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2020 Impact Report

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I think we can all agree this past year was unlike any other. It presented challenges our students, faculty and staff could never have imagined.

In the face of these difficulties, ACE still found ways to make an impact and serve our communities, even if it looked a little different from years past.

We started the year by coming together in Indianapolis for our first ACE retreat. This incredible experience last February allowed us to learn from and volunteer with one another in person, which is a rare opportunity for a fully remote team. Nearly 200 of us filled more than 950 backpacks with school supplies for KIPP Indy Public Schools and assembled over 13,600 meals at Gleaners Food Bank.

Just a few short weeks later came a lot of words I never want to hear again: “unprecedented,” “uncertain” and “unrest.” Amid the surrounding chaos, ACE’s mission was our true north as we sought to help our students and employees while still remaining as close to business as usual as possible.

We stepped forward right away with the COVID-19 Financial Hardship Scholarship Program, which provided $1,000 to 90 students to help cover tuition and fees for the April 2020 term. In less than two weeks, we awarded scholarships to 90 students in 23 states and three countries, pursuing 23 different programs of study at ACE.

For our employees, we established COVID-19 leave for illness or other pandemic-related situations, transitioned our Field staff from traveling to conferences to making connections remotely, and worked with all our employees to ensure they felt supported in whatever circumstances arose. I certainly welcomed those occasions when a remote-learning child or a playful family dog popped up during video meetings!

Driven by our B Corp values, our commitment to serving our communities also remained strong – even if we had to get a little creative to do it. Our team used more than 1,300 individual civic hours throughout the year, including for the first ACE Day of Service.

As we continue to navigate unfamiliar waters in 2021, one thing will remain certain: ACE is here to serve wherever we are. Whether we’re at home or masked up in our communities, we’ll continue carrying out our mission one student, one employee and one community at a time.

KK Byland, SPHR, SHRM-SCP Vice President of Human Resources and Benefits Officer

Letter from KK Byland .................................................................... 3

Being a B Corp .................................................................................. 4

The ACE Story of Service .............................................................. 6

ACE Day of Service ........................................................... 6

Teachers’ Treasures ......................................................... 8

Texas Trees Foundation .................................................. 9

St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital ...................... 10

ACE Retreat Service Project ......................................... 11

Living Our Mission Every Day ...................................................... 12

Working at ACE ................................................................. 13

Diversity & Inclusion ....................................................... 14

Serve.

Lead.

Achieve.

Table of Contents Making a Difference in a Difficult Year

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As a B Corporation, ACE strives to solve social and environmental problems through the power of business. ACE is certified by the nonprofit B Lab to meet rigorous standards of social and environmental performance, accountability and transparency. According to the B Corp Declaration of Interdependence, we believe:

èThat we must be the change we seek in the world.

èThat all business ought to be conducted as if people and place mattered.

èThat, through their products, practices and profits, businesses should aspire to do no harm and benefit all.

èTo do so requires that we act with the understanding that we are each dependent upon another and thus responsible for each other and future generations.

To maintain our B Corp standing, ACE must achieve a minimum score of 80 points on the B Impact Assessment, verified by the B Lab. The assessment asks how the day-to-day operations of a company create positive impact for the company’s workers, community and environment. Additionally, companies can earn points if their overall business model can be shown to create positive social and environmental impact as well, qualifying the company for specific Impact Business Model points. There are roughly 3,821 Certified B Corporations in more than 74 countries.

Being a B Corp

88.680

50.9

0 100 200

88.6

16.8

Governance

25.3

Workers

17.4

Community

4.6

Environment

24.5

Customers

Our B Impact Score

The B Impact Scores are being compared against all businesses that have completed the B Impact Assessment. Most companies score 40 to 100; the highest-performing B Corps score 160-170.

88.6 = Total of ACE’s score in the five impact areas. Each impact area has a maximum score of 40 points. It’s important to note that zero reflects a business with no good impact, so anything above that is a positive result.

50.9 = Median score for “ordinary” businesses

80 = Minimum score to qualify as a B Corp

200 = Maximum number of points to be earned

“I appreciate everything about B Corp. Having said that, I value the commitment to our stakeholders the most. And when I speak about stakeholders, I speak of our students, employees and communities. I love that we are committed to each of these groups and contributing in a meaningful way. It feels good to look in the mirror and know that your actions at work are positively impacting people’s lives.”

Stephanie Hinshaw Chief Academic Officer and Provost

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The ACE Story of Service

ACE Day of ServiceStaff used more than 1,300 individual civic hours in 2020, finding many creative ways to make a difference. For the first time, staff used hours – 274 of them, to be exact – during the month of September for the inaugural ACE Day of Service campaign. In celebration of ACE’s fourth anniversary as a B Corp, all ACE alumni, students, staff and faculty were encouraged to choose a day to volunteer with nonprofit organizations or charities in their communities, then celebrate and share that voluntarism on social media.

Employees worked with food pantries, animal shelters, schools and many more organizations. Some put on masks and worked in person, while others found ways to help from a distance. No matter how they served, the world is a better place because of ACE!

