Rita Toliver-Roberts, vice president of academic affairs and provost at Peirce College, addresses graduates in 2023.
Drexel has launched pilot programs with Peirce College to help adult and nontraditional learners prepare for high-demand jobs and to ready a diverse pipeline of talent for the region’s employers.
The initiatives allow Peirce — which has focused on making education affordable for working adults for more than 150 years — to expand its mission, while bolstering Drexel’s efforts to expand access to its academic offerings for students across the region.
The first of these programs is a Peirce-Drexel pathway to online bachelor’s degree programs at Drexel for students who have fewer than 24 college credits. Students can enroll first at Peirce to earn an online associate degree, with the option of embedding select industry-relevant certifications in the program, and then transfer credits to Drexel to be applied toward select online bachelor’s degrees.
The institutions are also working in partnership with St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children to offer an apprenticeship opportunity to complement medical coding and billing certificates offered at Peirce, which can stack to an online bachelor’s degree at Drexel.
Opportunities for program graduates will be abundant in Philadelphia, a growing hub for gene therapy and life sciences research that is expected to add tens of thousands of new jobs in health care and technology-driven medical research over the next decade.
“This program aims to remove the barriers that prevent many adults from completing their degree, enrolling at colleges and universities and acquiring the credentials and advanced skills needed to secure in-demand, well-paying jobs,” President John Fry says. “This collaboration reflects our shared commitment to promote inclusive economic growth in service to the Philadelphia community.”