History

United Parcel Service was planning to expand its Louisville, KY hub in 1997, but needed part-time employees to meet peak labor demands. State and local government and educational officials knew that UPS would have to build Hub 2000 elsewhere if it could not find enough recruits in Louisville. A summit meeting in December 1997 with Kentucky Governor Paul Patton led to the creation of the Metropolitan College. The Metropolitan College Program, chartered and funded by the state in 1998, partnered with UPS and three Louisville colleges: the University of Louisville, Jefferson Technical College and Jefferson Community College (since that time the latter two schools merged to become Jefferson Community and Technical College). UPS’ role was to provide part-time jobs, pay half the tuition, and reimburse a portion of the cost of textbooks for participants who successfully complete their coursework at either participating institution.

UPS was looking for a solution to increase the number of workers and increase the proportion of those workers who are students. Governor Patton provided the leadership to shepherd the process through to ensure a successful negotiation with the business needs of UPS and the academic needs of the educational institutions. Governor Patton’s participation helped secure some of the funding for the program from the state as well as to negotiate what the appropriate funding mechanisms would be on an ongoing basis. Currently, Metropolitan College receives a total of $2.6 million a year from the Kentucky and Louisville Metro governments and from that pays half of the tuition for its participants.

Metropolitan College was the first such program in the nation and it addressed and solved a workforce dilemma in Louisville. This successful program helped UPS, Louisville’s largest employer to retain employees at its international hub while providing post-secondary educational opportunities at the University of Louisville and Jefferson Community and Technical College.

Metropolitan College Timeline - 1996 to Present

– 1996 –

UPS launched the School to Work Program employing local high school seniors for the second-day air sort. Students attended high school in the morning, reported to UPS at noon, worked 3.5 hours and then attended courses at the UPS Training and Education Center.

– 1997 –

• October: UPS invited two officials from Greater Louisville Inc., the chamber of Commerce and J.D. Nichols, a major contributor to the governor, to attend a presentation at the company’s headquarters. At the meeting, consultants from William H. Mercer Inc. addressed the question posed by UPS: Could Louisville supply the workers needed to staff a new $1 billion facility the company was planning?

• November: J.D. Nichols, member of Louisville International Airport’s board, broke the news to Governor Paul Patton that UPS might leave Louisville.

  Greater Louisville, Inc. drew up a preliminary plan for UPS University.

• December: UPS announces consideration for an $800 million to $1 billion expansion that will require 6,000 additional workers.

  University of Louisville, Jefferson Community College and Kentucky Tech propose to build a campus for students who work at UPS.

– 1998 –

• January: Governor Patton addresses legislature with budget request.

  Kentucky agrees to set aside $1 million for the Metropolitan College program’s first year.

  Former Kentucky Governor, Martha Layne Collins tapped by Governor Paul Patton to head the state’s effort to facilitate UPS’ expansion.

• March: UPS announced that “hub 2000” would be located in Louisville.

  U of L, Jefferson Community College and Jefferson Tech announced the formation of a new higher-education program that would provide UPS with a steady source of part-time employees and offer those workers paid tuition - Metropolitan College was born.

• June: Metropolitan College announces five recruitment sessions for first 950 students to launch the program.

  700 people applied for part-time jobs at UPS under the Metropolitan College program.

• July: Metropolitan College announces three recruitment sessions.

• August: Louisville and Jefferson County announce $650,000 appropriation for Metropolitan College.

  245 Metropolitan College students enrolled at U of L and 720 students enrolled at JCC.

– 1999 –

February

Metropolitan College announces plans to open a joint education-referral service – “Pathways to Success”

June

University of Louisville announces proposal to expand on-campus housing

August

University of Louisville announces 75% retention rates for Metropolitan College students

UPS cites turnover among Metropolitan College students at 20%, while average turnover among non-students reached about 100%

December

JCC Education Foundation purchases Portland Building for $2,600,000

– 2000 –

January

Metropolitan College named the top workforce training program in the US by Business Facilities magazine.

February

The Metropolitan College Program was recognized for one of the best practices for Innovative Initiatives for work-force development in the nation at the U.S. Labor Department’s National Skills Summit in Washington, D.C.

March

UPS boosts its recruiting efforts outside Jefferson County for Metropolitan College

UPS named “Company of the Year” by Forbes Magazine, in part due to the success of Metropolitan College.

August

Norton Healthcare establishes Norton Scholars program – a partnership between Norton Healthcare, Metropolitan College and UPS. Norton Scholars work at the UPS Next Day Air Operation for one year and then choose either to continue working for UPS, transfer to a job at a Norton facility or attend school without working. The program pays participants up to $4,000 a year for tuition, up to $1,250 for housing, and up to $750 for books and software. In return for scholarship assistance, students to work for Norton Healthcare after they complete their education or approximately one year of employment for each year of scholarship assistance.

150 students enroll in Norton Scholars program.

– 2001 –

June

Metropolitan College launches career-placement program.

– 2002 –

May

Metropolitan College enrollment meets 2006 objective to enroll 2,230 workers.

Metropolitan College announces that beginning with the Fall semester, students who complete six or more credit hours per semester will qualify for up to a $500 academic bonus. New incentives include additional payments of $600 after Metropolitan College students complete 30, 60, and 90 hours in the program, as well as a graduation “gift” - $400 for a diploma or associate’s degree and $1,000 for a bachelor’s degree.

June

UPS launches final phase of its transition to Hub 2000.

– 2003 –

January

Dan Ash, Executive Director, Metropolitan College invited to become a Bingham Fellow, a group focused on creative ways of thinking on issues in education

February

1200 students shared $550,000 in academic bonuses for academic work completed in the fall 2002 semester for staying in school.

Metropolitan College establishes Project CREW (Connecting Resources, Education and Workforce) to provide a seamless transition from education to career. CREW is a collaborative initiative with educational institutions, businesses and civic organizations to assist clients in their career exploration, preparation and placement.

CREW provides more than 1100 career services between launch and December 2003.

July

Kentuckiana Works opens new location at Metropolitan College now known as KentuckianaWorks One-Stop Career Center to provide a variety of services including job posting, resume-writing tools, workshops, access to computers and computer-skills tutorials.

August

Dan Ash, executive director of Metropolitan College was chosen by Louisville Metro Mayor Jerry Abramson to serve as his liaison for workforce development and education.

2004

September

Fifty percent of the graduates of UPS School-to-Work programs transferred to the night shift to take advantage of Metropolitan College benefits.

2005

February

UPS announces expansion plan that could bring as many as 1,000 new jobs to Louisville if selected.

2006

February

UPS announces Louisville as expansion site and begins hiring 1,500 part-time workers in Louisville.