The Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education have rolled out a new degree completion program for adults.
Reach Higher: DirectComplete is based on a program that helps working adults with some college credits earn general associate or bachelor’s degrees. OSRHE Vice Chancellor for Academic and Student Affairs Debbie Blanke said the new program requires students to go for a degree that will get them a job on Oklahoma’s 100 critical occupations list.
"Since we had a foundation of an adult re-engagement program in a general area, we wanted to tie adults going back to school to more of workforce development," Blanke said.
Those jobs range from registered nurses to aerospace engineers and include options for associate and bachelor's degree–holders.
Reach Higher: DirectComplete is sponsored by a three-year, $777,000 grant from the Lumina Foundation. While it does not offer scholarships, partner schools, businesses and nonprofits can help in other ways.
"Some of them may be offering book assistance so that students can buy their books. Some may be offering to help direct them to resources where they can get child care or they can get transportation assistance," Blanke said. "Maybe they’ve got an old debt at an institution. Some of them are trying to find ways to give people a fund so that they can either get that completely paid off or at least get a payment plan."
The program is for adults 25 to 49 who have at least 75 percent of the credits needed for an associate degree or at least 50 percent of the credits needed for a bachelor's degree. Participants get up to two years to finish an associate degree or three years to finish a bachelor's.
