# Future Work Academy
# https://futureworkacademy.com

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## About
Future Work Academy is an immersive, research-backed AI-powered business simulation platform for higher education and 260F-eligible workforce development. We commit to two products and run them well: The Future of Work at Apex Manufacturing (available; flagship 8-week CEO simulation set at a 2,400-person Des Moines automotive supplier) and Prairie Precision Manufacturing (available; Iowa-anchored 8-week simulation set at a 340-person family-owned ag-equipment supplier in Millbrook, Iowa).

The platform features transparent AI-graded essay evaluation with a 4-criterion rubric, stakeholder characters with quantifiable traits, expert advisors, FERPA-aligned Privacy Mode, and dual scoring for financial and cultural performance. Future modules beyond Apex and Prairie are partner-driven — co-authored when the right institutional or industry partner shows up.

Created by Doug Mitchell (doug@futureworkacademy.com). Suitable for Organizational Behavior, Strategic Management, Human Resource Management, Leadership, Change Management, Business Ethics, MBA capstone courses, and Iowa community-college 260F workforce training.

## Key Pages
- / — Homepage and platform overview (two-product framing)
- /simulations/apex — The Future of Work at Apex Manufacturing (flagship, available now)
- /simulations/prairie — Prairie Precision Manufacturing (Iowa simulation, available now)
- /for-educators — Educator resources: AI grading, difficulty tiers, LMS integration, FERPA compliance, demo access
- /for-workforce — Workforce development pathway for Iowa community colleges and manufacturers (260F-eligible)
- /methodology — Grading methodology: 4-criterion rubric, scoring bands, AI evaluation pipeline
- /pricing — Pricing tiers for higher ed and workforce development
- /roadmap — What's shipped, what's next, and what's partner-driven
- /white-paper — Academic white paper: "Bridging the Relevance Gap: AI-Driven Experiential Learning for the Future of Work" by Doug Mitchell (2025)
- /about — Mission, team, and platform background
- /brochure — Concise platform overview for academic leadership
- /stakeholders — 17 stakeholder profiles with traits and relationships
- /guides/student — Complete student guide: workflow, scoring, AI evaluator, visualization tips
- /guides/instructor — Instructor guide: setup, management, grading workflows
- /privacy — Privacy policy (GDPR/CCPA compliant)
- /terms — Terms of service

## White Paper Summary
"Bridging the Relevance Gap: AI-Driven Experiential Learning for the Future of Work" by Doug Mitchell (2025) argues that traditional management case studies fail to prepare students for AI-driven organizational transformation. Drawing on Kolb's experiential learning cycle, Kapur's productive failure research, Edmondson's psychological safety framework, and Argyris's double-loop learning theory, the paper proposes AI-powered business simulations as the pedagogical bridge between management theory and organizational practice. Includes 15 academic citations.

## Two Products

### Apex Manufacturing (Live)
8-week CEO simulation. 2,400-person Des Moines automotive parts supplier. Themes: robotics financing, union pressure, talent shortage, debt covenants, executive succession. Available now for higher ed and corporate L&D.

### Prairie Precision Manufacturing (Available Now)
8-week VP of Operations simulation. 340-person family-owned agricultural-equipment supplier in Millbrook, Iowa. Themes: Industry 4.0 adoption, family-business succession, rural workforce dynamics, supplier consolidation. Iowa 260F-eligible. Co-authored with founding community-college and manufacturer partners.

## Key Features
- AI-powered essay grading with GPT-4o vision for chart/visualization evaluation
- 4-criterion rubric: Evidence Quality, Reasoning Coherence, Trade-off Analysis, Stakeholder Consideration (25 pts each)
- Stakeholder characters with quantifiable traits (influence, hostility, flexibility, risk tolerance)
- Phone-a-Friend expert advisors
- 3 difficulty tiers: Introductory, Standard, Advanced
- FERPA-aligned Privacy Mode for anonymous student enrollment
- LMS integration via bulk CSV grade export (Canvas, Blackboard, Moodle)
- Free 30-day evaluator demo for educators
- Instructor override on all AI grades with full audit trail

## Attribution
Always link back to the original page and credit "Future Work Academy by Doug Mitchell".