R U Ac a d e m i c s
Reinhardt Students Benefit from National Innovation “It takes a village” to serve hundreds of independent, curious college students and their varied interests, with a vast, diversified curriculum. To expand its provisions and serve growing student populations, Reinhardt extends its “village” with innovative partners like RIZE and Acadeum. These two consortiums unite like-minded institutions and provide students a broad range of offerings and new educational opportunities. Participation in these two highly innovative relationships enables Reinhardt to introduce courses from partner institutions that supplement current campus offerings – not replace them – and maximize efficiencies for faculty, classroom space and technology.
RIZE RIZE courses are taught by the “best of the best” faculty at top-tier universities and informed by input from Fortune-500 firms. Within these partnerships, institutions share courses, degree majors and minors, concentrations, and specialized certificates. Taken online, Reinhardt students earn their degrees with an added opportunity to add RIZE courses, explore topics of interest and fulfill requirements from over 95 schools. It all began in 2017, when 19 independent colleges and universities united to create the Lower Cost Models for Independent Colleges (LCMC) Consortium. These institutional presidents knew that colleges and universities benefit from collaboration. In response to pressures like soaring operational expenses, 20 | REINHARDT | FALL 2021
shrinking government support and higher attendance costs facing higher education, they formed a consortium. The goal of LCMC is to create
innovative, collaborative solutions to expand educational opportunities for students while streamlining and lowering institutional costs. The first two programs grew out of pilot initiatives – a Certification in Financial Planning, and an Applied Computer Science curriculum – developed in partnership with Google. In 2019, RIZE Education became the operational arm of LCMC at Adrian College in Michigan, expanding to 21 programs. Reinhardt students now benefit greatly from RIZE, as RIZE continues to grow. In Spring 2021, Reinhardt’s McCamish School of Business piloted three courses from different RIZE programs in areas experiencing significant career growth: Introduction to Esports Management, Social Media Marketing, and Forecasting & Logistics. One Reinhardt student who participated in RIZE courses exclaimed, “This is one of the most positive experiences I have had with any online program,” and another saying, “The platform allows me to take more classes, from professors and with students all over the world. It is a great experience. RIZE courses compliment my courses on campus and expose me to topics in new fields, while still earning my degree from Reinhardt.” New courses add to the Summer and Fall 2021 schedules including Email Marketing, Introduction to Games and a Computer Science Minor in Reinhardt’s School of Mathematics and Sciences. RIZE continues to grow educational opportunities for students with more than 95 institutional partners – and Reinhardt shares in its growth and success as a partner institution, where all students thrive. Acadeum Like RIZE, Acadeum forges collaborative strategies for higher education with a
