IUP and PennWest Universities are piloting a program to help workers complete advanced manufacturing apprenticeships while earning college credits toward a bachelor’s degree.
Path Forward PA was announced this morning at an event at the KCAC by the State System of Higher Education Foundation. David Kerr, PASSHE Foundation Board chairman said that the state, especially this area, is at a time where things are changing.
PASSHE Foundation President and CEO Shelly Scherer said the IUP and PennWest have calculated the credits for the real-world experiences that a student would have through the apprenticeship and worked them into related degree programs. She added the main goals are to help reduce the cost of a four-year degree and to give students the chance to have both the apprenticeship and the college work without having to choose one or the other.
The program is being funded by the Richard King Mellon Foundation and the Henry L. Hillman foundation.
