Part-time students are disproportionately BILPOC (Black, Indigenous, Latinx, People of Color) students, community college students, and students ages 25 and older—and they graduate at much lower rates than students who are able to attend college full time. We offer professional, 1:1 coaching to make sure students who can only realistically put about 10–12 hours/week towards school have the support they need to complete a degree.

• Among graduates, fewer than 25% take out a loan to cover the cost of enrollment.
• Over half our students qualify for a full Pell Grant.*
• Research shows: Workers with more education generally earn more, and they may also benefit from greater economic stability throughout their careers.
• In a survey of alumni, the majority of our graduates (73%) report a $10K or more increase in their annual salary after graduation.**

58% of our graduates are parents. Our coaches are trained to support students who are pursuing their degree while balancing work, life, family or some combination of all three. Our coaches help with time management, goal setting, problem-solving, and accountability. We can also work closely with you to coordinate other wraparound support you or your network provide.

61% of our graduates are the first in their family to go to college—and they won’t be the last. Research is clear that when parents complete a bachelor’s degree, their kids are more likely to complete a bachelor’s degree, too. This is the beginning of generational wealth building.

Students are paired with a coach who meets with them weekly from the time they begin to the time they graduate. Our graduates often say their coach made all the difference—helping them set goals, stay on track, and navigate challenges. We lead the field in coaching ratios: Our coaches never support more than 50 students at a time—so support is deep and personalized.

We help students enroll in the competency-based education (CBE) program at Southern New Hampshire University (SNHU). SNHU is an accredited, nonprofit university; students earn their degree from SNHU. CBE programs are a set of online, project-based programs designed for busy adults, with a model that emphasizes mastery of skills, knowledge, and behavior over exams or time spent in class.

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 help students navigate financial aid.

In the CBE model, students earn credits by demonstrating mastery of “competencies” in a project-based learning format. Competencies are a mix of skills, behaviors, and knowledge. Some of our students are able to use their real-world experience to move through some competencies very quickly. There is no cap to the number of competencies/credits students can earn in a term, and every term is a flat fee, so if they’re on a roll, they can keep earning competencies without paying more for the term. We find parents are often able to do more coursework when their kids are in school, and dial it back in the summer—without incurring penalties.

• Eligible: People who have a US high school diploma, GED, or an international diploma with passing TOEFL scores.
  
• Motivated: People who are motivated to earn a college degree, because they know it will unlock opportunities not only for them, but also for their family. We find that when the motivation is there, the logistics will follow. Some students tried college before and stopped out—for those students, the right coach and the right program can make all the difference.

Our best partners see us as a key element of their strategy for achieving long-term financial well-being outcomes. The internal champion will serve as a point of contact for things like information sessions, and helping spread the word internally about our program.

We excel in 1:1 coaching for students who are attending online school in the time they are able to carve out for it. We deeply understand the challenges that life and parenting present, and while we are always able to work that into our coaching conversations, we love to work closely with providers like you and your network to ensure students are getting the full support they need from the people best positioned to provide it.