Inside the Culture Powering Core Education’s Work

Core Education was built to address a challenge that sits beneath many of higher education's most pressing issues. Colleges and universities carry deeply personal missions, and sustaining those missions requires operating models that support long-term independence and growth.

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As a mission-critical operating partner to colleges and universities, Core Education works alongside institutions to strengthen strategy, finance, technology, and operations. The work is complex and high-stakes, focused on helping institutions remain resilient and equipped to serve students for generations.

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What has become equally defining is how intentionally Core has designed the culture behind that work. At Core, culture is not treated as a benefit or a set of values on the wall, it is designed as an operating system. “Our culture rewards people with meaning, mastery, and momentum,” said Core CEO Kamalika Sandell. “When people know their work strengthens institutional independence and long-term resilience, purpose becomes a performance advantage. Every improvement compounds.”

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That focus placed Core Education among the recipients of the Breakthrough Culture Awards, which recognize the most thriving companies to work for in the United States. After evaluating more than 5,000 companies and surveying over 20,000 employees, the awards highlight companies where a day-to-day experience directly supports sustained performance.

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At Core, employee feedback consistently pointed to clarity. People understood what they were building, why it mattered, and how their role connected to the broader system. As the company grew, leadership approached culture with the same discipline applied to institutional strategy, focusing on the conditions that support engagement, focus, and long-term effectiveness.

Ownership plays a central role in that environment. Team members lead initiatives, shape internal systems, and improve how work gets done as part of their everyday responsibilities. Many of the company’s internal practices began as ideas raised by employees who identified opportunities and carried them forward with support from leadership and peers.

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Transparency reinforces that sense of responsibility. Each month, the company shares financials, decisions, and priorities in open forums so people understand direction and context. Feedback flows through regular pulse surveys and open channels, and leadership follows up with clear updates on what has changed. Core’s net promoter score, which hit as high as +59 last June, consistently out performs higher education and professional services benchmarks, reflecting growing confidence and alignment across the organization.

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The nature of the work itself deepens engagement. Employees spend their time solving real problems across finance, technology, and strategy that directly affect partner institutions. There is space to think deeply, refine complex models, and take responsibility for decisions that carry long-term consequences. That depth shapes how people approach their work and collaborate with one another.

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As Core continues to scale, growth happens through the work itself. Team members develop by taking on new challenges, supported by shared learning, peer forums, and leadership conversations that help keep the organization aligned. Culture evolves alongside the business, shaped by the systems in place and the people building within them.

The people who tend to thrive at Core share a common orientation. They are drawn to complexity, motivated by purpose, and interested in building systems that endure. They come to contribute meaningfully to institutions that matter, and they stay because the environment supports that ambition with trust and clarity.

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“We look for people who think across boundaries - who can see connections between finance, technology, leadership, and mission,” reflected Dr. Maria Wayne, Core's Chief People Officer. “We attract them by being the kind of company they have been searching for: transparent, trusting, and mission-aligned.”

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For BCA, Core Education’s recognition reflects a workplace built with intention and sustained through practice. It reflects how culture at Core supports collaboration, decision-making, and shared responsibility across the organization.

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Core’s mission centers on helping colleges and universities remain strong, independent, and able to serve their communities over the long term. The culture supporting that mission mirrors the work itself, grounded in care, rigor, and endurance.

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That alignment explains why Core Education was selected as one of the most thriving companies to work for in America. It also explains why its culture continues to support people who are building systems meant to last.