With Early Career On-Ramps Being Disrupted, the Business-Higher Education Forum Expands Initiatives to Scale Work-Integrated Learning for Students, Employers, and Institutions Nationwide

New investments from ECMC Foundation and Ascendium Education Group advance the goals of BHEF’s Work-Integrated Learning Innovation Center—generating actionable tools and evidence and building capacity to expand inclusive access to career-connected learning.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — May 27, 2026 — The Business-Higher Education Forum (BHEF), a national nonprofit that connects business and higher education leaders to co-design and scale inclusive talent solutions for a changing economy, announced $2.95 million in new grant funding to advance its Work-Integrated Learning Innovation Center (WIL Innovation Center). Work-integrated learning refers to structured programs that bring real workplace experience—such as internships and company-led projects—into educational paths so students build practical job skills and are ready to work. A $950,000 grant from ECMC Foundation and a $2 million grant from Ascendium Education Group will support two distinct but complementary initiatives by each engaging national employers and 12 colleges and universities—for a total of 24—to expand high-quality work-integrated learning (WIL) across the country.

“In an AI-driven economy where contextual judgment, discernment, and experience matter more than ever, work-integrated learning isn't a 'nice-to-have'—it's essential infrastructure for the future of work. These investments enable BHEF to do what it does best: convene the right leaders, build the right tools, and drive the systems change that connects people to opportunity and ensures employers can access the talent their future depends on. We're grateful to ECMC Foundation and Ascendium for sharing our belief that this moment demands lasting institutional change.”
— Kristen Fox, CEO, Business-Higher Education Forum

The WIL Innovation Center is BHEF’s national platform for advancing WIL as a core function and benefit of postsecondary education. Through original research, technical assistance, sub-grants, and solutions-oriented communities of practice, the center equips colleges and employers with the practical tools, evidence, and partnerships they need to make WIL work at scale. This is especially critical for the small and mid-size businesses and capacity-constrained institutions that serve the majority of American learners and workers.

The center advances impact through four interconnected goals:

• Building the evidence base by researching which WIL models work best for which learners, employers, and institutional contexts, especially short-form, flexible models where the field has the most to learn
• Expanding the adoption of WIL by equipping colleges and employers with planning tools, quality frameworks, technical assistance, and change leadership support so WIL becomes a core institutional function
• Activating a network for change by convening business and higher education leaders through communities of practice, roundtables, and BHEF’s biannual convenings to share solutions, tackle barriers, and accelerate adoption
• Sharing tools and strategies for scale by publishing replicable toolkits, case studies, and practitioner-focused resources that reduce the perceived risk and burden for institutions and employers new to WIL

“BHEF’s network brings together business and higher education leaders who understand that preparing students for a changing economy requires real partnership and co-design. The WIL Innovation Center provides the platform and tools that turn partnership into practice, and these new grants will extend its reach to the institutions and employers that need it most and can drive real impact.”
— Jeffrey Armstrong, BHEF Vice Chair, President of Cal Poly

Despite strong evidence that high-quality WIL improves student persistence, credential completion, and employment outcomes, access is unequal and insufficient to meet demand. BHEF’s 2024 report, Expanding Internships: Harnessing Employer Insights to Boost Opportunity and Learning, found that of the 8.2 million students who sought internships in 2023, only 3.6 million secured one, and nearly a third of those reported experiences that lacked basic quality elements such as clarity, oversight, and meaningful skill development. That leaves an estimated 5.7 million students with either a low-quality experience or none at all. The two new grants directly address the systemic barriers behind that gap.

Funded by Ascendium at $2,000,000, the Expanding High-Quality WIL initiative will engage 12 postsecondary institutions to work directly with employers to test three short-form, flexible WIL models: micro-internships, industry-led project-based learning and capstone courses, and virtual internships. These models show particular promise for engaging the small and mid-size businesses where the majority of Americans work and serving a broad set of learners. Through sub-grants, technical assistance, and a structured community of practice, institutions will design and pilot right-sized WIL programs tailored to their academic contexts and regional labor markets. The initiative will generate actionable evidence for the broader field, with a particular focus on expanding access for Pell-eligible students, rural learners, and other historically underserved populations.

Funded by ECMC Foundation at $950,000, the Institutional Capacity Expansion Lab will work with 12 colleges to build the internal systems, leadership alignment, and employer partnerships needed to deliver equitable, high-quality WIL at scale. Institutions will leverage BHEF's Industry Partnership Readiness Assessment, develop data-informed action plans, and receive individualized coaching from change leadership experts. Each will also launch a proof-of-concept pilot, with institution teams led by cabinet-level leaders to ensure top-level commitment is matched by on-the-ground implementation capacity. The initiative prioritizes colleges that have strong leadership commitments and potential to expand WIL in partnership with employers.

Findings, tools, and case studies from both initiatives will be housed in BHEF’s WIL Innovation Center online resource hub and shared broadly with higher education leaders, employers, policymakers, and funders.

“At Aon, we know that the talent pipeline starts long before a candidate walks through the door. Work-integrated learning—whether via apprenticeship, internship, or project-based learning—is one of the most effective ways to develop the skills our industry needs and to ensure that all students have access to high-quality careers. BHEF’s work to build capacity, design models that meet real business needs and generate evidence at scale is exactly the kind of systems-level investment that moves the needle.”
— Aaron Olson, Executive Vice President, University Partnerships, Aon

Together, the two initiatives represent a significant step forward in BHEF’s mission to make high-quality, inclusive work-integrated learning the norm—not the exception—for students, employers and institutions across the country.