DALLAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Paul Quinn College (PQC), America’s first urban work college and one of the most celebrated colleges in the country, announced it is the first Historically Black College and University (HBCU) to join the Guild Education (Guild) network. This partnership opens the doors to some of America’s largest and most influential companies to PQC while providing more than three million workers an opportunity to earn a degree from one of the most unique colleges in the country.
“We are ecstatic to become a member of the Guild network,” said Dr. Michael J. Sorrell, president of Paul Quinn College. “Guild’s commitment to helping hardworking Americans achieve their educational and economic dreams is something that we strongly identify with. We are honored to have been selected by them for this important work.”
Guild partner employees will be able access all of Paul Quinn College’s unique course offerings and its four-year degree program. This includes: the Corporate Work Program; the newly established Urban Scholars Program, (an online, 36-month-long accredited, degree-granting program offered out of the Honors College), and in partnership with the Minerva Project; and PQCx, a short-term, affordable, credentialing program designed for workers to earn an industry-recognized credential without taking on any burdensome student loan debt.
“We are thrilled to partner with Paul Quinn College to expand our educational offerings to now include an HBCU and meet the needs of the American workforce,” said Paul Freedman, President of the Learning Marketplace at Guild Education. “We have long admired Paul Quinn College and President Sorrell’s leadership, vision, and innovative approach to higher education.”
The partnership will add Paul Quinn College to Guild’s learning marketplace and make PQC’s courses available to Guild’s employer partners. Guild currently partners with Fortune 500 companies including Walmart, Chipotle, Lowe’s, The Walt Disney Company, and Discover Financial Services to upskill and provide education benefits to their workforce.
Guild’s platform allows companies to shift their investment in tuition assistance into a strategic talent investment program with a positive ROI, while also helping its academic partners gain access to employer partnerships and high quality prospective students with value-added support services. Through the PQC partnership, Guild will have the ability to offer their employer partners a quality degree from an institution renowned for its innovative courses and unconventional approach to solving the nation's toughest issues.
Current employees at U.S.-based companies whose employer offers education benefits are encouraged to contact their HR coordinators to see if Guild and Paul Quinn College is an option for them.
Companies interested in offering degree programs to its employees through Paul Quinn College are encouraged to visit www.pqc.edu/guild/.
About Paul Quinn College
Paul Quinn College is a private, faith-based, four-year, liberal arts-inspired college that was founded on April 4, 1872, by a group of African Methodist Episcopal Church preachers in Austin, Texas. The school’s original purpose was to educate freed slaves and their offspring. Today, we proudly educate students of all races and socio-economic classes under the banner of our institutional ethos, WE over Me. Our mission is to provide a quality, faith-based education that addresses the academic, social, and Christian development of students. Under President Sorrell’s leadership, Paul Quinn has become one of the most innovative and respected small colleges in the nation and now serves as a model for urban higher education. Fortune magazine recognized President Sorrell’s work and the College’s transformation by naming him one of the World’s 50 Greatest Leaders. President Sorrell is also a three-time award winner of HBCU Male President of the Year by HBCU Digest and was named by Time magazine as one of the “31 People Changing the South.”
About Guild Education
Guild Education is on a mission to unlock opportunity for America’s workforce through education, with a double bottom-line business model that does well by doing good. Guild partners with leading employers and organizations to help offer education and upskilling opportunities to America’s workforce. To do so, Guild partners with the nation’s top universities and learning providers, with classes, certificates and programs focused on serving working adults. Guild has been named a Fast Company Most Innovative Company, Top Woman-Owned Business of the Year, Employee Initiative of the Year and recognized on the Forbes Cloud 100 2019 and 2020 Lists. To learn more about Guild Education, visit www.guildeducation.com.
