needs unmet by the university system
 KU Edwards is small and has the potential to be the “skunkworks” to develop
a model that sets the pace and change how services are delivered in higher
education
 Business accelerators are growing in popularity and demand one-on-one
counseling, 90 day immersive programs for business development, proof of
concept and getting to market. Leverage them
 Professional development programs are more valued if taught by a working
professional vs. an academic not in industry
 Further integrate the private sector into your campus and your campus further
into the private sector. Organizations want opportunities to observe and select
individuals who are a good fit for their culture and values
 You can perform the “cool factor” in Overland Park. Just recognize how it can
be marketable
 Host renowned speakers in the tech industry. Tech companies will attend
 Explore how KU Edwards can complement the inevitable arrival of IT training
companies coming to KC

10. 7
 Companies now look at interns as a resource to tackle and solve key problems.
Create internships and curriculum that require real work challenges, problem
solving and creativity. Grunt work for interns is a bad recruiting tool
STRENGTHS
Consensus
 What are KU Edwards’ greatest strengths?
1. 23% said brand and location
2. 20% said a pragmatic, collaborative culture and leadership
3. 19% said the brand and KU reputation
 How would you rank KU Edwards compared to its competitors?
1. 34% said at or near the top
2. 29% did not know
Key Insights
 KU Edwards has a pragmatic approach that makes them more relevant to the
market
 The leadership at KU Edwards is seen a collaborative, client centric and asking
the right questions
 There is a strong connection with the practitioner community inside the
classroom and KU Edwards is seen as willing to partner with employers
 KU Edwards is a leader in business professional courses due to KU Lawrence’s
broad offering. Other universities are more industry specific in this area
whereas KU is “agnostic” in terms of its business education. It can serve a
broader audience
 KU Edwards leads for secondary, post-engineering professionals and its
location is significant for that
 KU Edwards has “real world” teachers who are considered more valuable to
the marketplace
 KU Edwards benefits from the “KU brand” which has an excellent reputation.
However, KU Edwards has the stigma of needing to educate the public what
they specifically have to offer

11. 8
WEAKNESSES
Consensus
 61% said KU Edwards’ greatest weakness is it is unknown to the market
 When it comes to improvement or change at KU Edwards, 47% want more
market visibility and brand awareness and 37% want more outreach and
accommodation of their needs
Key Insights
 KU Edwards needs to clearly define its value proposition
 Some did not know KU Edwards offered four-year degrees
 Even though many say they know the brand, few people can tell you what KU
Edward’s mission is and what they have to offer
 There is a lot of competition and KU overall is seen as “late to the party”
when it comes to engaging and integrating into the community
 The curriculum and training, especially for tech courses, is very outdated
 KU Edwards is perceived as being slowed down by a large bureaucracy and an
insular culture at KU Lawrence
OPPORTUNITIES
Consensus
 What are KU Edwards’ greatest opportunities?
1. 34% said develop a niche and define a brand
2. 23% said address employer and market needs
3. 20% said innovate and increase value to the market
 Are there educational institution, associations, organizations with which KU
should develop partnerships?
1. 28% said business and professional organizations
2. 20% said community colleges
3. 13% said higher education institutions in the metro
4. 11% said K-12 institutions
 58% see the most important role technology plays in higher education is the
elimination of space and time barriers

12. 9
Key Insights
 KU Lawrence has a high-quality brand and KU Edwards needs to determine
how they fit into it. They need clarity and must focus on a few “pinnacle” areas
 Leverage the flexibility of your location and tap further into the depth of the
Lawrence faculty
 Find and articulate niches no one else has yet filled. Align with unmet needs,
make sure people know about it and “exploit the heck out of it”
 Look systematically for new emerging clusters in KC
 Partner with companies by providing content in general management training
that is sorely needed
 The greatest workforce need in KC is technical training ranging from
engineering, software development/design, to project management
 Corporations have said, “If any of our educational institutions can create a true
pipeline of technology talent, there is no end to corporate giving to that
institution”
 Sit down with companies and design programs very, very quickly. Being
bureaucratic and moving at a snail’s pace is a death knell
 KU must be seen as a metro-wide resource
 Collaborate with other educational institutions and find your respective niches
to systematically deliver apprenticeships, mentoring and shadowing programs
collectively
 Explore opportunities working with the military and veterans entering the
civilian workforce. KU Edwards has the prime opportunity to be the first
major university to locate in proximity with the military’s major intermediate
graduate school in the nation located in Fort Leavenworth. The Feds place a
high emphasis on hiring veterans with graduate degrees
THREATS
Consensus
 What are KU Edwards’ greatest threats?
1. 36% said the competition
2. 19% said inertia, bureaucracy and complacency
3. 11% said online education
 Who are KU Edwards’ strongest competitors?
1. 23% said other four-year institutions in the area

13. 10
2. 19% said UMKC
3. 16% said it is an open field ranging from four-year institutions,
community colleges, coding schools to online courses
Key Insights
 IT training programs such as Udemy, Centriq, Centrix and General Assembly
are coming from the coasts and are rapidly and effectively creating talent and
getting support from the tech industry. Can KU Edwards work with them?
 In the last 12 months, KU Edwards is the 6th
education institution that has
talked to a major employer. None have presented their results except one and
they asked for an exclusive contract with them (and did not get it)
 The opportunity lying in front of KU Edwards is huge! If KU Edwards stalls,
they will lose their talent to the competition
 OJT is much more relevant to companies and some are setting up “living labs”
internally. How does an institution several degrees removed fit into that
model?
BRANDING & MARKETING
Consensus
 How familiar are you with KU Edwards? Could you describe its brand before
this interview?
1. 47% said no
2. 39% said yes
3. 14% said maybe
 What is the most effective way KU Edwards can connect with and recruit
Kansas City employers?
1. 44% said personal outreach
2. 18% said networking
3. 8% said engage them on campus
 How can KU Edwards best market and work with the Missouri side of the
metro?
1. 33% said lead with a regional vision
2. 10% said establish your value proposition

14. 11
Key Insights
 KU Edwards is thought of as a night school more than a full service campus.
“Again I think of it as a satellite next to Sarpino’s Pizza.” It lacks visibility
 People know the KU brand but not the KU Edwards brand. They generally
don’t know what distinguishes it from KU Lawrence
 You have to start at the personal level and build a rolodex. Go to the major
employers and find out how their needs are changing from a year ago
 KU Edwards needs a targeted, one-on-one approach. Ask employers what
their needs are; don’t just pitch services. You have to listen to match needs
 Leadership from KU Edwards and KU Lawrence must also perform the one-
on-one visits and networking functions. Organizations identify with a
university’s “top guy (or gal).” Deploy your deans and chancellors
 Employers must have the ability to interact with students regularly. It is the
most important way for them to make qualified hires
 Put professionals in the classroom or onsite on campus. The tech industry
would love for senior engineers to teach tech courses and they are already
teaching on corporate campuses. It is prestigious for them
 KU Edwards needs to be seen as a physical asset that happens to be located in
Kansas vs. a “Kansas institution” that wants to do business across the region
 There is an opportunity for KU Edwards and UMKC’s Bloch School of
Business to collaborate. Perform joint programs. Meld what UMKC does well
with what KU Edwards does well. For example, bring together
entrepreneurship and the arts
 Develop targeted, cooperative relationships with other universities. Avoid large
complex agreements. Start small and work your way up
 Find the right project and team professors from other universities together to
complete it. Have the chancellors involved as well. Find your respective
niches and focus on them
 Businesses don’t care about the state line
 KU Edwards needs to approach its actions regionally
 Be mission-driven vs. rules-driven
 The largest industry in KC is the tech industry and if KU Edwards
demonstrates that it is a focus going forward, they will have a lot of
participation from that sector. Explore new, innovative ways to deliver for the
industry

