UCM Joins Degrees When Due, a Nationwide Completion Initiative to Strengthen the Pathway to a College Degree

By Jeff Murphy, October 17, 2019

WARRENSBURG, MO – The University of Central Missouri has been selected to join Degrees When Due, a national initiative of the Institute for Higher Education Policy (IHEP), to help students who have some college credit to complete their degrees.

As one of the colleges and universities from 20 states participating in Degrees When Due, UCM will learn best practices in degree reclamation and provide targeted support while re-engaging students who have paused, or “stopped out,” their studies. UCM’s participation in the initiative is facilitated through the Institute for Higher Education Policy, which also is participating in Degrees When Due through the Missouri Department of Higher Education and Workforce Development.

“Through this partnership, UCM reaffirms our commitment to helping students complete their degree. We encourage students who had to pause their educational pursuits to continue their efforts,” said Phillip Bridgmon, Ph.D., UCM provost and vice president for academic affairs. “As an institution, we pledge that we will provide the programs and services that facilitates their return and will support our students as they finish what they started.”

Degrees When Due will grant UCM access to a variety of resources to help more students complete their degrees and to help the institution audit students’ previously earned and transfer credits to determine the most efficient pathway to graduation. The program will benefit the more than 75,647 individuals in Missouri 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,’” said 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.”