Jazmín Mejía went straight to high school after graduating from Loyola University Chicago, a 30-minute drive from where she grew up, because she thought it would be a perfect fit.
But she soon became overwhelmed by the north campus, which had nearly 17,000 students.
“The classes were too big,” said Mejía, 18. “It was difficult to ask for help.”
A year later, he says college life has become much more bearable.
Mejía left Loyola's main campus to attend Arrupe College, a two-year program offering an associate's degree in the city. Taking her smaller classes with instructors who interacted more with her students was a big change for her.
“The teachers try to communicate with you and understand your situation,” Mejía said over breakfast at Arrupe restaurant.
For a long time, two-year associate degrees were offered almost exclusively at community colleges. But Loyola's model is gaining popularity at nonprofit, private, four-year colleges and universities across the country.
Many of them are Jesuit schools, like Loyola, and they say their low-cost, two-year associate's degree programs are especially helpful for students who need more support.
“It’s a culture of service,” says the Rev. Thomas Neitzke, Arrupe’s dean. “He is completely supportive both in and out of the classroom.”
A concerted effort is currently underway to expand associate degree programs at four-year colleges and universities. Steve Katsouros, Arrupe's founding dean and president and CEO of the Come to Believe Network, a nonprofit dedicated to providing two-year degrees at four-year colleges, is a key supporter.
According to Katsouros, the network provides grants to help colleges and universities start associate degree programs. In addition to Loyola, universities that have opened or are planning to open two-year centers include the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota, the University of Mount Saint Vincent in New York, Butler University in Indiana, and Boston College.
Other universities, including the University of the Pacific in California, are also considering separate programs. And Homeboy Industries, a gang rehabilitation nonprofit, is exploring the possibility of working with Mount Saint Mary's University in Los Angeles to create a partner program.
According to Katsouros, simply considering the concept can help colleges better understand the needs of their overall student body. Come to Believe Network programs should be committed to enrolling low-income students and minimizing their student loan debt.
Arrupe's advertised tuition is just over $13,000 per year, but through scholarships and work-study programs, most students pay about $2,000.
“We try to figure out what’s preventing students from being successful,” Katsouros says, noting that most colleges offer some combination of free meals, laptops and housing.
Although there is little data on emerging programs, most graduates are expected to graduate from college. Any success, no matter how small, would be a huge improvement over the national success rate for community colleges.
According to the Aspen Institute and the Community College Research Center (CCRC) at Teachers College at Columbia University, 80% of the center's students want to graduate, but only 16% do so within six years. The numbers are even worse for low-income (11%), black (9%), and Hispanic (13%) students. (The Hechinger Report, which wrote this story, is an independent arm of Teachers College.)
Although it is difficult to compare the millions of community college students with the relatively small number of students participating in these new two-year programs, the differences are stark. For example, at Loyola's Arrupe College, 50% of students graduate, and 70% of those students go on to pursue bachelor's programs.
According to CCRC senior fellow Davis Jenkins, more colleges and universities should offer associate degrees.
“These are institutions that can leverage their reputation and commitment to high-quality education to really recruit students who otherwise wouldn’t be able to attend college,” Jenkins says. “We are building a bridge to university by leveraging the university’s strengths.”
Most new programs guarantee graduates admission to their home campus. Butler University, which will open a two-year Founder's College to 100 students next year, is pleased with the results, according to Brooke Barnett, the university's president. It is said that graduating students will automatically be able to complete a bachelor's degree at university.
Students will have no debt after the first two years, and students who go to Butler will have no more than $10,000 total for all four years, according to Barnett. Founders College is funded entirely by foundations and donors and will advance the college's goal of providing affordable degrees to underrepresented students, he said.
“We want to give our students the opportunity to grow, shine and showcase the talents they can bring,” says Barnett. “They don’t always get that opportunity.”
Some colleges, such as Butler, use associate degree programs as an opportunity for students to get to know the main campus without feeling overwhelmed by large classes. Other colleges, such as Loyola and Boston College, have separate degrees to make it easier for associate degree students to transition into college life.
Boston College's new Messina College will house 100 students this summer on land acquired from a shuttered college a mile from the main campus. Messina College leaders hope the early quarantine measures will help avoid the culture shock of a large campus and prevent students from giving up on their studies.
“It’s a huge advantage for our students to start in a smaller environment,” says Erick Berrelleza, Messina’s founding dean.
The concept of colleges offering associate degrees is relatively new, but in the past decade nearly half of community colleges across the country have added associate degrees in multiple fields, a move that colleges and universities have not always embraced.
Last March, before Idaho approved a plan to offer bachelor's degrees at community colleges, Boise State University opposed the proposal, saying it would essentially compete with the university's interests.
“Indeed, this may harm the effectiveness and efficiency of postsecondary education in Idaho,” the university wrote to the state Board of Education. “It erodes the limited resources available for postsecondary education and doubles the supply of degrees in the same region.”
Community colleges have not yet expressed concerns about colleges offering associate degrees, and CCRC's Jenkins says community colleges have no reason to worry about relatively small two-year programs. Nonetheless, it is important for universities to collaborate with community colleges.
“Where it's done well, it's been negotiated,” he says. “We hope this will encourage community colleges to form partnerships with four-year universities.”
Several four-year centers said they had never had formal conversations with community colleges before launching partner programs. This includes Mount Saint Vincent University, which will open a new two-year Seton College on its Bronx campus this summer.
A Bronx Community College spokesperson declined to answer questions about the Mount Saint Vincent program. Hostos, another community college in the area, did not respond to interview requests.
The University of St. Thomas launched its associate degree program in 2017. There was no friction between the university and the closest community college, St. Paul's College. Paul College supported the plan, according to center spokesman Austin Calhoun.
“This means 200 more students attending higher education in the Twin Cities each year,” he says. “Thomas is definitely an exception. “If the University of Minnesota gets into the game, it will change the balance.”
Jonathan Larbi, a sophomore at Arrupe College, splits his time between the school and working in the campus admissions office as he prepares to continue his education at Loyola next year.
Larvi, who hopes to go to medical school and become a pediatrician, grew up in Chicago and Ghana and had planned to attend Loyola after high school, but “financially it wasn’t the wisest decision.”
He says starting out at Arrupe went well. Because he feels like a Loyola student, but he doesn't have to pay the university's $50,000-plus tuition.
“It’s like having the best of both worlds,” he says. “Your resources are our resources.”
Translated by Gisela Orozco from La Voz Chicago
This story about four-year colleges offering associate degrees was produced by The Hechinger Report.