The University of Tennessee at Martin has partnered with ReUp Education Network to identify students across the globe who have “stopped out,” or temporarily withdrawn from college, to enroll at UT Martin and complete their degree.
ReUp Education is a research organization that locates stop-out students for higher education institutions and provides assistance and resources, such as personal success coaches, for students to re-enroll at a partnering university. According to the ReUp Education website, in the past 20 years, 36 million Americans, including over 800,000 Tennesseans, have received some college education but did not earn a degree.
“The completion crisis facing higher education requires an innovative response that breaks down barriers to help students re-enroll in college. Stop-out students have historically been left behind, and we want to change that,” said Dr. Philip Acree Cavalier, the university’s chief academic officer, in a previous release from ReUp Education. “This is about fulfilling our mission to serve West Tennessee by educating and engaging its citizens.”
UT Martin has worked with ReUp Education since June 2019 to re-enroll UT Martin stop-out students; however, through the ReUp Network, the university will be able to recruit students who stopped out from other ReUp Education-connected universities as well. According to Dr. Jamie Mantooth, executive director of Enrollment Services and Student Engagement, as a result of the collaboration, UT Martin has re-enrolled almost 100 stop-out students into online and on-campus programs.
The Bachelor of Interdisciplinary Studies degree program has attracted many stop-out students because it can be completed online, allowing non-traditional students to finish their degrees without disrupting their daily lives or restarting their college careers.
Sarah MacAaron, a commercial/film producer from Los Angeles, says ReUp gave her the connection to UT Martin as well as a sense of personal accountability to finish her BIS degree in order to advance in her career. She chose UT Martin for its flexible online program and easy admission process.
“Going back to school has felt overwhelming, so the fact that I have (an organization like ReUp Education) to be accountable to to take the steps to go back to school was really helpful for me. That’s all I needed to take the actions myself and apply,” said MacAaron. “I feel like I have a network of support with (ReUp).”
MacAaron encourages stop-out students who are considering going back to school to talk with a ReUp Education counselor to address the concerns students have about continuing their education and what resources are available for students to earn their degrees.
In addition to UT Martin, the ReUp Network includes Arkansas Tech University, Bellevue University, Brandman University, California University of Pennsylvania, Clarion University of Pennsylvania’s State System of Higher Education, Ducere Global Business School, Eastern Michigan University, Excelsior College, Salem University, University of Idaho, and Texas A&M University – Central Texas.
For more information regarding UT Martin’s affiliation with ReUp Education, contact Mantooth at jdmantooth@utm.edu.
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