BVU, AmeriServe International Connect Through Strategic Partnership
With the purpose of uplifting employees and their communities, AmeriServe International has formed a Strategic Partnership with BVU. This opportunity allows employees of AmeriServe International and their family members to receive educational benefits through BVU.
Buena Vista University (BVU) and AmeriServe International have joined in a Strategic Partnership as both entities remain committed to strengthening the persons and communities they serve.
This partnership broadens education opportunities for employees of AmeriServe International, as well as eligible family members of full-time employees, allowing them to receive grant funding to lower the overall cost of education while enrolled in classes at BVU’s Storm Lake campus. Partner grant funding also lowers the cost per credit hour for students enrolled in BVU’s convenient online/hybrid undergraduate programs or the organizational leadership graduate program.
BVU professors and staff are also available for training programs, workshops, and more should officials with AmeriServe International seek those services and expertise.
“Through this partnership, we are not only able to support and uplift our employees and their family members, but we are better equipped to serve our community.”
Tyna Anderson, AmeriServe International Area Director of Compliance
“We consider ourselves a life-long learning organization, and it is very exciting to be able to offer a savings through a Strategic Partnership with BVU as our team members pursue higher education opportunities,” says AmeriServe International Area Director of Compliance Tyna Anderson, a current student in BVU’s organizational leadership graduate program. “Through this partnership, we are not only able to support and uplift our employees and their family members, but we are better equipped to serve our community.”
AmeriServe International, in Council Bluffs, employs 220 in and around the Council Bluffs area. The organization provides services in a variety of settings to people with intellectual disabilities, such as supported community living and day habilitation services. From helping individuals learn how to cook, to getting them involved in community activities, AmeriServe International is dedicated to helping individuals build purposeful, fulfilling futures.
BVU has long enjoyed strong educational ties in and around Council Bluffs, home to Iowa Western Community College, a campus that has collaborated with BVU for decades. Students enrolled in a program through IWCC can seamlessly transfer their credits toward their bachelor’s degree at BVU. Students receive personalized support including admissions and enrollment counseling, and academic advising right in Council Bluffs through BVU’s office on the IWCC campus.
“We are able to apply the content we are learning about in our organizational leadership graduate program to what we are doing at work,” says AmeriServe Resource Coordinator Vanessa Poole, a student in BVU’s organizational leadership graduate program. “As we are teaching or guiding other individuals, it has been beneficial for us to practice the skills we are learning about.”
“BVU is proud to partner with AmeriServe International to offer educational benefits that can help strengthen our workforce and communities,” says BVU Director of Strategic Partnerships Laura Todd. “Employees of AmeriServe can now utilize these opportunities through BVU to help further their education.”
For more information about BVU’s Strategic Partnerships and partner opportunities, please visit the BVU website at bvu.edu/strategic-partnerships or contact Strategic Partnerships at StrategicPartnerships@bvu.edu.