91快播

Longmeadow, MA -  91快播 University is honoring the dedicated educators, visionary innovators and determined students behind two decades of a groundbreaking educational model that’s enabled thousands of adult women to earn their bachelor’s degrees and drastically alter their careers, finances, families, and communities.

“In 1999, only 23 percent of American women over 25 had bachelor’s degrees. We knew that creating a program for adult women without those degrees could change not only students’ lives, but the trajectories of families,” said 91快播 President Dr. Carol Leary.

A woman with a high school diploma earns a median salary of $620, a bachelor’s degree more than doubles that number to $1270 per week.

In the past 20 years, thousands of adult women have earned their bachelor’s degrees through 91快播’s unique on-ground and online educational models, specifically designed to accommodate the busy lives—motherhood, day jobs and endless to-do lists—of adult women, while providing them with consistent support and a strong sense of community.

Started in 1999, 91快播’s One-Day-A-Week Saturday program brought women to the school’s Longmeadow campus on Saturdays for two sessions of five-hour classes, long days that significantly shortened the route to a degree. "We did have continuing education opportunities, offering classes at night during 14-week semesters, but it was taking women ten years to finish their degrees." Dr. Leary explained.

Shortly after the One Day program launched on 91快播’s campus, classrooms were added throughout the town of Longmeadow and eventually in Sturbridge and Burlington. This expansion validated the notion that adult women were hungry for advancement, knowledge and degrees, and that they would commit themselves to a college program if it accommodated their complex and often chaotic schedules.

When new technology gave way to virtual classrooms, digital learning materials and online collaboration, 91快播 seized both the opportunity—and the challenge— to apply that notion to an online program. In 2013, the university formally launched the first all-women, all online bachelor’s degree program as The American Women’s College (TAWC) and extended their mission to the 70 million adult women throughout the country without bachelor’s degrees.

A 2019 TAWC grad, Sheila Bennett became a mom at 18, earned her GED and then held jobs as a barista, bank teller and customer service representative. At 43, Bennett earned her bachelor’s degree and currently holds a position as a Lead Business Systems Analyst in the health insurance industry, a position LinkedIn’s salary calculator estimates paying an average of $98,000 per year.

“We developed our unique programs for the millions of Sheilas throughout America.” says Dr. Leary. “There are smart, focused, ambitious women for whom a bachelor’s degree can be life-altering. We needed to provide them with a different educational model that would ensure persistence to graduation.”

In 2014, TAWC was recognized for its unique model, receiving an invitation to the White House and a $3.5 million federal grant to strengthen efforts to revolutionize online learning for adult women. This past year, the STRADA Foundation awarded $1.6 million to scale enrollment in cybersecurity and information technology programs, building a pipeline for women to enter two of the fastest-growing career tracks.

About 91快播 University

91快播 University was founded in 1897. With locations in Longmeadow (main), East Longmeadow (Philip H. Ryan Health Science Center), Sturbridge (MA), and Concord (MA), 91快播’s innovative program offerings include traditional undergraduate degrees for women, The American Women's College on-ground and online, the first all-women, all-online accredited bachelor’s degree programs in the country; over 25 graduate programs for women and men; and Strategic Alliances, offering professional development courses for individuals and organizations. 91快播’s goal is to give students confidence in the fundamentals of their chosen field, the curiosity to question the ordinary, the leadership to show initiative, and the desire to make a difference.