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Burlington And Champlain College Announce Partnership Providing Low Cost Tuition For City Residents

Champlain College
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Champlain College

A new partnership agreement has been announced between the city of Burlington, Vermont and Champlain College that will allow city residents to take online courses at reduced cost.
Burlington Mayor Miro Weinberger and Champlain College President Dr. Benjamin Akande announced the Skill Accelerator Program Wednesday.  Weinberger said the COVID-19 pandemic has caused sudden economic disruption, leading to the loss of, or uncertain employment for, thousands of city residents.  Weinberger says the partnership with the college will allow individuals to pursue new career opportunities.  “Burlington residents can now sign up for reduced tuition in online undergraduate certificate programs and ultimately for people who want to go beyond the certificate program to a full undergraduate degree this discount can apply there as well. This is something that city of Burlington employees have had available to them as sort of an employee benefit. Champlain College has found a way to offer this to every any Burlingtonian who is interested in pursuing a certificate or an undergraduate degree at this time.”

Akande says the college is anchoring its strategy on accessibility and affordability and there has been an urgency to create the partnership and bring online programs to city residents.  “What this collaboration does is it takes deliberate steps to create certainty for the future of Burlingtonians that have been upended by this pandemic and consequent recession.  Our goal is essentially to be able to provide the kind of pivot opportunity that will allow individuals that have been furloughed or laid off to be able to move into different areas, to strengthen their skill sets and to be competitively attractive in the marketplace.”

In 2018 the college cut online undergraduate tuition in half.  The new agreement with the city reduces the cost for Burlington residents another 17 percent to $265 per credit hour.
Associate Vice President of Champlain College Online Melissa Marcello says their programs are designed for online adult learners.  “Our programs are designed to get our folks in the workforce or to accelerate their careers in the workforce. We have pathways for folks to get into those jobs in six to nine months. And through this program with the city of Burlington we’re talking about less than $5,000 much of which probably could be funded through federal financial aid or perhaps PELL eligible grants if folks are eligible for that.”

Marcello adds that the programs are flexible because they are completely online.  “We work really well with folks schedules because you don’t have to be in class at a set time. Our classes are 100 percent online. And then students who complete these certificates are then eligible to move on to a Champlain 100 percent online bachelor’s degree at that preferred pricing. We don’t want cost to be a barrier for them completing that career changing bachelor’s degree too.”

Burlington Chief Innovation Officer Brian Lowe helped the city craft the partnership agreement with Champlain College.  “You don’t need an ACT, you don’t need an SAT to apply into these programs. You need to apply. But there are not huge barriers to entry here. And if you have a GED or a high school transcript you are also likely eligible for some financial assistance from the federal government. I think it’s amazing that the college is already discounted by half. I think it’s great that they’re coming down even further.”

The city of Burlington will cover costs for implementation of the program, expected to be under $5,000, which includes resetting rates for currently enrolled residents.
Applications for the fall semester must be submitted by July 31st.

 

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