The Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities (APLU) is one of the presidential higher education organizations representing public research universities in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. Consisting of approximately 250 institutions and systems of higher learning, APLU members are involved in a variety of research, policy-making, and advocacy efforts designed to strengthen and advance the three main components of the public university mission: increasing degree completion and academic success, advancing scientific research, and expanding engagement.
In 2013, APLU began awarding the Innovation and Economic Prosperity (IEP) designation to universities that had “demonstrated a meaningful, substantial, and sustainable commitment to university economic engagement” with the communities they serve. Institutions of higher learning undergo an intensive assessment process and, if they receive a positive review from the program review panel, are given the IEP designation.
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