15. 12
OTHER
Consensus
 Is there any type of follow-up you would like to see from KU Edwards after
this interview?
1. 48% asked to see this report
2. 16% said visit us
3. 11% requested keeping KU Edwards’ leadership engaged
Key Insight
 Follow-up is critical. Other higher education institutions visited these
organizations and many never heard back from them. You are setting
expectations by coming out and will make it worse by not following-up
CONCLUSION
KU Edwards is essentially a blank slate when it comes to how it is perceived in the
greater Kansas City community but KU Lawrence is well-known in the region. This
provides KU Edwards an opportunity to get through doors and create a strong brand
centered around current regional market trends based directly on employer needs.
The brand needs to be creative, innovative, responsive and regional.
KU Edwards should leverage Johnson County as major resource contributing to the
Kansas City region’s future economy. Johnson County has the most equity funded
companies by stage and location and the largest concentration of Inc. 5000 companies
in the region.2
KU Edwards can become a primary vehicle for regional economic
growth by establishing bold and unprecedented actions to promote employment and
business. This can range from making its campus a “go to” place for entrepreneurs to
establishing collaborative bi-state initiatives with other higher education institutions.
Significant market needs are challenging the region and KU Edwards is well-
positioned to address them in the areas of business, entrepreneurship, engineering,
and IT. What KU Edwards must avoid is the temptation to provide primarily a
traditional campus-centric solution. The employer community is eager to collaborate
with area universities to address their own needs. The key is to approach them, listen,
develop market-based solutions and take action on their input in a timely manner.
Unlike the Field of Dreams quote, “If you build it, he will come,” the new mantra is,
“Go to them and they will help you build it.”
2
KCSourceLink:http://www.wecreatekc.com/wecreatekc-report-by-kcsourcelink.pdf

16. 13
Interviewees
Aerotek Scientific, LLC
1. Grant Gorr, Business Development Manager
2. Troy Sayler, Account Manager
AIA KC (The American Institute of Architects)
3. Dawn Taylor, Executive Director
Bank of Blue Valley
4. Robert “Bob” Regnier, President
Bank of Kansas City
5. Michael Viazzoli, Chief Executive Officer and President
Black & Veatch Corporation
6. Chris Gould, Director, Human Resources/Director Global Talent Acquisition &
Mobility/Director, Human Resources - GCC Region
Blue Valley School District
7. Tom Trigg, Superintendent
Burns & McDonnell
8. Sue Maden, Education & Training Manager
CBIZ
9. Jeff Carlstedt, Senior Managing Director, CPA
10. Carolyn Watley, President

17. 14
The Central Exchange
11. CiCi Rojas, CEO
Cerner
12. Laura Evans, Senior Director, Human Capital Strategy and Talent Development
Deloitte & Touche, LLP
13. Elizabeth “Liz” Griffith, Senior Manager/Recruiting Leader
DD Ranch Leawood
14. Terrence “Terry” Dunn, Director/KC Chamber Chair/Former CEO, JE Dunn
Construction
Garmin
15. Laurie Minard, VP of Human Resources
Hallmark Cards, Inc.
16. Paula Matthews, Talent Management Director
Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Greater Kansas City
17. Carlos Gomez, President/CEO
JCCC (Johnson County Community College)
18. Joseph “Joe” Sopcich, President
19. Mike Souder, Dean, Continuing Education
Johnson County, Kansas
20. Mary Biere, Human Resources Manager
21. Hannes Zacharias, County Manager

18. 15
KCADC (Kansas City Area Development Council)
22. Bob Marcusse, President & CEO
KCALSI (Kansas City Area Life Sciences Institute, Inc.)
23. Wayne Carter, President & CEO
KC Chamber
24. Jim Heeter, President & CEO
KC Next
25. Ryan Weber, President
KCP&L (Kansas City Power & Light)
26. Brett Bonge, Director Employee Relations and Staffing
KCSourceLink
27. Maria Meyers, Network Builder
MARC (Mid-America Regional Council)
28. David Warm, Executive Director
MCC (Metropolitan Community College)
29. Mark James, Chancellor
MRI Global
30. Kelly Tyler Byrnes, Chief Talent Officer, Director of Learning, Director of OD
Marketing and Communications
Olsson Associates
31. Megan Lilley, Human Resources
32. Keri Lyn O’Bryant, Learning & Development

19. 16
Perceptive Software
33. Darren Knipp, COO
Pinsight Media+ (Sprint Subsidiary)
34. Kevin McGinnis, President
PGAV (Peckham Guyton Albers & Viets, Inc.)
35. Stephen “Steve” Troester, Principal
Polsinelli
36. Jodie Hughey, Chief HR Officer
27 Committee (Fort Leavenworth)
37. Rolly Dessert, Academy Leadership, Colonel, Retired
38. Dick Gibson, Executive Director, Colonel, Retired
39. Rich Keller, Lieutenant General, Retired/Vice President 27 Committee
40. Bob Ulin, Center for Transitional Leadership, Chairman & CEO, Colonel, Retired
UMB Bank
41. Kelly Eschweiler, Vice President of Talent Development | Organizational Effectiveness
42. Shannon Johnson, SVP & Senior Director, Talent Management & Development
U.S. Office of Personnel Management (Federal Government)
43. Jason Parman, HR Strategy Manager/HR Strategy & Evaluation Solutions

20. 17
Kansas City Region
Employer Engagement Project
ORGANIZATIONAL NEEDS
1. What does your organization need the most from KU
Edwards to address your needs?
Business Management & Interpersonal Acumen (13)
1. The predominance of our hiring is at the undergraduate level. Our workforce
tends to be very flexible in that capacity. We do limited hiring of Edwards
Bus Mgmt&
Interpersonal
Acumen
21%
Qualified IT
Talent
17%
Paradigm Shift
to
Competency-
Based Delivery
13%
Broader &
Deeper
Partnerships
11%
Engineers &
Related
8%
Healthcare
3%
Grad Degrees
3%
Transition Vets
3%
STEM
3%
Bioscience Applications
3%
Project Managers
3%
Degreed Architects
3%
Metrics
2% Pub Admin
2%
Risk & Compliance
2% Lending Credit Training
2%
Baby Boomer
Replacements
2%

21. 18
students because accounting is not in their repertoire. We tend to hire students
that have proven academic excellence with high GPAs and campus
involvement or working hours part time - using time wisely in school is an
indicator of professional acumen and working in teams.
2. I wanted to have a turnkey management training class. Wanted our people to
come to them for high level mgmt. training or they would offer it and they
would come here. Neither KU nor anyone offers it here (management
fundamentals).
3. Curriculum around developing business acumen. We have brilliant engineers
by the thousands but don’t know how to management a project, people or
markets. We have people who are smart that don’t have the academic
experience or work experience in areas of financial acumen, people
management, project management, leadership and development.
4. From the entrepreneurship people, when it comes to talent, we
have/entrepreneurs need basic training on how to manage a business. Many
are past HS or College. There are a lot of orgs providing it; the Small Business
Development Center at JCCC is already doing it. From a talent perspective, you
need management talent
5. Continuing employee development and education is something we encourage.
We have a tuition reimbursement program and we publicize it and encourage
their continued development. Want new ways of organizational thinking and
new ideas.
6. I am not sure of what all they have to offer. Being a local company in the area
we provide employees the benefit of reimbursing for degree related programs
and we have a lot of employees taking advantage of that. One area is executive
education programs. Could not find that content at KU. UMKC has an
executive education program for leadership. E.g. finance for the non-finance
manager, accelerated development. They are multiple day or week long
programs. Have business focused content and leadership development;
combination of functional knowledge and soft skills.
7. What we need from KU Edwards is to help us maximize our high potential
candidate pool and we want to hire veterans. We need to make sure KU

22. 19
Edwards is developing veterans.
8. We are in the service industry and with the changing demographics and a
younger demographic for us, we need people who can find the balance of
excellent communication skills and interpersonal skills with technology. The
younger generation is lightning-quick but multi task lighting quick - I need
those who do both well due to technology. If you are missing those
relationship skills it can hinder you.
9. Where I have challenge is having people understand a sense of urgency is key
and that is why people with technology skills understand it. They get
immediate response and associations are headed in that direction to get a quick
response so they don’t go to the next one. You have to relate to someone in a
personal way in addition to the technical skills - more emphasis should be
placed on interpersonal skills.
10.The hardest part for me when I look at the knowledge sets; we need
social/interpersonal skills, executive presence, awareness, a lot of soft skills that
don’t get captured in a class.
11.Qualified candidates, we need more of that going forward. Candidates that are
interested in a variety of different fields and those that are entrepreneurial in
nature. Those going to school are not as entrepreneurial. I can find accountants
and auditors; I need people who are more well-rounded.
12.One of my people is teaching class at KUE with Osher. Trying to make
connections and enhance our brand. One of the most valuable assets is the
KU Brand. Having a KU degree or connection is very valuable. What we’ve
got are we have a lot of younger people and we want to improve their
management and personnel skills and also technical skills analyzing loans. Our
people have lending relationships. We also need more marketing and new
business development skills - sales and loans. I have people here who are not
all degree candidates but classes that relate to new business development and
cross selling.
13.If there is a more traditional program is an executive MBA or certificate with
strategic global management practices.