The heart of being a B Corp beats strongly at ACE. Every year, full-time employees are granted 16 civic hours to use for volunteering during the workday. Many of them go far beyond that 16 hours in their free time, spending countless hours serving their communities in roles ranging from soup kitchen volunteer to nonprofit board member to local school classroom helper. Even during a year of shutdowns and cancellations, ACE still found a way to serve!

Here are just a few highlights from 2020:

1 Jacqui Cook, senior manager, content marketing, delivers toothpaste donations to a local shelter and food pantry near Chicago.

2 Melissa Hill, team lead of Field Operations (Education), records videos of herself playing piano to be shared with local senior centers in Maryland.

3 Debra Cannon, specialist, Curriculum Support & QA, creates a mock-up video building walkthrough for the Children First Charity in Grand Prairie, Texas.

4 Steve Hiller, Taylor Ingles and TJ Davis represent the Field team at the Mid-Ohio Foodbank.

5 ACE Alumni James Kohlbrenner and his son volunteer with HELPCO, which cleans up community spaces around Denver.

6 Dr. Natalie Pelham, assistant vice president, Human Resources, helps A Gift for Teaching hand out supplies to teachers in Central Florida.

“As a former music educator, music remains a passion of mine. ACE provides employees an opportunity to give back to a community organization or volunteer area of our choosing. During the COVID-19 pandemic, residents of assisted living facilities have not been able to enjoy entertainment as they once had. This civic time brought me joy by recording a concert of musical songs and bringing smiles to many residents!”

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Melissa HillTeam Lead of Field Operations (Education)

More than

1,300 individual civic hours used

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Planting Trees for Cool Schools In February, an ACE team from Texas helped plant 78 trees at Frank Guzick School in Dallas as part of our third Texas Trees Foundation Cool Schools event. The Cool Schools program plants trees at schools in Dallas to provide much-needed shade and to get the students involved in learning how to plant and care for the trees.

In a blog post from the Guzick School event, Texas Trees wrote that the ACE team created a memorable experience by helping students understand how to properly plant each tree.

“Our students learn a lot about life science in school, but to see something actually rooted in the ground makes it that much more real,” said art teacher Brandy Verseckes. “There is something about getting dirty and having ownership in a project that helps their learning progress.”

We hope to continue being part of Cool Schools next year!

Teachers’ Treasures Teachers’ Treasures is a valued ACE partner that operates stores where Indianapolis teachers in underserved areas can shop – at no cost – for goods for their classroom. When they have a need, ACE steps up to fill it!

Once again, ACE was a presenting sponsor of The Circle City Donut Dash, a 5K race that Teachers’ Treasures presents every year as a fundraiser (and includes donuts at the halfway mark!). More than 30 ACE volunteers helped at the record-setting event in February, which featured almost 800 participants! We also helped with media coverage and provided staff for interviews, resulting in coverage on six media outlets in the Indianapolis area.

ACE staff also enthusiastically support the Gr8 Paper Push, a school supply drive for Indianapolis-area schools. Of course we had to do it differently in 2020, but we still came out strong! ACE team members donated money to Teachers’ Treasures and ACE matched those funds with a $5,000 donation. The grand total from ACE was a whopping $10,711 – contributing almost one-third of the $37,000+ total raised during the event.

ACE continued to sponsor the Teachers’ Treasures Dream Big Gala, a major fundraiser for the organization. In 2020, it raised almost $200,000! The gala honored some exceptional Indianapolis-area educators, including Teachers’ Treasures 2020 Teacher of the Year, Amanda Phillips, a preschool teacher at Indiana School for the Deaf.

“I love working for an organization that actively encourages giving back to the community. I volunteer with Soldiers’ Angels, supporting deployed service members through writing letters weekly and sending monthly care packages. It is important to me to support service members who give so much through sacrifices to serve our country.”

Jennifer LinchDirector of Training and Development, Human Resources

$10,711raised for Indianapolis-area teachers to provide school supplies

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St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital Getting outside and keeping moving were even more important when we stayed at home in 2020. Through our participation in the Charity Miles program, ACE found a way to make every step count toward a $7,254 donation to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

Charity Miles is an app that participants use to log their steps, with every step counting toward a donation to the selected charity. For 2020, ACE selected St. Jude because of its mission to advance cures, and means of prevention, for pediatric catastrophic diseases through research and treatment. At St. Jude, no child is denied treatment based on race, religion or a family’s ability to pay. Our steps helped contribute to that promise!

raised for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital

$7,254

ACE Retreat Service Project The first all-ACE retreat was held in February in Indianapolis (right before travel was grounded), and it provided some great opportunities to get to know each other while serving the community. The all-staff service project involved taking busloads of ACE staff to Gleaners Food Bank, where they sorted 16,422 pounds of food – enough for 13,600 meals for Indianapolis-area residents experiencing food insecurity. In addition, some staff worked to fill 964 backpacks with school supplies for students in need.

