Agreement brings career-focused educational options as well as reduced education costs for NCH talent

University of Phoenix announces an agreement with NCH Healthcare to provide NCH employees with reduced cost for educational and training opportunities at the University.

As companies navigate current workforce and talent deficits, collaboration between higher education institutions and employers can create educational benefits that attract new talent and retain talent already within a company. According to the University of Phoenix’s 2025 Career Optimism Index® study, 71% of American workers say they must continue learning new skills to stay ahead in their career.

“We are excited to collaborate with NCH Healthcare to provide flexible learning opportunities for their employees pursuing skills, courses, and degrees,” states Jay Titus, vice president and general manager, Workforce Solutions Group at University of Phoenix. “This type of alliance between employers and educators offers workers tangible paths forward to develop and support their career plans.”

The agreement supports NCH Healthcare’s intent to provide its employees with long, fulfilling careers at the company by ensuring they have access to the educational resources they need for development and career planning.

“At NCH, our mission is to ensure excellence is the hallmark of every patient's experience, and one of the ways we achieve this is by investing in our employees,” stated Dr. Risa Wildeman, Manager-Educational Services for NCH. “Our collaboration with the University of Phoenix highlights our unwavering commitment to lifelong learning. This partnership not only supports our employees' professional growth, but also contributes to their overall well-being, helping them lead happier, healthier lives—benefits that extend beyond our patients to every member of our team.”

The agreement, which is supported by the University of Phoenix Workforce Solutions team, provides NCH Healthcare employees with access to eligible curriculum, including individual courses as well as courses available as part of certificate, associate, bachelor’s and master’s degree programs. The collaboration also offers college credit for relevant life experience and the opportunity to learn in-demand skills that can positively impact career trajectories.

Learn more here about employer tuition benefits at University of Phoenix.

About NCH

NCH (Naples Comprehensive Health) is a locally governed non-profit and an Advanced Community Health System™ located in Naples, Florida. Our mission is to help everyone live a longer, happier, healthier life. The System is more than just two hospitals (referred to as the NCH Baker Hospital and NCH North Hospital) with a total of 713 beds. NCH is an alliance of more than 1,100 physicians and medical facilities in dozens of locations throughout Southwest Florida that offers nationally recognized, quality health care to our community.

NCH was named one of America’s 50 Best Hospitals for 2025 by Healthgrades, the nation’s leading resource for information about doctors and hospitals. This achievement puts NCH in the top 1% of all U.S. hospitals for overall care excellence. In addition to this honor, NCH is currently the only hospital in the nation to achieve Healthgrades’ highest recognition in three critical areas: Cardiac Care, Orthopedic Surgery, and Overall Clinical Excellence.

About University of Phoenix

University of Phoenix innovates to help working adults enhance their careers and develop skills in a rapidly changing world. Flexible schedules, relevant courses, interactive learning, skills-mapped curriculum for our bachelor’s and master’s degree programs and a Career Services for Life® commitment help students more effectively pursue career and personal aspirations while balancing their busy lives. For more information, visit phoenix.edu.

About University of Phoenix Workforce Solutions

University of Phoenix Workforce Solutions Group offers companies across diverse industries as well as community colleges tailored learning and career pathways to recruit, upskill, reskill, and retain their workforce in an affordable and timely manner. Our flexible solutions are informed by a deep understanding of how skills can be mapped and authentically assessed through learning, and are aligned to workplace needs and feature live support, career guidance and support tools, education programs, learning pathways, and credit options, including certificates, workshops, single courses, degree programs, or any combination of these tools.

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