In the fall of 2020, SAU Tech was selected to join Degrees When Due, a national initiative of the Institute for Higher Education Policy (IHEP), to realize the mission of higher education-providing opportunity to all-by reengaging stopped-out students and supporting them across the finish line to their degree.

As one of the colleges and universities from more than twenty states participating in Degrees When Due, SAU Tech is learning best practices for degree reclamation and how to provide targeted supports to students who have paused their studies or “stopped out” from school. SAU Tech’s participation in the initiative is facilitated through the Arkansas Division of Higher Education.

Dr. Valerie Wilson, SAU Tech’s Vice Chancellor for Academics & Planning stated that “SAU Tech is using the Degrees When Due initiative to identify students who are close to completing a degree with us and contacting those students to make them aware of this with the goal of getting them to complete their degree. SAU Tech’s plan is to develop and implement a process that can be used in the future for this purpose.”

Participation in Degrees When Due provides SAU Tech access to a variety of resources and tools to ensure 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 individuals across the nation who have been identified as having some college credits, but no awarded degree.

“As the country recovers from the pandemic, the resulting economic decline, and widening social and economic inequities, the work of helping campuses identify and reengage stopped-out students is more critical than ever before,” said Mamie Voight, IHEP’s interim President. “By re-engaging students and supporting them across the degree finish line, our Degrees When Due institutional and state partners are helping these students, as well as their families, their communities, and our country as a whole. The work of Degrees When Due partners is nothing short of transformational.”

“SAU Tech’s participation in Degrees When Due is part of the College’s large initiative of supporting students and serving students using a holistic support model, ” said Dr. Jason Morrison, SAU Tech Chancellor. “Any activity or initiative that puts power into the hands of our students to earn a livable wage and to support their families is what we want to do. Degrees When Due is doing that for current and former students.”

If you have college credit from SAU Tech or another college and want to complete a degree, contact SAU Tech at 870-574-4558 or email our staff at admisofc@sautech.edu.