A values-driven, long-term talent plan
Team up with Degree Partners and offer your staff the opportunity to earn a college degree while they work—and advance in your organization.
A values-driven, long-term talent plan
Team up with Degree Partners and offer your staff the opportunity to earn a college degree while they work—and advance in your organization.
Employer Partners
Boost your employer value proposition—and grow your own leaders
Degree Partners is a Texas-based nonprofit that can support your employees to earn their Associate of Arts (AA) and/or Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree, alongside their day-to-day work. Degree Partners is a great fit for organizations where employees may not need a degree for entry and/or mid-level positions, but do need one for advanced leadership roles. We recruit and coach employees through college completion—at no cost to employers.
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Improve retentionCreate a path for high-value employees to advance to roles that require a college degree
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Upskill talent—and avoid churn
Investing in your own talent has a higher ROI than constant churn
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Stay competitive
Offer a high-value benefit for staff who might otherwise be tempted to leave
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Catalyze employee engagement
72% of employees believe that variety at work and the opportunity to upskill are essential to feeling satisfied and maintaining a better work-life balance
A degree that works for working adults
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1:1 professional coaching to help students graduate on time
Your employees will be paired with a College Completion Coach who meets with them weekly from the time they begin until graduation. Most working students who attend a 2- or 4-year university part time are unlikely to receive this kind of coaching support, and that’s what makes our program different. Our graduates often say their coach helped them set goals, stay on track, and navigate challenges. We lead the field in coaching ratios: Our coaches never support more than 50 students, and weekly coaching is a big reason why our graduates tend to finish on time. (“On time” means 3 years for an AA + another 3 years for a BA.)
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Flexible, accredited, fully online, and competency based
Through Degree Partners, your employees will enroll in the competency-based education (CBE) program at Southern New Hampshire University (SNHU). SNHU is an accredited, nonprofit university. CBE programs are a set of online, project-based degree programs built for working adults. CBE focuses on developing mastery of skills, knowledge, and behavior. The competencies employees develop are durable, and highly relevant to work; and the way students are assessed simulates the work environment—receiving feedback and iterating until mastery is achieved. Also, they can move faster through material they’ve already learned on the job, saving time and money while building momentum.
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Affordable tuition, so your employer tuition assistance or reimbursement benefit goes farther
The cost of the program is $2,237 per 16-week trimester, or term. This includes $1,137 in tuition to SNHU, and $1,100 in student support fees that come back to us at Degree Partners. At three terms per year, the annual cost is $6,712.
There are no surprise fees. Most of our students use a mix of Pell Grant, employer tuition assistance or reimbursement, and self-pay to fund their degree. Fewer than 25% of our graduates take out a loan to cover the cost of enrollment, though grant/loan eligibility and amounts vary by student and aren’t guaranteed. We will help your employees navigate their external financial aid options while also providing any documentation necessary for your tuition assistance or reimbursement program.
What makes a great employer partnership?
While we are fully committed to students and take on the advising, coaching, and other supports, we find employer partnerships work best when employers are values aligned—they believe it’s worth it to invest in their employees this way—and can:
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Help identify employees who make a great fit, such as:
- High-performing, tenured employees with invaluable on-the-job experience, whose only barrier to internal advancement is that they lack a college degree. These students are often able to leverage their existing knowledge and skills to move quickly through our program.
- High-potential employees, early in their career, who aren’t yet eligible for roles that require a degree, but will be soon. They can get their degree requirement out of the way now and be ready with the time comes—and deepen their commitment to your organization.
- Working parents, especially those who put their degrees on hold to start a family. 58% of our graduates are parents!
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Designate an internal champion to help drive the work forward
We want to be more than a flyer on the break room wall. Our best partnerships include internal champions—people with decision-making power as well as people who can execute the program from an HR and management standpoint. They see their partnership with Degree Partners as a key element of their talent strategy. The internal champion will serve as a point of contact for things like information sessions, and helping spread the word internally about our program.
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Provide benefits such as tuition assistance or reimbursement and flex time
Because our base costs are low, tuition assistance or reimbursement goes a long way—and shows your employees you are invested in their growth. This in turn can boost engagement and retention.
Employer FAQs
Among our graduates, the average time to complete an Associate of Arts was 21 months. Once students had an associate’s degree, either through Degree Partners + SNHU or from another institution, the average time to complete a Bachelor of Arts with us was, on average, just over 2 years later. Most of our students are working full time while they complete their degree.
The cost of the program is $2,237 per 16-week trimester, or term. This includes $1,137 in tuition to SNHU, and $1,100 in student support fees that come back to us at Degree Partners. At three terms per year, the annual cost is $6,712.
There are no surprise fees. Most of our students use a mix of Pell Grant, employer tuition assistance or reimbursement, and self-pay to fund their degree. Employer tuition assistance requirements vary by employer, and grant eligibility and amounts vary by student and are not guaranteed. We will help your employees navigate their external financial aid options (such as a Pell Grant) while also providing any documentation necessary for your tuition assistance or reimbursement program.
