Retail Associates Can Now Earn College Credits for Training

Retail Learning Institute (RLI), which provides online training programs for food retailers, has partnered with University of the Cumberlands, the largest, non-profit, private university in Kentucky, to provide college credit for the online training courses toward an Associate of Science Degree in Business-Retailing from the university.

The associate degree is completely online and students can upskill to advanced degrees, such as bachelor’s, master’s or Ph.D. RLI online courses make up 25 percent of the associate degree, which means 25 percent of the cost of attaining the degree is free to associates using RLI’s training.

Associates who complete online courses through any of the online training programs managed by RLI qualify for the college credit validation. These worldwide corporate universities include IGA Coca-Cola Institute, National Grocers Association, Canadian Federation of Independent Retailers, Academia Virtual de Supermercados and Associação Paulista de Supermercados among others. 

“By partnering with University of the Cumberlands, we are able to offer retail associates the opportunity to expand educational opportunities in the workplace,” said Dr. Paulo Goelzer, president/CEO of RLI. “Retailers will find great fulfillment in helping their associates create a path to lifelong success. At the same time, both associates and retailers will benefit from the increased on-the-job performance resulting from an advanced retail education.”

RLI provides more than 120 courses tailored to the food retail industry, which range from entry level to management level with topics covering general knowledge, skills and compliance. The institute supports more than 90,000 students, 8,000 stores and eight corporate universities.