23. 20
Qualified IT Talent (11)
1. I don’t think we are any different than a lot of industries. We need IT is an area
we struggle the most in. Finding qualified folks and higher education does not
always teach the on the job stuff.
2. Anything in the IT sector,
3. What we need the most would be talent primarily in the broad area of
technology. Software development, systems management, IT in particular. KU
can provide some of that but there is an opportunity for the non-degree people
that I think often overlooked.
4. We need software developers, system engineers who are ready to work in a vast
changing and relatively ambiguous environment. We hire at the Bachelor
levels. Beyond that we have data scientists on a smaller scale.
5. Still our #1 need is software engineering and IT. By far that is our biggest area
of demand. Software engineering refers to the hardware side of things
6. Our member employers' greatest workforce need is highly qualified technical
and IT people.
7. I will speak on behalf of our members, the #1 is talent: 1) Attract; 2) Retain; 3)
Grow the pipeline. Many CTOs, at companies big and small, success is based
on their ability to do those three things
8. It is nascent and we have a growing cluster around IT and it is not connected
to the academic strengths of the university system.
9. There is a need for programmers. Tech companies are looking for specific
computer talent, with software engineering and computer programming.
Firmware comes up too. Wearable technology takes both firmware and
software. You are often working more than just a software application. Coding
schools are needs. One group that I know working on that is KC Next. That is
the talent side. Right now there are 1965 openings for tech jobs and 950
graduates in the region.

24. 21
10.Its workforce; its qualified and employment ready resources. I differentiate
between those two: Do they have the right skills in KC with the evolving tech
landscape and are they ready to hit the ground running?
11.STEM needs are immediate and with IT in particular, not so much the
computer science degrees but much more nimble, not even at the associates
degree level. Resoundingly we need more programming people. At the height
of the recession, people declared manufacturing is dead. We had owners
showing up at our campus asking for people, there is a huge rebirth in
manufacturing. Manufacturing, STEM with IT in particular with programmers.
Paradigm Shift to Competency-Based Delivery (8)
1. The old model was HS and 4 yrs. of college and get a job and that is out of date
and KUE knows this with the degree in 3 program and that is a huge step in
the right direction. The more KU Edwards can break the mold and the way it
was done and the more they can be reflective of the businesses and students
and address those needs without the 100s of yrs. of precedent, the better off
they will all be. It used to be about time spent and now it is about stuff
learned. A degree does not mean you have learned anything. Transitioning to
the entrepreneurial, fast changing model, KU Edwards can address that. The
fact KU Edwards is small, they can be the skunkworks and be the guys who
don’t follow the rules and set the pace and change how services are delivered in
the field of higher education and I sense Dave Cook will do that. If you are in
higher education you think of KU Lawrence, KU Edwards, MU, JCCC and
that is a perspective of the provider but the consumer perspective is "How do I
get this done." If it takes a collaborative of two or three, that’s appropriate.
KU Edwards can break down those barriers.
2. From the large organizations context, we would really like to have the
relationship with our students do 2 years here and 2 years at KU Edwards. That
relationship would be wonderful. From a CE standpoint, referrals back and
forth. Sharon and I have talked about this. We could certainly share
information about trends in the workforce. We are meeting monthly.
3. We do have a lot of staff that live out that way. Convenience and flexible
classes. I wanted to have a turnkey management training class. Wanted our

25. 22
people to come to them for high level mgmt. training or they would offer it and
they would come here. Neither KU nor anyone offers it here (management
fundamentals).
4. We do have a lot of staff that live out that way. Convenience and flexible
classes.
5. We have a growing cluster around architecture and engineering. It is nascent
and we have a growing cluster around IT and it is not connected to the
academic strengths of the university system. If Edwards is simply looking to
see what additional degrees it can offer to the KC market, it is limiting its
vision. KU Edwards needs to figure out to put the IP on its campus that is
scholar based. If KU Edwards simply offers more classes and degrees with
more adjunct professors it is under reaching. There is so much more KU
Edwards can do that is strategically connected with the Metro. That only
occurs in KU is with the med center and the engineering community. Beyond
that KU Edwards is not positioned as a university but as a campus or
classroom building.
6. They will need flexibility and a willingness to work with them. Employers will
want to be in the driver's seat. CE differs a lot from regular faculty. CE will
need to be flexible and much more receptive. Businesses don’t want to waste
their time and will go on to the next resource. It used to be captive and
technology has negated that.
7. In order to capture that transient student body, there is a need for online
courses. They will not do it otherwise. It used to be 60 to 70% had a Master’s
and with 10 years of war it is now at 30%coming in and about 83% when they
graduated (MS of Military Science).
8. Quality education, flexibility - our employees are working in the field traveling
and looking for a program with on ground and online is usually what that is.
Quality, reputation, flexibility. Apart from those seeking degrees we also have
one-off needs. For example, UMKC offers short courses for a day on a topic.
We need that as well. We are not looking at KU at this time for that because
we look at KU as a place to get a degree. KU has a professional development
series of 12 weeks one offs, can take it ala carte. It is worth two professional
development hours and taught by a KU instructor; we love it onsite. We need

26. 23
options to send people to PMP prep and/or PE prep when we don't have
internal options to meet someone's need.
Broader & Deeper Community/Business Partnerships (7)
1. You are the first person from the KU Edwards side that had called on us to ask
what we need to do to build a relationship.
2. Candidly they are probably behind. I think UMKC is more aggressive and so it
MCC with interaction and collaboration with business. They are late out of the
gate. The best thing they have going is engineering is in demand and KU
Lawrence has a good business school dean. The Johnson County campus has
been an ivory wall and has not done outreach.
3. First and foremost I would assume they would need KU to understand their
individual business environments and what their needs are. They need
someone reaching out to them so when they come to KU they have context.
4. You can land anywhere on that one. We interact with transportation, logistics,
environmental issues/ecology, land use, public safety and public administration
and early childhood and aging issues along with architecture and planning.
Those are the disciplines we interact with. Economic
development/community/urban development, are others we work in. In terms
of our institutional relationships, I feel like we have an opportunity with KU
Edwards/KU Lawrence to partner in a more sophisticated way around
research, internships, etc. Ours is driven more by professors than sophisticated
relationships with the University of KS. That could easily occur through
Edwards if the depth was there. Most historically has been in the Med School
or Lawrence. I am eager to see the JCERT vision come to reality because it is
so good for the region. It represents an opportunity to invest and partner in a
more sophisticated way in civic objectives. We have done this with KU for
many years but it has been done largely with individual professors in Lawrence.
Institutional wide would be even better. I think one step further, and talk in
terms of the civic capacity. The metro area does not have a major university
but we have KU KSU and UMKC, we have an opportunity to develop a
partnership based on their respective roles and how they fit into our economy.

27. 24
5. We don’t have any specific partnership with KU Edwards. We are in the
process to figure out a workforce development plan.
6. The other things are connections and collisions. We see a lot of that going on
in the crossroads. KU Edwards is almost a destination for people to go to
Crossroads if you are going to generate connections and collisions with like-
minded people. KU Edwards could do a lot to activate this in their own
neighborhood. We do find there are a number of people starting businesses in
that area. The companies funded with equity funding are in their area. It is
down the I-35 corridor. From an entrepreneurship perspective there are
companies growing in that direction especially with smaller growth companies
of 20+ employees. Once growth sets in these companies need help in
managing change and growth and leadership. The bigger you get the harder it is
to communicate.
7. We need facilities, learning space & faculty
Engineers & Related Fields (5)
1. We have a growing cluster around engineering.
2. The biggest theme on workforce development all throughout KC is engineers
and IT engineers. There have been conversations with KU Lawrence about it.
What you heard from the engineering firms, there is a need for all engineering
students of all types. While the engineering firms compete, they are really
competing in the academic institutions for seats in the classroom. I would say
engineers of all types but especially high tech electrical engineers.
3. We also need engineers in public works, environmental side.
4. Most recently in engineering and construction. JE Dunn has added $600 mm
in new business and will be at $3 billion. Engineering technology is also a huge
need (E-tech) with people who can do CAD and KU Edwards can build years
3 and 4 with 2+2 with a BA in engineering tech.
5. Our largest need in this region is on the technology side in engineering and
CAD drafting.

