USAA North Phoenix campus

USAA has grown its Valley staff nearly 10 times since becoming a Rio Salado College partner in 2002. The company expanded from 300 employees when it came to Arizona in 2002 to 2,800 today.

“Good habits of life-long learning and continu-ous individual improve-ment are becoming core competencies for any person in today’s rapidly changing workforce,” Bill

Putnam, Senior Vice-President of USAA’s Phoenix and Regional Operations said.

“Creative agreements such as USAA’s partnership with Rio Salado College in granting college credit for demanding job-skill training help lay a firm foundation for continuous learning by rewarding new employees for their efforts in personally meaningful ways,” Putnam added.

And like Rio Salado, USAA is growing green. Sus-tainability is part of planning, values and everyday practices at the two organizations.

USAA’s 575-acre North Phoenix campus was honored with Leadership in Environmental Excellence and Design certification for New Construction from the U.S. Green Building Council.

Valley Forward Association recognized USAA with two Environmental Excellence Awards of Merit.

Volume 4 No.1

Summer 08 / Spring 09

Inside This Issue

Page 1• USAAandRioSalado’s Partnership Expands

Page 2• RioSalado,DESInspireEmployees toAdvanceEducation

• NeweLearningProgramTeaches ToolstoDesignExcitingTraining

Page 3• Celebrate30YearsofLearning, Innovating&Partnering!

• Grow‘Green’withRioSaladoand SaveMoney,TimeasPartner

Page 4• TheRioSaladoInstitutefor EmployeeDevelopment

USAA and Rio Salado’s Partnership Expands“USAA has been a great partner,” Karen Stigers, Rio Salado Director of National Accounts for Corporate and Government Programs said. “The company has a large presence in the Valley with state-of-the-art training facilities on a beautiful green campus.”

Rio Salado College, a member of the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education, also does its part to reduce its global footprint. The college provides 450 online classes that save time, money and gas.

Nearly 3,100 USAA employees have earned a significant amount of college credit through Rio Salado.

USAA provides more than 150 products and services to active and former military members and their families.

A pioneer in online education, Rio Salado has forged partnerships with businesses and industry around the nation.

Bill Putnam, Senior Vice-PresidentUSAA’s Phoenix and Regional Operations

Carrie Finke, of AdvancED which is the parent organization of the North Central Association Commission on Accreditation and School Improvement, says she has really benefi ted from the class.

Lovette Donaldson received her certifi cate of completion in Human Services-Assistance: Customer Service

2

Rio Salado, DES Inspire Employees to Advance Education

New eLearning Program Teaches Tools to Design Exciting Training

When Lovette Donaldson started her new job she didn’t know she’d be getting an education too.

In May, Donaldson received her certifi cate of completion in Human Services-Assistance: Customer Service from Rio Salado College along with 3580 certifi cate completers. Her certifi cate’s a product of a unique partnership between the Arizona Department of Economic Security (DES), her employer, and Rio Salado College.

The industry specifi c training providing college credit is off ered to new DES employees to help improve their job performance. Donaldson earned 18 college credits in the program.

Donaldson was thrilled with the training and the chance to earn some college credit.

“I think it was a great opportunity for us. And it’s a grand statement about DES and how they want their employees really educated about the services we provide for the public,” she said.

Earning a college degree has been a long-time dream for Donaldson. She started community college in Washington State

soon after she graduated from high school but had to quit 18 months later and go to work.

Her new certifi cate has given her the push to go on and fi nish her degree. Many of those who are enrolled in the program go on and fi nish a college degree at Rio Salado, earning an associate in arts or science.

“I haven’t been to school since I was 18. At 39 years of age I am fi nally able to get back in school,” said Donaldson, who plans to take as many classes as she can online through Rio Salado and then transfer to Arizona State University to fi nish a bachelor’s degree in communications.

Class for Donaldson and her co-workers included eight weeks of training eight hours a day.

“The longstanding partnership between DES and Rio Salado College has been help-ing employees continue their education

since 1994. The inspiring stories at graduation are a true testimo-nial of how benefi cial our partnerships are to both the employees and the organization,” said Susan Lawrence, Rio Salado Manager of Corporate and Government Programs.

Looking for a way to create professional, interactive, online training that will hold your employees’ attention?

Rio Salado College’s new eLearning Design program teaches training managers how to create online staff instruction that can include compelling video, fl ashy graphics and interesting audio that will hold participants’ attention.

