About Our Work

Facilitated by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board and North Texas Community College Consortium, McDonald’s Corporation, Texas Restaurant Association, Texas Retailers Association, Texas Food & Fuel Association, and the Texas Department of Transportation have partnered with higher education institutions from around Texas to conduct prior learning assessment (PLA) mapping corporate training to credit for prior learning (CPL) in higher education programs. 

As a result of this voluntary collaboration, colleges have made CPL recommendations based on PLA of corporate training programs, and we are now sharing these for your review and use if you would like to participate. Please note that this work is separate from THECB-mandated activities you may be participating in as you implement legislation. This work is also separate from WECM review and POS and FOS committees. Rather, this is a voluntary grass-roots effort to facilitate prior learning assessment of corporate training programs in order to better serve prospective students and reduce effort for individual programs.

Our collaboration began with a meeting on September 22, 2017 in response to a request from McDonald’s Corporation to review their corporate training curriculum:

Since opening its doors in 1955, McDonald’s has been committed to the education and training of its employees. The company’s world-class crew training and unique management curriculum are recognized as being the most comprehensive in the Quick Service Restaurant (QSR) industry. More than 300,000 people worldwide have graduated from Hamburger University. In 2015, McDonald’s introduced Archways to Opportunity, a multi-faceted educational program that expands the company’s efforts to assist all employees, in both company-owned and independent franchisee-owned restaurants, in reaching their educational goals. The Archways to Opportunity program provides eligible U.S. employees a chance to access free educational advising, earn a high school diploma online, develop proficiency in English, and attend college with upfront tuition. In the first 2.5 years, more than 15,000 McDonald’s employees and employees of franchise organizations have taken advantage of at least one Archways to Opportunity education benefit. As part of Archways to Opportunity, McDonald’s has awarded more than $14 million in tuition assistance. On September 22, 2017, Dr. Christine Hubbard, President of North Texas Community College Consortium, and Dr. Tracey Armstrong, Director of Innovation at the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, hosted a meeting at the North Lake College North Campus from 9 a.m.- 12 p.m. to learn more about the McDonald’s Archways to Opportunity programs. Diane Timms, Education & Training Programs Consultant in Education Strategies/Operations Learning Solutions of McDonald’s USA, provided an overview of the Archways to Opportunity programs: High School Completion, College Access & Completion, Advising Services, and English Under the Arches. While all four programs are important, Timms highlighted the College Access & Completion program. This program is relevant to the McDonald’s employee management training curriculum. All current and former employee management, training curricula through June 2017 carry American Council on Education (ACE) credit recommendations, which can be transferred to many two- and four-year colleges. With 1,509 McDonald’s restaurants and approximately 75,000 employees in the state of Texas, higher education institution’s commitment to working to increase access and reduce time-to-degree for those employees who seek to advance their learning would be immeasurable. Colleges attending the event determined to create a review process to evaluate corporate training across companies and industries, and a follow-up Business Program Sharing Session was scheduled for December 2017. Materials from the September 22, 2017 meeting are posted on our event site.

Our December 4, 2017 meeting included additional corporate and higher education partners:

At the December 4, 2017 Business Program Sharing Session at the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board in Austin, we welcomed the Texas Retailers Association, Texas Restaurant Association, and Texas Food & Fuel Association as partners, and their CEOs attended the meeting. Each association representative shared information about corporate training programs provided by its members, and higher education business program participants identified the courses and programs most likely to be aligned with each one. A follow-up meeting for February 22nd was planned in order to review specific corporate training programs and make higher education CPL recommendations. Materials from the December 4, 2017 meeting are posted on our event site.

Our February 22, 2018 meeting focused on review of the McDonald’s and Texas Department of Transportation training programs:

The Texas Department of Transportation joined this initiative after the December 4, 2017, and their training program director, Chris Young, attended the February 22, 2018. TXDOT and McDonald’s completed corporate training articulation worksheets detailing the content and format of their training programs, and higher education teams worked in four groups to review these materials in consultation with Chris Young from TXDOT and Diane Timms from McDonald’s Corporation. Resulting recommendations were compiled. Materials from the February 22, 2018 meeting are posted on our event site. Our March 22, 2018 meeting focused on review of the National Restaurant Association Education Foundation restaurant management apprenticeship program: Sara Anderson, Director of Workforce Development at the National Restaurant Association American Hotel and Lodging Educational Institute and John Shortt, who heads the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation apprenticeship program, provided information about the apprenticeship program. Representatives from hospitality management programs across Texas reviewed the apprenticeship program and its application to their curriculum, and their recommendations were compiled. Materials from the March 22, 2018 meeting are posted on our event site.