28. 25
Healthcare (2)
1. Health will be growing as well.
2. We have direct care providers for those with disability needs. We also employ
nurses in the public health.
Graduate Degrees (2)
1. For all the Feds in KC, we work for every Federal agency in govt. I really think
that two focuses are needed: 1) the graduate programs are of increasing
importance to us. We have seen an arms race of degrees in the Fed govt. It is
not uncommon for our people to have Master's degrees. 6-7 years ago we saw a
significant uptick in applicant volume due to perceived security. It was 50 apps
per vacancy and it is now averaging 375-400 per application. Given that fact
and the changing demographics of our candidate pool, we have the highest
ratio of veterans since WWII. We are seeing more candidates in the pool and
more competition due to sequestration. It is a tight market in the Fed govt.
The candidates we gravitate towards are people with professional experience
and academic performance at a grad level - many with military service. You
give me a candidate with demonstrated relevance in their degree with military
experience; I can put them in the Fed government today. Undergrad programs
will be important to an existing set of our workforce. Where we have a legacy
workforce, new people coming in have grad degrees and the existing employees
realize they need graduate degrees: Business Admin (MBA), IT (MSIT), Public
Administration (MPA). We can hire current into jobs for which they qualify
and much more easily that those who have graduated. We are going and finding
students with good professional work experience going back to get their BA or
MS/MA. Let them finish their degrees while working full time for us while
getting their degrees. We do that routinely now for mid-grade (GS11 & 12)
positions at $70 to $75K per year to start. We hire former AVPs from Sprint
for example. That is a vehicle we are using more extensively across the govt.
2. I have seen other schools do this because I am in the clinical research space.
There is a Master's around clinical research. A customer calls and wants people

29. 26
to continue their credentials, and it would be icing on the cake and it would get
them to the level employers want. It is a market KU Edwards would benefit
from. Because we are in the middle of the country it would be a great place to
do it (something around Clinical Research).
Transition Veterans into the Workforce (2)
1. It is harder now to hire a non-veteran candidate at any point in the last 25
years. It is a fact. Our veteran hiring has gone up in the last 5 years. The rule
changes to Fed hiring in the last 10 years makes it harder for someone without
military experience to get a job. Emphasis on folks in the mid careers with
military experience while going to school or folks without military experience in
mid-career going to school.
2. What kind of programs do we have that can help military officers transition
into the workplace. Most of these guys have graduate degrees but may need a
grad certificate in finance or an MBA so when they go out and interview they
understand the terms and conditions of business. Spouses often get
overlooked and people here have a spouse with a degree and they need to
know while their husband is in school for a year, what schooling can they get
here and what type of credit for a particular degree. That is a dynamic and
transitional thing. I bet there is probably a central core of things that are
needed. Probably a core set of disciplines such as nursing, education and
business. Leavenworth is a graduate school for 10 mos. and teaches all
branches and all agencies of the govt. and 60 foreign military officers. You
have about 1,300 students that come through here each year. The Army has
gradually moved more of its education to Leavenworth. The students don’t
stay here for long but the staff and faculty is here for the army civilian
university.
STEM (2)
1. We need individuals with strong STEM backgrounds.
2. We have a very diverse workforce here and our critical needs are in the STEM
related fields: IT, Engineering, Skilled Crafts (linemen). We have needs for

30. 27
professionals in accounting and marketing but our real need is in STEM. That
is our critical need.
Practical Bioscience Applications (2)
1. On the other end, the biggest thing is actual hands on experience with
analytical instrumentation experience. When it comes to the sciences it is so
valuable. Many want the method experience with OJT and formal training. The
actual industry as far as openings..... These companies want candidates with
GMP, GLP and GCP experience. These are buzzwords and people want
candidates with 6 weeks experience of hands on experience. More and more
cos need direct experience. We are the third largest animal health market
globally and the market will continue to grow. Something with animal vs.
human. Everything from the medicine to the food has ties to KC. People could
benefit from the animal world. If there is a program with a specific application
that pertains to the needs of the employer, it will make a huge difference. (E.g.
grooming, feeding, injection for animal health).
2. It is workforce development for the life science industry. Career professional
development activities. I think the structure of their class schedule and so
forth provides an appropriate venue for people still in the workforce looking
for new employment and continue to do career development.
Project Managers (2)
1. Project management.
2. As technology evolves, people who are skilled at Project Management, project
efficiencies, lean to take advantage of technology.
Degreed Architects (2)
1. To be honest, I don’t know if we need much. But we need professional
degreed architects with 5 year program and KU Edwards does not provide that.

31. 28
90% of our hires are degreed architects.
2. We have a growing cluster around architecture.
Local Market Metrics (1)
1. The timing is good - we are starting strategic planning. We are growing and
our organization and it is a reflection of the architecture community and we are
seeing firms working, hiring, expanding and all of this growth has come up
relatively quickly from the recession. As it occurs, we could benefit as a
chapter what the local market is doing and what are the economic trends
regionally that would be pertinent to our folks. For my org and easily digestible
market metrics that can be consumed easily that I can kick out to my members
for our strategic plan.
Public Administration (1)
1. I am looking at it from a narrow view from the public admin area, with an org
with 3,800 people (3rd largest employer in the county). The skill sets vary
depending on the areas they are in. I think we need to have people trained to
replace those who are retiring. Our largest area is in public safety. The Law
Enforcement Academy was used and now our Sheriff wants a different
direction. Law enforcement, corrections, medical first responders (paramedics).
That niche has been taken care of JCCC and then we have people in the
helping professions, mental health, case workers, social service etc. We get
most of those from KU. Skilled laborers handle 2/3s of the county’s waste
water services. We need laborers that can do machinery operation, lab
technicians as well as workers in public works such as truck drivers. If you
were to take the state of KS org chart and eliminate education, we would be a
mirror of that. We have appraisers - we need qualified appraisers. We have
such a diverse workforce; it is hard to say a single need. Oracle is our
enterprise system as well; we had to do recruiting there. Our top areas:
Appraisers, IT, Nursing.

32. 29
Risk & Compliance Training (1)
1. Risk and compliance is growing.
Lending/Credit Training (1)
1. The challenge is we have so many different lines of business. Some can give
OJT, if I am going to focus on one piece of it on a lending side; there is a
desperate need to for a high-quality credit training program. We have a
program in place for 40 years and one of the few sustained training programs in
the country. KU undergrad or this can establish a program that fits a credit
training program you will have banks knocking down their door for candidates.
For every economic down cycle, banks will sacrifice their training programs. As
an industry you don’t have a training program in this area that is of value to
lending institutions. Generally speaking these are in house programs. There are
some external programs but nothing locally accessible.
Baby Boomer Replacements (1)
1. We hire accountants but we are currently not looking at KU Edwards to turn
out accountants. To some degree our organization is structured around hiring
entry level accountants or seasonal persons who are experienced and new. We
need replacements for the aging baby boomers.

