PHOENIX – The Arizona Board of Regents received a $1.1 million grant to encourage Arizonans to return to college, ABOR announced on Tuesday.
The grant was made possible by the Helios Education Foundation and will be used to start a new program titled the AZ Comeback Initiative. The program will be aimed at students who have college credits but didn’t complete a degree.
“The AZ Comeback Initiative will make a profound impact on the lives of thousands of Arizonans who may have thought their educational journey was over. By providing more resources and developing more accessible pathways to re-enter our institutions, we can help rekindle the dream of earning a degree and achieving career goals,” ABOR Chair Cecilia Mata said in a press release.
“This grant from Helios Education Foundation is a significant investment in Arizona’s economic future, and we’re proud to have our public universities leading this effort.”
Details on ABOR degree completion program
Arizona State University, Northern Arizona University and the University of Arizona will all support the project while working in tandem to study how to make degree completion more accessible.
According to a press release, there are a nearly 770,000 students who left college without completing their degrees in Arizona. And by 2030, an estimated 67% of jobs will require postsecondary education. Yet less than half of working-age adults in Arizona have reached that level of education, according to the Arizona Education Progress Meter.
“The AZ Comeback Initiative represents a bold, collaborative effort to re-engage thousands of Arizonans who have made progress toward a degree but haven’t yet crossed the finish line,” Paul J. Luna, president and chief executive officer of Helios Education Foundation, said in a release.
“By investing in this initiative, we’re not only supporting individuals in reaching their goals, but also helping to build a stronger, more prosperous Arizona for everyone.”
The pilot program will also track key data, such as student and educator participation numbers.
The post Arizona Board of Regents gets $1.1M grant to promote degree completion appeared first on KTAR.
