Millions of adults have some college but no degree

MiMi Gravley works full-time, as a community relations liaison at Strawberry Mansion High in Philadelphia. She's also a full-time college student and juggles raising her own kids and making ends meet. Gravley is smart and motivated; she wanted to earn a college degree, but life and bills got in the way.

- Kristen A. Graham, Tribune News Service

She left college once because the price tag was too high. “You want the degree, but if you don't have the money, you don't have the money,” said Gravley, who grew up in Philadelphia and attended culinary school after graduating from Central High. She earned an associate's degree at Community College of Philadelphia during the pandemic, then enrolled in a bachelor's degree program at Eastern University before halting classes because of the expense.

This time, Gravley, 36, is on a surer route to her bachelour's degree. She’s enrolled at College Unbound, a college with local ties that gives adult learners from underserved communities affordable paths to graduation, with low tuition, strong supports baked in, credit for relevant life experience, a cohort model that helps keep students engaged, and impressive early results.