UK and Other State Institutions to Participate in National Adult Degree Completion Initiative

FRANKFORT, Ky. (Oct. 7, 2019) — The University of Kentucky is among 14 Kentucky public colleges and universities that will participate in Degrees When Due, a national initiative of the Institute for Higher Education Policy (IHEP), to help students who have some college credits complete their degrees.

Campus liaisons will learn best practices in adult completion strategies, while re-engaging students who have stopped out of their studies.

The Council on Postsecondary Education (CPE) will facilitate the state’s participation.

“This partnership will boost our adult completion efforts by focusing on IHEP’s proven strategies and best practices for adult re-engagement and completion,” said CPE President Aaron Thompson. “Helping more adults finish what they started is important to their career opportunities and Kentucky’s economic growth,” he added.

Participating universities include Eastern Kentucky University, Kentucky State University, Morehead State University, Northern Kentucky University, University of Kentucky and University of Louisville.

Kentucky’s universities will use the program to expand Project Graduate, a degree completion program for adults with 80 or more credit hours

Colleges of the Kentucky Community and Technical College System participating include Big Sandy Community and Technical College, Bluegrass Community and Technical College, Gateway Community and Technical College, Hazard Community and Technical College, Hopkinsville Community and Technical College, Madisonville Community and Technical College, Maysville Community and Technical College and Southcentral KY Community and Technical College.

Degrees When Due will grant campuses access to a variety of resources to help more students complete their degrees and to help the institution audit students’ previously earned and transfer credits to determine the most efficient pathway to graduation.

“Students who leave college without a credential often feel that they have missed their opportunity, but the reality is that they have not,” said Lisa Cox, director of EKU’s Student Outreach and Transition Office and campus lead for Project Graduate. “The strategies we will learn through our partnership with Degrees when Due will help us to better identify and serve a diverse population of adult learners, strengthening the communities we are committed to serve.”

“Our Degrees When Due institutional and state partners are building a strong pathway to degree attainment for all students, including by providing an on-ramp for those who have paused their studies or ‘stopped-out,’” said IHEP President Michelle Asha Cooper. “IHEP enthusiastically welcomes the selected institutions and states to this effort. Through this initiative, they will increase student success, serve a diverse set of student populations, and join us in addressing one of higher education’s most pressing challenges: degree completion.”