The following is a company-submitted press release and does not necessarily represent the views or opinions of Spaces4Learning.

UIU LINK and AASCU Optimize Online Course Availability to Fill Empty Seats

Ft. Lauderdale, FL — UIU Link, the higher education platform that connects students with relevant, transferable online courses from accredited colleges and universities, has announced a partnership with the American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU) for the Pilot Project on Student Completion and Success. The platform is completely sole-sourced and woman-owned. This will provide member institutions with an opportunity to learn how they can give students access to online courses that can help boost student retention and graduation rates, while simultaneously helping the institutions meet increasingly complicated demands for course delivery and variety.

Based out of Virginia Tech’s Corporate Research Center in Blacksburg, VA, UIU Link is the sole-sourced platform for sharing online course seat availability with students from other colleges or universities in need of courses to advance work towards degrees. The platform manages course information to ensure credit eligibility, facilitate student-to-advisor course transferability, as well as end-to-end enrollment and e-commerce transactions.  It is a one-stop solution where universities and quality online education intersect.

The Pilot Project on Student Completion and Success will test the feasibility of using UIU Link to identify ways that students and campuses can use externally provided courses for student and institutional success. The program will be targeted to institutions with fewer than 8,000 students and already has a number of AASCU institutions on board, including Murray State University, Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania and University of South Carolina Aiken.  UIU Link is offering special pricing to the first 30 Schools signing on in the “Buy the Cap” early-adopter option.

“As one of the first institutions to partner with UIU Link, we are thrilled to see the pilot project taking on new forms and expanding,” says Dr. Sandra Jordan, chancellor, University of South Carolina, Aiken. “UIU Link honors traditional higher education by facilitating access. Through our work with UIU Link’s networks, I believe we will extend our brand in both the national and international educational arenas.”

“The UIU Link–AASCU Pilot Project on Student Completion and Success explores the ways that participating institutions can facilitate student success and expand program offerings through a thoughtful and intentional approach to the use of courses from other institutional providers,” says George MeHaffy, AASCU’s vice president of Academic Leadership and Change. “We are excited to be partnering with UIU Link in helping smaller institutions to gain competitive advantage by creating intentional outsourcing.”

To learn more about UIU Link, go to http://www.uiulink.com or follow them on Facebook (www.facebook.com/UIULink), Twitter (https://twitter.com/uiulink) and LinkedIn (http://www.linkedin.com/company/uiu-link).

About UIU Link
UIU Link serves as the platform for the Online Marketplace of Collegiate Cooperation. It serves as a leading project partner to AASCU Institutions to facilitate student success and expand program offerings through thoughtful use of courses from other university course providers. AASCU-UIU Link is creating the online course marketplace by bringing together students, institutions and courses. UIU Link helps students find the online classes they need from accredited nonprofit institutions and helps institutions contribute to overall student success, while generating new revenue.

About AASCU
AASCU is a Washington, DC-based higher education association of more than 400 public colleges, universities and systems whose members share a learning- and teaching-centered culture, a historic commitment to underserved student populations and a dedication to research and creativity that advances their regions’ economic progress and cultural development.