It’s one of the fi rst programs in the country to be off ered at the undergraduate certifi cate level. Your trainers can earn 21 credits and a certifi cate of completion in the program.

“This program is designed for people in training who want to put their training online in a professional, interactive format,” Jennifer Freed, faculty chair for the new program said. “The focus is on the students to design training using the new technology that is out there.”

Your staff members will be pleased, too! They can learn how to do everything from designing curricula and multimedia presentations to teaching their students to use wikis, blogs, video-sharing and social networking. They will be able to use 21st century skills to create exciting training in eLearning Design, one of the hottest fi elds in the job market today.

For more information contact Jennifer Freed, faculty chair, at 480-517-8384 or academic advisers at 480-517-8540 or visit www.riosalado.edu/elearning/.

Lovette Donaldson received her certifi cate of completion in

Carrie Finke, of AdvancED which is the parent organization of the North Central Carrie Finke, of AdvancED which is the parent organization of the North Central

3

Rio Salado College is celebrating its 30th anniversary.

Established in 1978 as one of seven “colleges without walls” in the nation, Rio Salado has been partnering with corporate and government organizations since 1990.

Thank you to all our partners for growing with us over the years! To learn more about Rio Salado’s history visit www.riosalado.edu/30years.

Celebrate 30 Years of Learning, Innovating & Partnering!

Grow ‘Green’ with Rio Salado and Save Money, Time as Partner

Rio Salado College is more than a smart choice in online education. When your organization becomes a partner with Rio Salado, you are joining a leader in the sustainability movement.Rio Salado has adopted “green” thinking in its values, strategic plan and everyday living.

When your organization becomes a partner, you can provide customized training to your employees at your sites, saving gas, time and money. That adds up to more sustainability and gives your staff the opportunity to learn the skills they need to advance in your company.

If your staff members continue on to earn degrees through Rio Salado, they can take advantage of the college’s more than 450 online classes, an eff ective way to reduce the carbon footprint. As students, they can also buy new, customized textbooks that save paper and reduce costs by 50 percent through the Textbook Savings Program.

In 2007 Rio Salado’s President, Dr. Linda M. Thor became a charter signatory of the American College and University Presidents Climate Commitment, an eff ort to address global warming.

Rio Salado is a member of the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education and hired a sustainability consultant to help reduce its global footprint. Our goal is to try to meet the needs of the present generation while taking care of the future.

To learn more about Rio Salado’s green practices visit www.riosalado.edu/ci/sustainability.

� e Triple Bottom Line

Socially just & equitable

Environmentally viable

Economically robust

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Rio @ Work is published by: Rio Salado College, c/o Institutional Advancement | www.riosalado.edu | 480-517-8460The Maricopa County Community College District is an EEO/AA Institution.

The Rio Salado Institute for Employee Development

The Rio Salado Institute for Employee Development consists of a team of dedicated individuals who work with corporations, government agencies and community organizations to establish customized educational partnerships.

Why partner with Rio Salado College?

Through a partnership with Rio Salado College your organization can access quality education and customized training to develop a more highly educated workforce. Rio Salado’s programs empower adults to earn certifi cates and college degrees in a variety of fi elds, usually right at their places of employment. Other benefi ts for employers include:

• Experiencing a positive impact on employee recruitment and retention• Providing opportunities for your employees to receive college credit for employer-based training• Having employees with increased confi dence when they obtain new skills and knowledge

Choose the Best Program for Your Organization

Educational Partnerships: Get the best of both worlds by combining your industry-specific training with Rio’s high-quality academic component to create customized industry certificate and associate degree programs.

Customized Training and Professional Seminars: Keep your employees up to date with the most current knowledge and future trends in management, leadership, customer service and a variety of other areas. In addition to being cost-eff ective, Rio’s programs are tailored to fi t your organization’s specifi c needs and culture.

Online Business Advantage: Save your organization time and money by converting your in-person training to an online format. Let Rio standardize and upgrade your training so it is easy to educate employees at multiple sites.

Foreign Language Training: Open the door to a whole new customer base by providing foreign language training to your employees. Classes can be customized to your industry’s specifi c vocabulary. Also, online classes are available in Spanish, French, Japanese, Chinese and Arabic.

Susan Lawrence, Manager of Corporate and Government Programs and Karen Stigers, Director of National Accounts, Corporate and Government Programs

For more information

on these programs

please contact us at

480-517-8460 !

Rio Salado College2323 West 14th StreetTempe, AZ 85281480-517-8000www.riosalado.edu

For more information

on these programs

please contact us at

480-517-8460 !