Home » Ky. University Adds Online Associate Degree For Food Retail Associates

Ky. University Adds Online Associate Degree For Food Retail Associates

Last updated on August 23rd, 2016 at 11:46 am

University of the Cumberlands, a nonprofit, private university in the state of Kentucky, has teamed up with the Retail Learning Institute (RLI), a provider of online training programs for food retailers, to provide educational opportunities to food retail associates worldwide.

Through this partnership, RLI students can validate their online training courses for college credit towards an associate of science degree in business-retailing from University of the Cumberlands. This associate degree is completely online, and students have the option to upskill to advanced degrees, such as a bachelor’s, master’s or Ph.D.

Associates who complete online courses through any of the online training programs managed by RLI qualify for the college credit validation. These worldwide corporate universities include IGA Coca-Cola Institute (IGA), National Grocers Association (NGA), Canadian Federation of Independent Retailers (CFIG), Academia Virtual de Supermercados (AVIS) and Associação Paulista de Supermercados (APAS), among others.

RLI online courses make up 25 percent of the associate of science degree in business-retailing, meaning that 25 percent of the degree is free to associates using RLI’s training.

“By partnering with University of the Cumberlands, we are able to offer retail associates the opportunity to expand educational opportunities in the workplace,” said Dr. Paulo Goelzer, president and CEO of RLI. “Retailers will find great fulfillment in helping their associates create a path to lifelong success. At the same time, both associates and retailers will benefit from the increased on-the-job performance resulting from an advanced retail education.”

“We’re excited to begin our partnership with the Retail Learning Institute,” said Dr. Larry Cockrum, president of University of the Cumberlands. “We believe education is the key to a life more abundant, and should be accessible to anyone who wishes to pursue it.”

“For some, a college degree may not have been attainable or affordable,” Cockrum added. “Through this unique partnership, retail employees will be able to pursue a quality education while continuing to work and support their families.”

RLI provides a complete online learning management system tailored to the food retail industry with more 120 courses, many of which are translated into Spanish, Portuguese, Mandarin, Polish and Russian. Courses range from entry-level to management-level, from knowledge and skills to compliance. RLI’s online program offers new courses every month and the tools to manage students, registrations, courses and reports, among other features for students such as gradebooks and learning plans. RLI supports more than 90,000 students, 8,000 stores and eight corporate universities. Visit retaillearning.net for more information.

The University of the Cumberlands says it is the largest and fastest growing nonprofit, private university in the state of Kentucky. Located in Williamsburg, UC offers four undergraduate degrees in more than 40 major fields of study; 10 pre-professional programs; 10 graduate degrees distributed over eight areas, including two doctorates and seven master’s degrees; certificates in education; and online programs. Visit ucumberlands.edu for more information.

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