964backpacks filled with school supplies for Indianapolis-area students

13,680meals provided for Indianapolis-area residents experiencing food insecurity

More than

“Service is to go where the need is. A part of humanity is being our brother’s keeper. Service can happen in the simplest of gestures. A smile, a kind gesture, looking in the eyes of someone with a warm smile, asking ‘how are you doing?’ and waiting for an answer, or sending a text of encouragement, are all acts of service.”

DJ StreatCurriculum Developer and Production Coordinator

“The retreat service project was very meaningful to me, due to my love of serving others. It was wonderful to be able to work with others I would never see day to day because of our remote employment situation, and get to know them through service. Having a little fun while working hard doesn’t hurt either. I look forward to these types of opportunities again.”

Larry BarnetteSenior Enrollment Counselor II

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Employee Education

At American College of Education, our mission is “to deliver high-quality, affordable and accessible online programs grounded in evidence-based content and relevant application. We prepare graduates to serve, lead and achieve personal and professional goals in diverse, evolving communities.”

In 2020, we made exciting changes in our nursing department, adding two new programs — the RN to BSN and BSN to MSN — and earning the full five-year accreditation from the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education. We also expanded our offerings to include 18 micro-credentials in education, healthcare, business and leadership, as well as additional programs in healthcare and public health education.

ACE has deep roots in online education, putting us at the forefront of today’s changing educational landscape. Our flexible coursework is built for busy professionals, so our students can fit their classes around their schedules, not ours.

Being online also means we aren’t spending financial resources on the physical buildings of a traditional college campus. Instead, we carefully invest in the development and maintenance of high-quality programs that benefit our students now and in their future career pursuits.

ACE conferred 3,786 degrees and certificates in 2020. That’s more than just a number — that’s 3,786 more people prepared to serve, lead and achieve in their communities and beyond.

Living Our Mission Every Day

ACE By the Numbers

No. 4 conferrer of Master of Education degrees nationally*

No. 1 conferrer of Master of Education degrees in Educational Administration and Supervision and ESL and Bilingual Education*

3,786 degrees and certificates conferred in 2020

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total programs

406

total employees

è25 employees enrolled in ACE programs in 2020 è$79,473 in tuition reimbursement for employees enrolled in ACE programs è$12,934 in tuition reimbursement for ACE employees at other higher education institutions

Working At ACE Staff members are what keep ACE going every day, whether it’s interacting with students or working behind the scenes. That’s why we are so proud to be named again as a Best Place to Work in Indiana. In 2020 – our first time in the Large Companies category – ACE placed No. 4 among this elite group of honorees, based on employer reports and comprehensive employee surveys. We’ve made the list of top 125 Best Places to Work in Indiana again in 2021 but won’t know our final ranking until the summer.

ACE recognizes the need to attract and retain high-quality employees so we can remain a Best Place to Work and provide excellent service to our students. That’s why we are committed to offering benefits that include insurance, a 401(k) match, tuition reimbursement, paid time off, paid volunteer hours and much more. The 2020 Employee Satisfaction Survey reflects that ACE employees are engaged in their work and in the mission and values of the organization.

è 100% of employees reported being satisfied with ACE’s work environment overall

è98% of employees reported being satisfied with ACE leadership and planning

è97% of employees reported feeling engaged with their work at ACE

è97% of employees reported a positive relationship with their supervisor

Employee Satisfaction

According to the 2020 Employee Satisfaction Survey, conducted by a third party.

“Since I first started at ACE in 2012, I have been given the opportunity to provide input on the direction and decisions made by ACE to continue to grow. ACE takes pride in being a TOGETHER growing company. Not many decisions are made without the input of all employees, which means a lot because my vote/opinion matters.”

Robert HoustonSenior Enrollment Manager

Named Fourth BEST PLACE TO WORK IN INDIANA among Large Companies

*Source: https://nces.ed.gov/ipeds/use-the-data

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Diversity & InclusionAmong the many things we are proud of, one of the most rewarding is that 98 percent of employee respondents on the Best Places to Work survey indicated that ACE enables a culture of diversity, and 97 percent of new hires reported feeling heard and validated at work.

When discussions of racial justice came to the forefront in 2020, ACE responded by coordinating panel discussions on topics including “Color Brave Conversations” and “Racial Tensions in America.” We remain committed to ensuring that ACE is a safe, supportive and equitable environment for all employees and look forward to more diversity and inclusion activities in the future.

“Our panel discussions provide an excellent opportunity to explore topics pertinent to diversity and inclusion in a safe place. Moderating these panels has been an exhilarating experience. As we continue to have these discussions, we will create greater awareness of inclusive practices and become a leader within institutions that foster diversity, equity and inclusivity in higher education.”

We may celebrate diversity, but we "live" inclusion.

Fawzia Reza Diversity and Inclusion Coordinator

“American College of Education is committed to living our B Corp mission every day, on the job and in our communities. I am so proud of the work our employees did this past year, even in a pandemic, to make the world a better place. I am excited for the impact we will make in the future.”

Dr. Shawntel LandryACE President

American College of Education101 W. Ohio St., Suite 1200 Indianapolis, IN 46204 317.829.9374

American College of Education

@aceedu

@ace_edu