33. 30
2. Last spring, KU assigned all of Continuing Education to
the KU Edwards campus. This gives KU Edwards the
ability to deliver customized training in hybrid formats;
online and onsite to meet employer needs. How
significant is this for your organization?
Very Significant (14)
1. Absolutely, the more we can bring it to our site the better. The more content is
blended gives us flexibility and not sit more in a classroom. It is a very
appealing feature for us.
2. I think it is huge. To move CE closer to the industries that it supports is big.
3. First looking at the county as a community of interest, as a consumer it would
be tremendous. On the employment side for our workers, it is as beneficial as
well but I am having a hard time figuring out what are the offerings being
made. What are the online training courses? We need oracle, appraisal training,
etc.
Very
Significant
37%
It Depends
24%
It's
Significant
21%
Not
Significant
16%
Other
2%

34. 31
4. It is huge. It takes an important part of education and moves it out of the
bureaucracy of KU Lawrence and puts into the heart of the economy of our
region.
5. Extremely, to our membership and to our community; anytime you reduce
barriers for people to get an education it closes the divide.
6. It is key because I think that environments as they become more
entrepreneurial need broader skill sets. In the tech industry you don’t need a 4
year degree to earn good money and an emphasis needs to be placed on hybrid
programs with 3-4 skill sets. More jobs are created by small business and you
will be asked to serve 2 to 3 different roles. I like to hire utility players - people
who can play multi roles.
7. I think if we know what they are offering it would be very significant. The
opportunity to have professionals pick up additional degrees becomes very
important. E.g. and engineer picking up a business degree or vice versa. The
cross-degree opportunities are going to become much more important. We are
seeing in this community a blend of business, engineering and higher Ed.
8. The answer is I think that would be highly valuable, the reason is these days
people are so busy with their work/family/community lives; it is difficult for
them to take out a year or two years to block out evenings in a classroom.
With technology, you can do a lot on line. The onsite piece is very appealing to
employers.
9. I think it is really significant. Onsite and online - employers need and want that.
It helps them more readily support employees with training while on work
time, vs leaving the workplace. You can do online whenever at your
convenience. For employers with national and international cos is huge to
deliver.
10.I think it is probably a big deal. One of the area s they specialize in is in
engineering and KC has more engineers per capita in the USA.
11.Critical. Nobody is going to drive to KU Edwards to get a Master’s if they
don’t have to. If KU establishes themselves in Leavenworth, you will get a lot

35. 32
of MO students coming here from Platt City and et al. In addition, spouses
will come and they want a better education than they have now. Spouses and
military. IF they can continue it when they move, you get a win-win. Logistics
officers know about KUs Master's in Logistics and have to go to KU to get
that. Only a few commute to take advantage of it. If it was here, a lot more
will participate. The idea of involving spouses, they can take classes in the day
more than the evening and weekends. I mentioned to David and Mary there
are a lot of faculty in the area to teach these courses. We have guys retiring off
the fort to teach. You have a student and potential faculty population right
here.
12.I think it is huge. I think bringing that program in the metro instead of housing
it a Lawrence brings tremendous value. I see it as a fresh start for the whole CE
program as well. There have been some positive shakeup because of the move
and it opens up new markets.
13.For KC it is great. No other university is planting a flag like that.
14.I think it will be very significant. The phenomenon is we have is a very mobile
workforce that travels internationally. We need online learning that people can
pick up anywhere in the world they can get in KC.
It Depends (9)
1. It is useful but it is half of the equation. Continuing Education will be about.....I
feel like if CE was tied to the real time demands of employers creating new
certifications and new competency based programs to help companies grow
and thrive, that’s great. I have not yet seen that articulated. What I have seen is
more coursework rather than real-time ways to meet the needs of the employer
community. I am involved with Park, KSU, KU and UMKC. We need more
certification and competency based curriculum less oriented towards a degree.
I have not seen not very much product come out of those 4 institutions.
2. It depends on who their market it. It depends on what they are going to offer.
Right now people are hungry for coding schools. I would talk to Garmin.
3. It has the potential to be very significant if and when KU Edwards does their

36. 33
legwork becoming easily accessible to the Fed Govt. KU Edwards gets on Fed
contracts as custom training providers - it is an administrative process. Have to
publish fees and a proposal and goes to a government website. The #1
consideration for Fed agencies looking for training providers, is can they access
you - rules for procuring training for the Feds create tremendous hurdles for
any business wanting to do business with us, unless an MBE/WBE. We look
for something that costs less than $3000 and can put on a credit card. Online a
lot of times you can get below that $3000 threshold.
4. We charge our agency clients for everything we do - we write proposals and
have a direct interagency agreement. If you are on the outside looking into the
Feds is tough - get on the GSA schedule and they have a number of schedules
for the Feds to procure goods and services. Another thing is to hook up with a
Federal Service Reimbursement Provider such as OPM's center for leadership
development and they can subcontract to private sector vendors. They do the
due diligence with Federal agencies for a 1 to 3% fee. Money well spent.
Anything more than $3000 all agencies have to go out to bid. All the
contracting offices are backed up due to job cuts and sequestration; you need
to be on an expedited vehicle. Otherwise it is an onerous process. We already
have prequalified vendors.
5. It would be very significant if they could do it right. They need to make sure
they have reliable feedback on the trainers they hire. KC is full of people who
say they are leadership experts but have not or have been successful.
6. It may potentially have significance. I need to know what type of certifications
they have and do observations in the field. From a large perspective in our
HQ, I am not aware of any need currently.
7. I don’t know that we have necessarily explored that. It could be. There is an
area of our company we expect significantly to audit healthcare for Medicaid
payments monitoring. As government healthcare grows so does the audit
function. Healthcare finance monitoring.
8. We as a profession have to have continuing education. CE opportunities that
meet the state licensure and AIA requirements. The way most of our people get
them are with lunch and learns. Industry has taken care of a lot of that - partner
with the AIA?

37. 34
9. Quality education, flexibility - our employees are working in the field traveling
and looking for a program with on ground and online is usually what that is.
Quality, reputation, flexibility. Apart from those seeking degrees we also have
one off needs. For example, UMKC offers short courses for a day on a topic.
We need that as well. We are not looking at KU at this time for that because
we look at KU as a place to get a degree. KU has a professional development
series of 12 weeks one offs, can take it ala carte. It is worth two professional
development hours and taught by a KU instructor; we love it onsite. We need
options to send people to PMP prep and/or PE prep when we don't have
internal options to meet someone's need.
It’s Significant (8)
1. It is significant. With most professional sectors and people are wanting to
advance their careers and they cannot step out of the workplace. They need
flexibility and our folks are geared to that and consume a lot of AIA curriculum
online. There is an expectation level that all those tools are being employed in
an effective way with a degree or certificate at the end.
2. I think it captures a whole new market of the actively working candidate that
does not have to drive to Lawrence. It is a bonus; most people cannot afford to
now work and go to school. It is significant.
3. Do they do onsite customized programs for an employer? That is of interest to
me in the technical fields, like engineering and project management. This to
teach them technical and management skills. I will be interested in exploring it
more.
4. I think the flexibility to deliver the curriculum is important. From a personal
learning preference, I myself get more out of interaction onsite. Discussion
with fellow participants works well for me but others do it well with remote,
electronic means. If it is a partnership with our company and KU Edwards
creating curriculum in a partnership, the flexibility on the delivery is beneficial
to do something with our employees during the work time. The flexibility adds
more value. What we might try to do is to accommodate each employee based
on their learning styles. That is the biggest advantage.

38. 35
5. It makes a difference. My perceptions is Osher is more oriented towards
retirees and it is continuing education. To the extent there are things that would
be good ongoing programs.......and idea, we have Rockhurst Continuing
education and they have been successful going to companies and selling them
technical training (e.g. sexual harassment). They sell a package of courses for a
set fee.
6. I think it is obviously better positioned in KC vs Lawrence. There is a
significant workforce in Johnson County. It makes sense.
7. It is significant.
8. We have two dedicated trainers but we have partnered with JCCC & UMKC to
develop a customized program. We received training dollars from the State.
Had a day in the life of management to see what management is like. The ratio
has been pretty good and put 30 people through it. With UMKC we did 3
cohorts of 6 mos. programs with senior leadership/professional development.
We did a hi-potential and future leader program in-house. We do bring in
outside speakers and there are opportunities for KU Edwards.
Not Significant (6)
1. I would say probably no. We have so much learning in house; we typically
don’t use external training facilities.
2. It is not a huge issue for us but it is a nice thing to know. I did not know that
before.
3. As a continuing assuming they have a bachelor's, it is insignificant, because we
don’t require ongoing education and we provide OJT for people to be
competent. We have a position for a mid-skilled workforce in medical billing
not required by us but that is a small percentage of the workforce. We can find
them in this market. Formal education is not in high demand with our
organization anymore with upward mobility; assuming you have that baseline
bachelor's.

39. 36
4. I don't know if it is, most of the folks we have are already past that because
they are already CPAs. I can see how that is significant for our clients who have
their own accountants but who are not as qualified and need more background
and education and having the flexibility of online would be helpful for them,
not as much for us.
5. As it stands today, “ no.” I don’t know anyone that utilized the programs of
CE. We don’t use that.
6. For CE probably not as important for us. We are in a market that is pretty fast
moving and most of the folks we hire will keep up on it on their own to a
degree. When I was in Silicon Valley, the CE courses were valuable, leading,
thought leader.......if there was something cutting edge it is more applicable.
Our people are advanced but if they had a thought leadership area, we could do
that, such as gamification theory. It develops games as apps that people cannot
put down.
Other (1)
1. KU has been way behind the curve on this online and KU has a great brand in
this community. People love the affiliation.

