Build Partnerships
BHEF's Strategic Business Engagement Model moves business and higher education from transactional relationships to strategic partnerships to meet workforce needs.
The Business-Higher Education Forum
WASHINGTON, DC (March 10, 2020) – Today, the Business-Higher Education Forum (BHEF) released Bridges to Success, a report demonstrating the powerful role that business-higher education partnerships play in developing innovative pathways and programs to create a diverse, highly skilled workforce. By facilitating the transfer of students — particularly veterans, women, and members of groups underrepresented in STEM fields — from community colleges to four-year institutions this highly successful model has supported more than 1,400 students pursuing advanced certificates and a bachelor’s or associate degree. More than 25 percent of students enrolled in the pilot programs were female and more than 40 percent of enrollees came from minority groups historically underrepresented in STEM fields.
Five key partnerships formed the Undergraduate STEM Interventions with Industry consortium that served as the foundation for the program:
These pilot partnerships focused on a wide range of industries from data science and cybersecurity to water science and engineering, creating regional ecosystems that increase the number and diversity of STEM students and future employees in high-demand fields. These partnerships engaged businesses in implementing combinations of evidence-based interventions—high impact practices—that increased STEM student persistence, transfer, and completion, illustrating how business engagement increases students’ success in STEM majors.
“The impact of this NSF grant extends far beyond the original pilot programs at each site,” said BHEF CEO Brian Fitzgerald. “Bridges to Success showcases a highly replicable model for expanding regional partnerships between businesses and higher education. The insights from the program are not only influencing BHEF’s focus, they are helping to shape NSF’s strategic plans for innovative and proactive solutions to improve the quality of STEM education in the United States.”
BHEF has proven expertise bringing business, higher education, nonprofits, and government entities together to form partnerships that directly address the workforce needs of today’s and tomorrow’s economy. Looking toward the future, BHEF intends to expand its STEM-capable talent development and diversity efforts to a wider network of companies, higher education institutions, government agencies, research and development centers, associations, professional societies and other organizations.
About the Business-Higher Education Forum
The Business-Higher Education Forum (BHEF) is a private, non-profit membership organization of leading C-Suite business executives and university presidents who employ the latest market intelligence to inform strategic partnerships that create innovative talent solutions in high-demand emerging fields. Members provide leadership by encouraging their peers to act on critical talent needs. For more information about BHEF, visit www.bhef.com.
BHEF's Strategic Business Engagement Model moves business and higher education from transactional relationships to strategic partnerships to meet workforce needs.
BHEF focuses on evidenced-based practices and uses a rigorous methodology to strengthen our members' efforts to develop highly skilled, engaged professionals.
Trend analysis informs our methodology to assess and map skills needs, align higher education with workforce, and position our members' organizations for success.