11 When working full-time and pursuing a degree, persistence is a key factor. After investing in an employee’s education, INL plans to reap the benefit by keeping employees at the lab. In 2017, the graduate retention rate for employee education was 94 percent. LEADING FIELDS Aligning programs with lab needs is critical for ensuring that the invest- ment in continuing education is money well spent.The University Partnerships Division works close- ly with INL leadership to ensure that employees’educational pursuits support the lab’s agenda and core capabilities. Lab managers identified project management, followed by computational science and engineer- ing, as the top fields where training and education were needed. Power and energy systems, information sys- tems management and information/ cybersecurity also ranked highly. OFTHE DEGREES OBTAINED THROUGHTHE EMPLOYEE EDUCATION PROGRAM WERE GRADUATE DEGREES 52% Associate Masters Bachelors Doctorate 40 18 14 12 14 Industrial technology Nuclear science and engineering Technology management Computer science Business administration or business management DEGREES OBTAINED THROUGH THE EMPLOYEE EDUCATION PROGRAM IN 2017 Major Bachelor’sDegree Master’sDegree DoctorateDegree BusinessAdministration 2 1 ComputerScience 1 ElectricalEngineering 1 EmergencyManagement 1 EngineeringManagement 1 EnvironmentalScience 1 GeneralStudies 1 Geology 1 H.R.Training&Development 3 1 IndustrialTechnology 3 NuclearEngineering 3 OperationsManagement 1 Psychology 1 TechnologyManagement 3 TOP 5 DEGREES PURSUED IN 2017