Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google

A Silicon Valley University Achieves High Graduation Rate

  • 07/16/14

PALO ALTO, CA ― When it comes to offering Bachelor degree programs that provide unique advantages to their students, Palo Alto University is way ahead of the rest.

Palo Alto University (PAU), a not-for-profit institution, offers two-year bachelor degree programs to students who have completed their General Education requirements at their local community colleges. An impressive 78 percent of these transferred students have completed bachelor’s degrees at PAU, with 92 percent of the students finishing in less than two years. In contrast, the national graduation rate data are:

  • Six years after starting at a four-year college, 58 percent of students graduated with bachelor’s degrees.
  • Students who started at community colleges were much less likely to graduate. After starting at a two-year community college, only 11 percent of students graduated with bachelor’s degrees.

As students study with PAU, they can take advantage of the Tuition Stabilization Program in addition to established federal student aid programs.

How Does It Work?

  • Over the last 30 years, the average university tuition rate has risen by more than 250 percent.
  • The California State University and the University of California continue to increase their tuition costs on an annual basis.

The Tuition Stabilization Program automatically freezes students’ tuition rate for the duration of their bachelor’s degree programs, which means that fees are guaranteed not to rise during the length of their study.

Everything on Schedule
At PAU, classes run like clockwork. Students working towards a two-year degree will find that all their classes are pre-scheduled for the duration of their studies. This means they can have effective forward-planning, scheduling conflicts are avoided and there are no waiting lists or late graduations because a student was unable to get into a class.

Size Matters
Across the United States, students are being packed into large classrooms with other students. PAU is committed to small class sizes (20 to 35 students is the norm). PAU firmly believes that the smaller the group, the more interaction and quality time students can have with their professors and fellow students. This leads to a great educational benefit.

To find out more about this, please visit the Palo Alto University website.

Featured

  • Florida District Completes Construction on New Leadership Institute

    Pinellas County Schools near Tampa, Fla., recently announced that construction is complete on the new Dr. Michael A. Grego Leadership Institute, according to a news release. The district partnered with Rowe Architects for the project’s design and with Skanska for construction services.

  • Designing for Every Mind

    Learning environments have the power to shape not just what students know, but who they become. When a school is designed with genuine empathy—for the full range of ways students think, sense, and engage with the world—it becomes more than a building. It becomes a catalyst for growth, confidence, and belonging. That is the animating idea behind neurodiverse design, and it is one that is transforming how more architects and designers are thinking about school design.

  • Architectural Power for the Modern Campus Landscape

    For generations, an outdoor classroom only required a textbook and a patch of grass. Today, not only has the laptop replaced the printed pages, the rise of agile learning has turned campuses into study halls with students listening to lectures and researching topics from quads, gardens, and plazas. The challenge for architects and facility managers is to provide connectivity without cluttering the landscape with visual eyesores or creating safety hazards with extension cords.

  • Moline-Coal Valley School District to Consolidate Two Schools into New Facility

    The Moline-Coal Valley School District in Moline, Ill., recently broke ground on a new elementary school that will consolidate the students and staff from two existing schools, according to local news. Robert Ontiveros Elementary School will serve as the new home for Lincoln-Irving Elementary School and Willard Elementary School.