40. 37
3. Are there technology-based delivery modes that work
best for your organization?
Online (15)
1. Not through KU Edwards but we do a ton of online WebEx training to click
through links. That is how we deliver training in our organization. Distance
learning.
2. Yes. You will find a cornucopia of management systems in the Feds such as
Plateau, the Army has one; deals with SCORM compliance. It is the industry
standard language for training modules that can plug into the Fed system.
Larger agencies like to plug training into their systems. Ones that are
compatible with the Federal government systems (57 of them). Generally when
you are creating content, as long as it meets industry standards, it will work.
Your IT security and technology will need to be up to date for webcasts, online
content etc.
3. Not so much, but it would be for my clients. Our clients are in of constant
need of flexible opportunities upgraded skillsets, flexible timing. The downside
Online
42%
Flipped
Courses
33%
Don't Know
14%
Online &
Flipped
5%
All
3%
Other
3%

41. 38
to a classroom is it is a fixed time and people have to work late.
4. I would imagine for KU Edward’s clientele, they would be at the higher end
and would be just fine with online or distance delivery.
5. Webinars are what is customary for us. That is what people expect. Probably
online.
6. Online and really depending on the population, mobile on a tablet or a phone.
Some of these people are in man camps in Saudi Arabia.
7. Internally the different modes we use are webinars so they can get training
where they are. Mobile is huge for us for our people in the field to pull up on
our mobile devices.
8. Access to online courses and mobile technology. We don’t currently develop
training that is mobile friendly but it is trending towards that direction.
9. One of the big training needs we have are compliance for regulatory needs with
banking and it is with a company with a sophisticated online system. Having
products like that packaged is needed. The goal is everybody is getting the
backbone of a system that shows our employees took the course, completed it
and passed it.
10.Online is a good way and you can tailor it around your job, everyone has
technology right now.
11.Our technology is somewhat cumbersome on how it connects. We are trying to
be more mobile for 24/7 to work around our people’s schedules. Our people
are not dependent on everything being on their iPad yet. Comfortable but not
totally converted to it.
12.Certainly PC training. Specifically, online. Time-shifted, place-shifted lessons.
Consume at your own pace/time. The ability to do distance learning to bring
people to the classroom that may not be there (physically) to present.
13.We have eLearning (Learn.com) to push out eLearning and video based classes.

42. 39
14.Internet, online is good.
15.Online classes will work well with Hispanics; we are further ahead with tech
due to finances. We may not have a computer at home but an iPhone. We are
the largest users of mobile technology. Our challenge is we don’t have a
computer in the house but tablet are growing. Using Skype etc. America is
going to where Hispanics are already at.
Flipped Courses (12)
1. Online typically is very effective - flipped courses with a leader/teacher. Work
1/2 time and go to school 1/2 time like a Cerner works.
2. I would say that still in our world are support programs that have classes in
person. Tech training is difficult to do on line and people want to work in
teams. Techies regularly work with other - oftentimes interacting electronically.
3. I think the more we can use web-based training that can be accessed
throughout the day are really valuable. There is also a value in doing at a
leadership level doing personal continuing education. I did executive education
training at UVA School of Management. You live on nice housing on campus
for a week and interact with peers and establish peer relationships for years. I
think the electronic training is very valuable but it is also valuable to have
people to physically work together for long term relationships.
4. Given the makeup or our organization, we have a large contingent of
employees out in the field with limited access. Our linemen do have electronic
means in the field but when we do technical training there is a lot of hands on.
Our people choose a job out in the field and their preference is not to sit in
front of a computer all day. I am thinking our skilled craft people are much
more hands on and would appreciate more interactive learning. Our corporate
office would appreciate the expanded mobile and online capabilities.
5. I tend to be.....in skill building I like the idea on online courses and testing.
What it doesn’t do, things that require critical thinking and examination of
thought that is hard to do online. Even relational skills/leadership skills are
hard to teach online. We do those in person. I do think for people going back

43. 40
to school online could be a good supplement but you also need to bring people
together - depending on what the topic is. One of the things that concern me
if everything is done online, most of the things we do are face to face. The idea
of classroom activity and role playing are needed and we do a lot of that.
6. You have to hit us in two different realms: Some like the tech, others like face-
to-face. We are social people. Don’t underestimate that aspect with the
Hispanic community. It also depends on the demographic they are going after
- Hispanic is broad.
7. I would say our people would like something that gives them as much flexibility
as possible to do at their leisure. Our feedback from our customers is they get
the most value on -site because they are not distracted. Classroom training is
retro but high value since it helps people focus. I think there is a lot of value
when you bring people together in teams. Doing onsite without distractions
that can keep it valuable. KU Edwards can stand out by not following where
everyone else is going. Do something counterintuitive like blending classroom
with online - there is value with not following the herd.
8. I am not big on IT or long distance communication. My preference is there
needs to be hands on and a collaborative face to face environment. Long
distance learning is here to stay but the higher value is face-to-face collaborative
learning. These certificate universities for profit are in trouble and there is an
opportunity for businesses to refocus on quality education that is cost
competitive.
9. Obviously you want people who can manipulate and maneuver in that realm
but you need personal interaction in that process. You need both.
10.We would expect there is a 21st century approach where there are blended
models where appropriate. We are growing as an international workforce and
we need technology for delivery of learning for those populations. We are
working on that internally as well.
11.I know that every university is delivering on line coursework and getting better.
We are moving into an era where info transfer is carried out online. It is a
natural trend and young people are comfortable with it. Is there a best? I don’t
know. My experience from a distance is online delivery has not demonstrated a

44. 41
quality across the board as universally as in person instruction. It could be
possible. My sense is what is emerging is a hybrid model. It's like reading a
book in advance of class. That seems to be the trend.
12.If it can be something that is comparable what they are used to - you need to
go see the state of the art facility we have. They are used to small group
instruction with the adult learning model in Leavenworth support by a
worldwide IT system. One degree offered on post by KSU is the adult
learning model. What the students don’t want are PowerPoints thrown at them.
The case method of teaching is preferred (3 hour class with one question on
the board). Talk with Jim Willbanks at KU and Jim Martin. One added point -
there is an opportunity for KU to learn here. When I watch the staff and
faculty listen to General Perkins, they learned a great deal about what the Army
has to offer as lessons learned for KU. People have done things from combat,
civil security/disturbance, nursing, etc. People have international real world
experience and they are exposed to different types of medicine and education.
Exposure to different cultures. The faculty at KU could learn a lot about what
goes on here with the school of Advanced Military Studies. I will tell you it is
very leading edge and the military really values education and puts a lot of
money into it. We have certification programs for the Army. (E.g. Sexual
Harassment Assault Retention Prevention)
Don’t Know (5)
1. I don’t know what they are.
2. I don’t know.
3. I don’t know. I am a face to face guy but in today’s world, younger generations
are different with technology. Tech is just now starting to take off with
education and it can be bundled with online courses. You can have multiple
schools.
4. I think that is still evolving. We do some virtual education with our kids and we
have not figured it out yet. It is probably a hybrid of video modules with
assessment built in with contact with a real person. I don’t know that anybody
has totally figured it out. It depends on the individual.

45. 42
5. Not necessarily.
Online & Flipped Courses (2)
1. We do pure online and we do some mixed hybrid classes (flipped classroom).
We used to do a lot of ITV stuff with televised lectures with dedicated channels
but technology has left it in the dust.
2. For certain classes, yes (online), but not for people skills that require
interaction.
All of Them (1)
1. We have a training team that creates e-learning, web ex, we try to hit our staff
from all angle and we use them all.
Other (1)
1. Interestingly what we found from experience if you are startup company, you
take a five week in person class. Once they are up and running, it is hard to get
them to come in for training so mentoring and peer mentoring works. It is
difficult for us to get people to sit in a class once they become established. I
don’t know how many people have the e-MBA in small business vs.
corporations.