Thank You for Your Work

This initiative has included participants from national and state associations and agencies, corporate partners, and community colleges and universities from across Texas. Thanks are due to all individuals and institutions who have shared their time and expertise to review corporate and agency training materials and make recommendations regarding employee CPL towards higher education certificates and degrees.

Next Steps and Action Items

Our next step is to review and update the templates below.

• Agency and Corporate Partners

Please add your logo to the document header, review the language describing your respective training programs for accuracy, update wording, and return the completed template to ntccc@unt.edu.

• Higher Education Partners

All template areas for you to update appear in red. Please add your college logo, name of your program, and effective catalog year in the document header. Add the name of your college wherever it appears in the document as well as your certificate type and name. Also add your program contact information in the footer. All courses included on the templates are recommendations resulting from the series of 2017-2018 meetings detailed above.

On each template, there are two types of recommendations:

1. Credit for Prior Learning Credit for prior learning courses are listed first on the template. The corporate or agency training that must be completed in order for college credit to be awarded is detailed in the left column, and the recommended college course is listed in the right column. Please review the listed courses, identify which are offered as part of your program, and verify that your institution will award each course through credit for prior learning. Once you have verified your courses, select the fields in the right column and change the font color to black. Note: you may have several different programs for which this coursework could be applied. If so, complete a separate template for each program. This is especially the case with the TXDOT training template, on which credit for prior learning recommendations have been made to CNSE, OSHT, WLDG, and CVOP. Include only those courses that apply to each program as you update the template for the program. You will also find on the McDonald’s and NRAEF templates that training has been mapped to several course alternatives. Please include only the course that is part of your college’s program as you update the template. Be sure to update the descriptive text above the table with your college’s credit for prior learning policy (this will most likely be the same policy applied to AP and other credit for prior learning options). For example, courses earned through credit for prior learning may not be posted to your institution’s transcript until the end of the first semester the student enrolls at your college. If this is the case, just update the text to read “completes the first semester of coursework.” If you have a number of credits you require a student to have completed at your college before credit for prior learning can be posted to the transcript, just update the text to read “completes X hours.”

2. Coursework to be completed at the college Coursework to be completed at the college is listed next on the template.

The National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation Apprenticeship Program requires related coursework be completed in addition to on-the-job training through the apprenticeship. The courses recommended at the March 22, 2018 are included in the table. Please review the listed NRAEF related coursework alternatives. Where there are two courses, please include only the course that is part of your college’s program as you update the template.

The McDonald’s Corporation template includes a table in which you can insert all additional coursework a student would need to complete to earn a program certificate. If you have more than one certificate option, please complete a separate template for each program.

The TXDOT template includes a table in which you can insert all additional coursework a student would need to complete to earn a program certificate. If you have more than one certificate option, please complete a separate template for each program.

Return all completed maps to ntccc@unt.edu. Once we receive your materials, we will then pursue our next steps—posting CPL maps and providing information to employers, employees, and students.

Next Meeting

Our next meeting is scheduled for 10am-3pm on Monday, June 11, 2018 in the Universe Room at Lone Star College University Park Campus. This room is located in the Executive Briefing Center on the first floor of Building 11. The conference center parking lot map is attached below. Overflow parking is available in Parking Garage 10 as notated on the map. Please register for the meeting so we know who will be attending from your institution. If you plan to fly in for this meeting, the campus is located near IAH (George Bush Intercontinental Airport). If you plan to stay overnight, Lone Star College recommends you mention you are attending an event at the LSC Conference Center, and many will provide a discounted rate. The list of area hotels is attached below for your reference.

Our meeting goals include review of completed CPL maps, the public portal, and informational materials. We will also discuss any additional agency or corporate training program information we have received and set our review and update schedule for 2018-2019. Participants are encouraged to come to the meeting with information about corporate and agency partners whose curriculum could be reviewed for credit for prior learning statewide. Representatives from the Greater Houston Partnership Upskill Houston group will also attend and provide an overview of their work.

Register Now