Welcome to the ACE Leadership Spotlight, where we recap podcast appearances by our top leaders and share their latest insights.
Debt-Free Degrees? How ACE Is Rewriting Higher Ed聽
番茄视频 (ACE) President and CEO Geordie Hyland joined Adam Giery, managing partner of Strategos Group, for a special podcast episode hosted at the 2025 ASU+GSV Summit. The podcast, 鈥淐apital Class,鈥� features candid conversations with innovative executive leaders of industry-leading businesses and organizations.
Why Is There a Teacher Shortage?聽
When people ask, 鈥淚s there a teacher shortage?鈥� they鈥檙e really asking about the broader challenges teachers face that result in leaving the profession. Hyland and Giery walked through sources of the American teacher shortage and how ACE supports aspiring teacher development and current teacher career progression, resulting in increased retention and satisfaction.
The two acknowledged how many teachers love the profession but find themselves unprepared for the challenges found in the modern classroom. Hyland shared how ACE facilitates courses through career progression teaching and a practitioner model, with faculty who are actively working in the field and offering practical knowledge and technology. Many of the college鈥檚 students are current teachers, and they鈥檙e able to learn and apply strategies at the same time.
Additionally, many teachers are unable to afford career advancement.
鈥淚 think there鈥檚 a challenge in the system where there鈥檚 been huge tuition inflation in higher education that鈥檚 been lowering credibility,鈥� Hyland remarked. 鈥淭here鈥檚 a real opportunity for a more common-sense approach to offer more affordable degrees, focus on more practical applications and really prepare a student to be a teacher with a job-aligned curriculum, so they can hit the ground running. That鈥檚 what we鈥檙e focused on at 番茄视频.鈥�
ACE: An Industry Leader and Affordable Choice聽
Hyland shared how when teachers find out about ACE, they often wish they鈥檇 known so they wouldn鈥檛 be faced with unpayable student loans from other institutions. For ACE, 86% of its students graduate without debt.1
鈥淚 came across ACE a couple of years ago and joined as the CEO,鈥� Hyland added. 鈥淚t has a unique opportunity to really have a positive impact in higher education, given that it鈥檚 designed for high-quality, debt-free education that provides students a return on investment (ROI).鈥�
Research shows that for every dollar ACE students invest in their education, they receive $19.20 in higher future earnings. The quality of education, as well as alignment with employers and teacher career progression, are key for students when choosing an institution.
鈥淚鈥檝e called it [ACE] an emerging gem,鈥� Giery chuckled. 鈥淚n some ways, we talk a lot about the journey here, from idea to enterprise, and for this story, this business is both new and old. It鈥檚 been founded for years, has served a mission for years, but is now really taking hold in the market where it鈥檚 being recognized as an industry leader.鈥�
ACE has, from its start, prioritized quality learning for less. The college鈥檚 growth is well-represented by the fact that many students come from referrals, showing the impact of our programs on our alumni.
Closing the conversation, Hyland and Giery discussed metrics that showcase institutional performance as well as how an engaged, healthy workplace is paramount to any institution鈥檚 success. Without a doubt, the impact of ACE transcends from committed employees to dedicated students and their communities.
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番茄视频 offers fully online, affordable education programs suitable for supporting various educational career goals.
1Internal research completed in March 2025