No, they do not need to drop down to part time at work; 73% of our current students are working full time. We find our students need about 10–12 hours/week to commit to schoolwork in order to stay on track. Those hours are fully flexible: Mornings, nights, lunch breaks, weekends—whatever works for them, works for us.
No. Any tuition reimbursement benefit you have goes straight to students. We will not charge you anything. We fund our work with a mix of revenue sharing with our university partners, as well as philanthropy.
While we are fully committed to students and take on the coaching, academic, and other supports, we find employer partnerships work best when employers can (a) sign an MOU so we can share data, and (b) designate an internal champion to help drive the work forward. Degree Partners will do the heavy lifting, but active partnership makes a difference.
Jorge Morales
“I am a firm supporter of Degree Partners and have always pushed our employees to use this great resource. As a non-traditional, first-gen college graduate myself, I can relate to the struggles to advance in your career without the proper tools in your toolbox. I have met and supported many of our City of Austin employees that have accepted the challenge and gone back to school with Degree Partners. The support structure provided has helped so many employees obtain multiple degrees. I’ve seen so many of those same employees create new career paths and grow professionally within the City of Austin.”
Sara Boone Hartley
“During my tenure as an executive at the City of Austin, one of the most impactful partnerships I forged was with Degree Partners. Their model for supporting employees in returning to college and staying the course through to graduation proved to be both strategic and deeply human-centered. Our employees consistently shared that it was Degree Partners who made their degree journey not only possible, but transformative. The individualized coaching and consistent encouragement helped them grow both personally and professionally.”
Adriana “Adry” (Martinez) Guillen
“I was so busy with life…I just lost all hope in school. I was more focused on getting a job to support my family. I got a job offer with the City of Austin, and that’s where I came across Degree Partners. Their goal was to clear any hurdles between me and my education; between me and getting my degree. You still have to put in the work. You still have to motivate yourself. And they are there to support and motivate you to stay on your path.”
Amanda McChesney
“For 7 years, I taught pre-K, watching others step into opportunities I was more than capable of taking on. I wanted more: for myself, for my family, and especially for my 2 children. I wanted to be an example they could look up to…When my principal told me about [Degree Partners], it felt like a turning point. It was online, competency-based, affordable, and designed for people like me: working full time, raising a family, and still daring to dream. Since completing my degree, I’ve finished my first year as a lead teacher and stepped into a new role as the Grade 2 lead. In this position, I have the opportunity to work closely with the lead team, support parents, and mentor my peers.”
Clay Rivers
“I didn’t have to quit my job. I didn’t have to sacrifice my family time. If I had done traditional online college, I think the interaction would be a little artificial. With Degree Partners, it’s a different story. There are individuals who can help you.”
Jorge Morales
“I am a firm supporter of Degree Partners and have always pushed our employees to use this great resource. As a non-traditional, first-gen college graduate myself, I can relate to the struggles to advance in your career without the proper tools in your toolbox. I have met and supported many of our City of Austin employees that have accepted the challenge and gone back to school with Degree Partners. The support structure provided has helped so many employees obtain multiple degrees. I’ve seen so many of those same employees create new career paths and grow professionally within the City of Austin.”
Sara Boone Hartley
“During my tenure as an executive at the City of Austin, one of the most impactful partnerships I forged was with Degree Partners. Their model for supporting employees in returning to college and staying the course through to graduation proved to be both strategic and deeply human-centered. Our employees consistently shared that it was Degree Partners who made their degree journey not only possible, but transformative. The individualized coaching and consistent encouragement helped them grow both personally and professionally.”
Adriana “Adry” (Martinez) Guillen
“I was so busy with life…I just lost all hope in school. I was more focused on getting a job to support my family. I got a job offer with the City of Austin, and that’s where I came across Degree Partners. Their goal was to clear any hurdles between me and my education; between me and getting my degree. You still have to put in the work. You still have to motivate yourself. And they are there to support and motivate you to stay on your path.”
Amanda McChesney
“For 7 years, I taught pre-K, watching others step into opportunities I was more than capable of taking on. I wanted more: for myself, for my family, and especially for my 2 children. I wanted to be an example they could look up to…When my principal told me about [Degree Partners], it felt like a turning point. It was online, competency-based, affordable, and designed for people like me: working full time, raising a family, and still daring to dream. Since completing my degree, I’ve finished my first year as a lead teacher and stepped into a new role as the Grade 2 lead. In this position, I have the opportunity to work closely with the lead team, support parents, and mentor my peers.”
Clay Rivers
“I didn’t have to quit my job. I didn’t have to sacrifice my family time. If I had done traditional online college, I think the interaction would be a little artificial. With Degree Partners, it’s a different story. There are individuals who can help you.”
Employer Partners