46. 43
4. Is on-site delivery at your location important for your
organization?
Yes (24)
1. If it were available, it would be a plus for sure. We have ongoing meetings that
are scheduled and having a content speaker would be good. Being here would
not be that big of an advantage. Having them here or on campus is a potential
plus.
2. Yes.
3. Preferred in order to hit a larger audience and a better use of everybody's time,
yes. Only if there is content we can benefit from. If I take a class because I
can walk across the hall at 5:15 and take a class, vs driving to campus at 6:30
then it makes a difference.
4. Yes, definitely.
5. I think yes. We are starting to see a request for that with our corporate
Yes
67%
It Depends
22%
No
11%

47. 44
partners. We are delivering leadership modules to them on site and that is a
model where we think we can grow.
6. Yes. Delivery onsite and onsite interaction between the professors and students
in the field they are studying is critical and essential. All coursework does not
have to be delivered in that way.
7. Absolutely, yes!
8. We find in what we do is more people do onsite vs online. We have also done
blended programs with FastTrack blended venture to chemical engineers and
that was fairly successful.
9. I think that you will find your clients will want it as convenient as possible for
them and it can be a part of it. That is why online classes are more popular. We
are going to have to determine with all these buildings in higher education.
10.I think it is; we hear that.
11.Absolutely.
12.Yes, again but a lot of it we do ourselves. Technical training from an onsite
perspective, we already have vendors doing it for us. We do some of that
currently.
13.Yes.
14.I think so. If it is something specific for us, you bet.
15.It is still important but is less important that what it was because we cannot go
places but rely more on video and online training. The Feds got hammered
when the GSA bought clowns and champagne in Vegas, now we have to justify
everything and it has crippled us to send our people somewhere to train. To
have people come on site - face-to-face we cannot go offsite easily without
jumping through a number of hoops. It severely impacts our ability to take
customized training offsite. However, we have tons of conference facilities for
training.

48. 45
16.Yes, delivering this in the City of Leavenworth outside the gate is a major
advantage for KU. Doing it on post eliminates a lot of people. KU would
lower its academic standards to go on post.
17.We have facilities here; I think it would be a nice offering.
18.I think it is a growing need. It is less disruptive to the workforce.
19.I think so, definitely, that is the preference. We have done some classes with
Arizona office. The preference is to do it in KC. To ask people to go off of
campus is a challenge and we have the facility space here. The beauty with KU
Edwards is they have the available space too.
20.It would be more likely with companies of scale that have the facility to do
something like that. I can see the bigger ones doing that because that will get
people to attract to their campus. Anything for exposure.
21.I think it is of value, yes.
22.It is extremely important and you are looking at HR departments looking at
incorporating their in-house programs with institutional learning.
23.Yes.
24.I think it certainly is. One thing they can offer, one company does not have to
develop a leadership program and just have KU Edwards come on site and
deliver it (CEVA). It is a menu of options that makes it attractive with industry.
Sometimes you need to train 3 and other times 30.
It Depends (8)
1. It could be in the area of technology.
2. I think for some people based on age or learning style, there is a place and
importance for it. I like being on a college campus and if I am pursuing a
degree, I like a place to show up. The human interaction still plays a role in
education.

49. 46
3. I think to the extent that it provides access to students and convenience it is. Is
it important in and of itself, vs. on campus, probably not? The importance has
to do with making it fast and easy for the students.
4. It can be if there is a program that if you were to partner with the AIA and
create some CE architecture- related programs. You can kill several birds with
one stone rather than going from office to office.
5. Not necessarily; it may be easier to do it here but we can go to the campus also.
6. We have found it is with our clients we do contract training with, 1/2 like it on
site.
7. I think so; it depends on the need of the company. If you can take it to them
that is a real plus instead of employees traveling with windshield time and
people can stay at work after work. That is a very positive option,
8. From a third party source, we don’t do a whole lot of that. We have them but
they are not on site. It is something we need to explore a little more; the
concept is intriguing to me. I assume it is for tailored learning?
No (4)
1. No.
2. No.
3. No, because we have OJT and we are spread out.
4. I don’t think so.

50. 47
5. What types of education programs are most important to
your organization? Examples include: degreed
programs, accelerated & flexible degreed programs,
certificate programs (for credit or not for credit),
professional development competency based training.
Certificate (9)
1. All of our employees have college degrees so I am not sure we are as interested
in more college degrees but certification type of training is good to augment a 4
year degree. If they want it to work toward a degree, it makes sense.
2. Professional/certification programs. We have people working on Bachelors
and an MBA programs but a lot of that is up to the employee. There are
certain certification programs such as business statement financial analysis. If
we had a certificate in something like that would have a benefit to us. CE
relative to marketing and sales ability.
3. If I go back to my previous statement that the jobs that keep me up at night are
Certificate
25%
Competency
Based
Training
14%
All
14%
Degreed & Cert
11%
Degreed
8%
Other
8%
Accelerated Degree
5%
Degreed & Comp
Based Trning
6%
Degreed & Accel
Degree
3%
Don't Know
3%
Cert & Comp Based
Trning
3%

51. 48
around STEM. I see certificates. 2/3 of our jobs are union and they do not
require a college degree but they do require high level skills. The IBEW which
represents all three of our locals are very dedicated to the development of their
members. To get into our door into those positions, you have to show that
aptitude. People are interested but aptitude tests are weighted towards, math,
mechanical and reading comprehension. Many are not getting it in HS. But if
they make an investment in the skills training, they are more likely to be
successful on the skills test and can get into the apprentice programs. Our
approach used to be was to find a whole bunch of people who are interested
and weed out 80% of them, but it is an expensive proposition to do that
testing. We are now looking at partnerships to run some training up front. We
are investing in people who have an interest but who make the investment up
front and their success rate for the pre-employment test goes way up. They are
demonstrating more initiative. Our positions in power plants pay very well. The
compensation of benefits that we pay is outstanding. It is not for everybody, it
is hot, dirty and a dangerous environment. Many people get in and get out. We
then have high turnover. People who show an interest in training are more
oriented toward the environment. And they have a higher retention rate.
Specific skill training and certificate programs are valuable to us. We do have
the need for IT and others with a 4 year degree. Many people don’t think of a
utility as a highly skilled environment. Such as accounting, legal, etc. What we
need the most are STEM certificate programs because of the types of jobs we
have to offer.
4. More and more, project management and prep for PMP certification - that is
becoming more important with virtually every fed agency. We rely heavily on
contractors to do the legwork for many of our initiatives. It has become more
important for someone to management it in an accountable, rigorous,
defensible manner (for our Fed employees). Often we have a small group of
Fed employees managing private sector firms doing the day-to-day work of the
Feds. To manage it, there is a Federal employee. That is who benefits from a
certified Project Manager. The skill and competencies with problem solving,
adapting, building stakeholder relationships and negotiating are valuable and
most critical competencies. Management skills - that is at every level of your
organization. That also raises a quick point; we often don’t need or buy
technical training in our areas of expertise, such as environmental compliance
for the EPA. That is what we do. Those things that make us effective in the
world of work are what we need - soft skills training.

52. 49
5. I would say the degree programs are least important, we do encourage
employees to provide that benefit but that is their benefit. The certificate
program is the most important to us. UMKC has an open to the public for
finance for the non-financial manager. We have a need to place persons in
existing courses at KU Edwards. People benefit from external perspective and
that is something we value.
6. We really don’t have....it’s not like healthcare.....we just don’t have that kind of
need to suggest that it would be utilized on a large scale. There isn’t a certificate
that says.....if you go to the Colorado School of Banking it is not as if I am in
financial planning I am a Certified Financial Planner. When it come from the
credit training side of the house, there is no industry certificate around now. It
is desperately needed. If I had a candidate who said I have my certificate credit
for credit analysis from KU, it would be a candidate I would take a close look
at.
7. All of that is important here and I believe 40% of our staff has masters and
PhDs. Most of our people are degreed before they get here - most are Masters.
Certificate programs are becoming more important for more
modern/contemporary tools. (E.g. to add on to existing degree).
8. All of them are definitely important but it depends on what arena. When it
comes to engineering, medical and architecture, MBAs we are not represented.
Only 2% of Hispanics have MBAs. That being said, where KU Edwards can
make the biggest impact is through the certificate classes as a stepping stone for
later education, that would by my focus. More and more the community
colleges and DeVry's are going aggressively going after the Hispanic market
such as nursing. What I am hearing from community leaders is bilingual police
officers. There is a gap in the community - the Hispanic community does not
know the entity and they don’t pursue it. Many already have a job and fear the
unknown.
9. I think PMP certificates, financial acumen, sales, leadership, certificates are
valued. Getting MBAs are OK but it is more effective to get target learning for
what is in demand now. We can integrate that into someone's career. Divide it
into levels that can be managed in steps and not take them offline. Allows
manageable career advancement opportunities.

