Tim Grannan never imagined that he and his daughter, Mackenzie, would be enrolled at the University of Memphis at the same time. The 41-year-old father of four girls has spent the last 22 years working at FedEx, rising from a package handler in the hub in 1997 to his current role as operations manager of the FedEx international command center in Memphis.

In his mid-20s, Grannan completed an EMT certification with the goal of becoming a firefighter. Then life and a family came along, and his FedEx career blossomed as a manager. As recently as last summer, the thought of earning a college degree wasn’t even a blip on his radar.

In August 2018, Grannan attended a FedEx management team meeting, where he learned of anew collaboration between the company and the UofM. In the ensuing minutes, Grannan and his colleagues learned more about the partnership — a program known as Learning inspired by FedEx or LiFE — and a summer afternoon meeting quickly evolved into the opportunity of a lifetime.

“My main focus has been making sure my kids are taken care of and pushing them through school,” Grannan says. “When this opportunity came along with FedEx, I wanted to be a part of it. It was a great opportunity for me to continue my education and pursue a bachelor’s degree.”

Dr. Richard Irwin, executive dean of UofM Global and Academic Innovation, spoke at the August 2018 meeting alongside FedEx leadership. They shared details about the LiFE program, which almost sounded too good to be true to many in the audience like Grannan. FedEx Express employees in the Memphis hub who had not finished high school or college, and who met eligibility requirements, could pursue degrees potentially tuition-free through the UofM Global online curriculum.

Employees could begin the program immediately, outside the traditional structure of a standard two-semester calendar, an ideal format for the busy schedules of FedEx employees. Innovative in its design, LiFE is expected to help FedEx solve attrition challenges. FedEx leaders approached the University of Memphis looking for a creative solution through education.

“This program strengthens the University’s relationship with FedEx while addressing a community need,” Irwin says. “FedEx wanted to address a retention challenge, and this program means keeping employees longer with less of a need to retrain. LiFE is a wonderful opportunity for a lot of people who didn’t have a college degree on their personal plan.”

The program is one of the first partnerships of its kind between a corporation and a university, and another link in the strong ties between the city’s largest private employer and the UofM.

Since launching last fall to the 11,000 employees of the Memphis World Hub, the program has expanded to hubs in Indianapolis, Los Angeles, Newark, N.J., and Oakland, Calif., as well as to employees of FedEx Logistics, which is moving its corporate headquarters to downtown Memphis.

In addition to Grannan and several others completing the Prep Academy course, one student has successfully achieved his high school equivalency and another finished her degree program while enrolled in LiFE and graduated in fall 2018.

Through the University's unique experiential learning credit program, many FedEx employees were able to turn their work training into college credit hours. For example, one student was able to move from a junior to a senior based on his extensive training portfolio.

Grannan is currently taking one online course, but prior to that he completed the LiFE Prep Academy, which helps prepare students who either have yet to obtain a high school diploma, have not taken a college entrance exam or who have been away from the classroom for a long time.

LiFE coaches also help evaluate student readiness and guide students throughout the entire experience from enrollment to completion. UofM Global also offers Smart Start, a comprehensive assessment tool.

“The Prep Academy helps prepare you for what to expect as far as online courses go, and if you have any questions, a LiFE coach is there to help you along the way,” says Grannan, who completed the last of his Prep Academy online modules last December.

Students entering the Prep Academy gradually return to the learning environment at their own pace, completing modules with no specific deadline or schedule.

“They are not dealing with deadlines or tests, so they ease into the online learning style,” says Courtney Brafford, director of student success services for UofM Global. “These are mostly adult learners, so people who maybe tried college and it wasn’t successful, so maybe they have a little bit of trepidation about starting school. We’ve received some great feedback about the help that we’ve been able to give them and taken away some of the barriers that might intimidate them.”

After completing the Prep Academy and working with a LiFE coach, participants are enrolled as UofM students. FedEx employees who complete the online curriculum will receive a Bachelor of Professional Studies in Organizational Leadership degree.

As LiFE students begin to share their success stories, interest in the program is growing. Grannan encourages his team members and colleagues to explore the program. With the support of his daughter Mackenzie, a UofM sophomore, and the rest of his family, Grannan continues to take steps toward earning his bachelor’s degree.

“This is truly a great investment that will help me further my career with FedEx, and I am sure FedEx will see a great benefit from this, as they will see growth in their employees,” Grannan says. “An education is priceless. I am just very grateful to be a part of it.”

Although LiFE is less than a year old, the program has already reached several thousand FedEx employees across the U.S. Irwin says that his team receives more than 300 requests each week from potential students.

“We are having discussions about further expansion and there is quite a buzz within FedEx, which I think speaks to the success of the program to date,” Irwin says. “This is a dynamic program; there is great value in having FedEx join us in continuing to think outside of the box. They have been such a great supporter of things that we do at the University of Memphis and this has crystallized that relationship.”

To learn more about the FedEx LiFE program, visit uofmglobal.memphis.edu/LiFE.

 |  photos by Trey Clark  |