Kentucky State University joins Degrees When Due, a national adult completion initiative
Kentucky State University joined 14 Kentucky public colleges and universities participating 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.
Through the initiative, campus liaisons will learn best practices in adult completion strategies, while re-engaging students who have stopped out of their studies, according to a news release from the Council on Postsecondary Education (CPE).
“Kentucky State University is honored to be among the group of competitively selected campuses participating in Degrees When Due,” Kimberly Sipes, deputy provost at Kentucky State University, said. “We anticipate expanding our Credit for Life and Project Graduate initiatives to reach more adult learners and reclaim returning students in our community of service so that they can achieve success. As Project Coordinator, I am eager to use the resources available through Degree When Due to assist as many students as possible and thereby, support the Commonwealth’s goal of expanding access to post-secondary learning for all.”
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.”
Kentucky State University and other state universities will use the program to expand Project Graduate, a degree completion program for adults with 80 or more credit hours, according to the CPE release.
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 a student’s previously earned and transfer credits to determine the most efficient pathway to graduation.
“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,’” IHEP President Michelle Asha Cooper, Ph.D., said in a CPE news release. “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.”