Rasmussen officially announced the new designation in January 2014 and the task force was formalized, as well as charged with defining internal faculty and staff initiatives under the PBC status.
“Our communications and HR departments developed a training platform,” explained Hennessy. “This was rolled out in January 2014 to explain to faculty, staff and our community partners what a public Benefit Corporation is and why this designation made sense for Rasmussen College as it was a natural evolution of our mission. The task force identified a PBC platform and a set of year-one initiatives, which were approved by the board and then adopted in July 2014.”
Year-one initiatives of the new PBC status include:
- Hosting National and local summits to advance career readiness competency.
- Offering free meeting space to community organizations for education/training.
- Partnering with businesses to identify challenges, needs and skill gaps in the workforce and releasing findings through white papers and presentations.
- Hosting free bi-annual career fairs for community members, students and alumni.
- Providing workforce preparedness training and opening Rasmussen College’s Virtual Career Center to select local organizations.
- Adopting a National Community Service Student Organization and opening participation to Rasmussen College students.
- Enhancing employee benefits by adding up to eight hours of paid time during the work day to volunteer at nonprofits that support our platform.
- Expanding Rasmussen College’s Community Service Day in all communities where the College has campuses.
At the end of each year, including the end of 2014, Rasmussen will issue a PBC report outlining the initiatives, implementation, and results of the work toward public good.
“When I get out in the business world, it’s also going to be important to me that I work for a company that is equally as responsible,” said one Rasmussen student, “and I think that…feeling good about life and helping others are good starts…and that’s why Rasmussen has really exceeded my expectations in a college.”
Below is an infographic created by Rasmussen that Hennessy says demonstrates “the reach of these key activities including Community Service Day,” which the College completed on July 18 and the free Community Career Fair, which Rasmussen holds twice a year. The first was in February 2014 and the College has another planned for September.
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