53. 50
Competency Based Training (5)
1. Mostly competency based training because we already bring in degreed people.
We have high skilled/higher paying jobs that require a degree.
2. It is really competency based training and to maintain their licenses each year,
they need CE credits. AIAKC and nationally actually delivers the type of
continuing education they need. This is different than getting a PhD or Masters
in Architecture. The five year or six year with an undergrad and Masters. I am
making a distinction between and advance degree and CE. AIA will not
become a university. We have 1049 members currently and I don’t know if I
can name a person who got a 4 year program worked and then got their
Masters. If they get a Master's they get it up front.
3. I think technical types of training with CAD and Civil 3D technology; we can
never get enough of that.
4. It is more of your competency based training. Credentials are nice but
employers want competencies to get the job done.
5. I am not an expert in the business world but I would probably put the degree
programs at the bottom because my understanding of the business
environment is they are working for very quick, intense learning times and
employee enhancement of their skillset. From the employee side degrees are
important and it helps the person progress and change fields. On the business
side they are most concerned with how we rapidly train employees so they are
more productive. Maybe there is a mutual benefit to do both. My guess is you
are an engineer at B&V, they want you trained on the latest software or latest
market trends, not a Master’s.
All of Them (5)
1. I would assign equal weight to all of them. There is a need for all of them
2. It is hard for me to say what is most important. To some degree they are all

54. 51
important. Certification programs are very valuable and likewise degree
programs are very important. The flexibility is what is crucial for what is going
forward. The one size fits all model is not that well accepted in today's world.
3. All of the above. To rank them, I don’t think you can because the answer is
customized to a particular company. You cannot draw generalities by industry.
We are trying to develop capability and capacity to all modes to respond in a
custom fashion.
4. I think they all do. All of those in their specific ways are very important. The
acceleration of needs-based learning is one of the biggest needs. Degree
programs take too long. You have a lot of transitionary (sic) skills in the
workforce - how do you augment ones work experience quickly to make them
useful to the business. That is a growing need in the CE space.
5. In our industry you have to say all of the above. In our industry we have
certificate programs in health and safety. You have a continuous learning
commitment that is different and you have employees needing an additional
degree for a change in leadership and retraining.
Degreed and Certificate (4)
1. Degree and certificate. Certificate more in line with the non-revenue producing
staff in our office such as HR.
2. Executive MBA, MBA and product certification with hard certificates with a
series of courses.
3. The majority of people who are here have a bachelors and a lot go and get their
Masters & Ph.D. It depends, I see the certificate programs in the IT areas and
Project Management but I see less of that, some companies go for the PE but
that is not big for us. Could be for the other engineering companies.
4. Graduate degrees, some type of nursing certification for spouses. MPA is a
very good degree, many are becoming city managers. We also talked about
KCKCC here and they could roll up their Bachelor’s degree here. The target
audience at Ft. Leavenworth are grad degrees and grad certificates. The

55. 52
population here at FL are three categories: 1) Current students at Fort
Leavenworth; 2) Retirees 3) Permanent employees (military or civilian). Most
retirees have grad degrees. If you have certification towards a degree or
certification programs that give you a pay raise. What does one need to
transition to another career, especially with sequestration? Transitioning people
each year at Fort Leavenworth are over 700 a year and most are officers. That
does not mean they will stay but they are established here. Another category is
criminology, we have several prisons here. They human motivation psychology
management, they want interpersonal skills. The prisoners are smarter than the
guards. Off the Fort is the Federal prison system and they all hire off of each
other. At the University of St. Mary, they are looking at setting up courses for
the prison guards. They are looking for an Associates of Arts degree to give
them a leg up and give them credit toward a degree for career advancement.
Something that applies to everyone, in the army as an officer you come in a
basic branch and then go into a specialty. What you learn up to that point gives
you a foundation. If you were to have programs that give credit for that
practical experience, it would make for an easier transition into their field. They
would have a lot to contribute (e.g. Logistics, Operations)
Degreed (3)
1. Most of the people that we hire are CPA eligible. Most of the people that come
in are ready to be licensed and many have a Master's in accounting. We offer
tuition reimbursement for those pursuing an advanced degree. We have high
graduate level hiring.
2. I think you need to have the degree at the core of most professional positions.
There is some theory it is waning. It is not in engineering. Employers want
some evidence of a core competency in a field and evidence to produce in a
team environment, with collaborative, team, leadership and problem solving
skills beyond the discipline. Some of that is hard to teach and you have to
experience it. I talked to the HR director at Cerner and they are clear about
who they hire. They are looking at people who lived life beyond their
programming skills.
3. I would suspect from KU Edward’s standpoint, it would be the advanced
degrees that would go well with their brand recognition. You have a lot of

56. 53
professionals in Jo Co and they would take advantage of that opportunity.
Other (3)
1. One thing that all architect offices struggle with is getting the young staff
prepared to take their architecture exams for licensure. They normally take it 3
years after graduating. There are multiple categories of assistance that can be
offered to the profession.
2. Those are discreet identifiable programs provided by the education provider
and the questions is what the consumer wants.
3. What we see happening is from one-on-one counseling to accelerators. We
have 4 accelerators in town now. They are 90 day immersive programs for
business development for proof of concept and getting it to market. Sprint
Accelerator, Data Blocks, SparkLabKC and ThinkBig Partners. It is a different
delivery system to get the company to move forward but I don’t know if it fits
the accredited structure of the university.
Accelerated Degree (2)
1. I think there needs to be flexibility other than a straight 4 year program such as
an accelerator program or something that gives the ability to accelerate due to
work experience. I see a lot of people who want a different MBA model that
takes in life experience so the barriers are not prohibitive to participate.
2. We have a philosophical debate with experience vs academic education.
Certainly with some of our jobs, we need people to have both and a lot of
times we will substitute. We can substitute experience for a 4 year degree. We
tend to hire people who already have degrees, experience. We don’t in
corrections and sheriff’s offices. We do in the computer field. Look at our
accounting areas; we hire more experienced folks with a degree. At DMV we
take people who have customer service experience in the retail sector.
Integrate real world experience with the academic experience.

57. 54
Degreed & Competency Based Training (2)
1. Probably the majority is degree, secondary degree and competency based.
2. I am going to talk out of both sides of my mouth; the larger employers want a
4 year degree and a skill. Even though they have all of those skills, they may
not be relevant. A pain point for companies are people may look good on
paper but they find months of training are necessary to get them up to skill
with current technology. Tech is skills based and generally it does not matter
where you went to school. Tech is really transitioning into to a skills based job
market.
Degreed & Accelerated Degree (1)
1. From a hiring perspective, we are still focusing on degreed programs and if
accelerated degrees are a means of achieving those, great and it would be really
good for us. We have invested in CAPS programs and those types of degree
programs allow people to get the credential more quickly. But, there is a
balance in that because there needs to be a degree of quality in those programs
to make sure they are ready. We don’t have a preference as long as the person
can meet the minimum qualifications and can to the work.
Don’t Know (1)
1. I don’t know if we have a strong preference and it is more for our staff side.
Certificate & Competency Based Training (1)
1. The competency based training with hands on is most important. It reaches a
market of candidates that would otherwise not be eligible candidates, as a
recruiter, it stands out on the resume (a 12 week program in biotech). As that
happens, KU would get more of a reputation where employers would seek
their students out.

58. 55
6. How important are credit programs vs. non-credit
programs for your organization?
No Preference/It Depends/Both (16)
1. I don’t know if it would make any difference.
2. It really depends more on the individual. I don’t know how many associates do
non-degreed certification.
3. Not important.
4. See above: It is hard for me to say what is most important. To some degree
they are all important. Certification programs are very valuable and likewise
degree programs are very important. The flexibility is what is crucial for what is
going forward. The one size fits all model is not that well accepted in today's
world.
5. I don’t think it is relevant. In the interview, if they can speak it, that would be
just fine.
No
Preference/It
Depends/Both
44%
Non-Credit
31%
Credit
25%