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Northern Kentucky University Joins National Coalition for Degree Completion

  • 10/08/19

HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, KY– Northern Kentucky University (NKU) has entered into a partnership with the Institute for Higher Education Policy (IHEP) to join the second cohort of Degrees When Due, a national initiative to help students who have some college credits complete their degrees.

Degrees When Due shares best practices with the cohort to re-engaging students who have paused, or “stopped out,” their studies. The initiative aligns with NKU’s Success by Design strategic framework that identified three pillars of student success—access, completion, and career and community engagement. NKU’s Adult Learner Programs and Services (ALPS) supports these post-traditional students returning to achieve their degree, and the Degrees When Due program will help ALPS reach more diverse learners.

“Some of the biggest barriers keeping adults from finishing their degree are finances, time, and resources. The IHEP cohort gives NKU access to tools that will help us remove system barriers to adult students’ success at NKU,” says Amy Danzo, director of Adult Learner Programs and Services. “Being selected as a part of this cohort is a great honor for NKU ALPS, and it will give us even more tools to assist students on their dream to finishing their degree.”

Through the nine-month program, NKU will enhance its expertise and capacity to get those near graduation across the finish line. Degrees When Due provides a variety of online tools and resources to help audit previously earned and transfer credits to determine each student’s most efficient pathway to graduation. The initiative will benefit the more than 60,000 individuals in Kentucky who have been identified as having some college credits but no awarded degree.

“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,’” says IHEP President Michelle Asha Cooper, Ph.D. “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.”

The Kentucky Council on Post-Secondary Education facilitated NKU’s participation in the Degrees When Due initiative, along with other institutions across the state. For the list of Kentucky institutions in Cohort 2, visit the Degrees When Due website.

About NKU
Founded in 1968, Northern Kentucky University is a growing metropolitan university of more than 14,000 students served by more than 2,000 faculty and staff on a thriving suburban campus near Cincinnati, OH. Located in the quiet suburb of Highland Heights, Kentucky—just seven miles southeast of Cincinnati—NKU has become a leader in Greater Cincinnati and Kentucky by providing a private school education for a fraction of the cost. For more information, visit nku.edu.

About the Institute for Higher Education Policy
The Institute for Higher Education Policy (IHEP) is a nonpartisan, nonprofit research and advocacy organization that is committed to promoting postsecondary access and success for all students. Established in 1993, IHEP develops innovative policy- and practice-oriented research to guide policymakers and education leaders and to address our nation's most pressing education challenges. Visit www.ihep.org to learn more about IHEP's research, leadership, and experts.

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