Reach University

With Fall ‘26 in full swing, Reach University seminars are bringing Reachers together to learn, connect, and grow. 🌱

Candidates are settling into new routines, meeting fellow Reachers nationwide, and continuing the work to turn their current jobs into degrees. These virtual classrooms remind us that while candidates may be joining from different workplaces and communities, they’re part of a much larger Reach community.

As the semester continues, candidates have support from faculty, advisors, and fellow Reachers throughout their journey.
Reachers, how are you feeling three weeks into classes? What’s one thing you’ve learned that you’ve already been able to apply at work?

Community care starts with connection.

Last week, Dr. Metoka Welch, Executive Dean of the Apprenticeship College of Health (ACH), and Mary Ramolete, Manager of Community Partnerships for the Healthcare Training Fund, attended the 10th Annual Wellness Together Conference in San Diego to explore how connection, resilience, and mental health shape the way people learn, work, and care for others.

Integrating wellness into our work deepens the connection to learning and strengthens the support working adults need to balance education, work, and service to their communities.

https://healthapprenticeship.org/

📣 Reach University is proud to announce the largest private philanthropic investment in its history from Ascendium's Education Philanthropy, expanding Apprenticeship Degrees across Arkansas, Louisiana, Alabama, Tennessee, and Texas.

Ascendium’s investment focuses on five states where education deserts are prevalent. Together, we’ll build one of the first multi-state evidence bases for Apprenticeship Degrees — examining how the model performs across different policy, employer, and labor market environments, and what it takes to scale where barriers to earning a degree are greatest.

Together with recent generous support from Andrew Carnegie Foundation and Schusterman Family Philanthropies, these investments reflect growing confidence in Apprenticeship Degrees as a powerful pathway to upward mobility for working adults.

We’re deeply grateful to our philanthropic partners for investing in greater opportunity for working adults and ushering in a new era of higher education.

If you're interested in advancing Apprenticeship Degrees, join us.

This , we recognize those in recovery today and invest in the workforce needed to support others tomorrow. 💜

Currently serving candidates in Washington, the Apprenticeship College of Health (ACH) combines college coursework with paid, on-the-job learning to help working adults prepare for Substance Use Disorder Professional (SUDP) careers.

By enabling candidates to earn a degree while continuing to work, ACH helps employers develop behavioral health talent from within their organizations and communities.‌

Learn more about ACH: https://healthapprenticeship.org/about-us/

What happens when healthcare workforce experience meets a new approach to building both a college degree and a career?

That question is at the heart of Work Shift's look at the Apprenticeship College of Health (ACH), a partnership designed to connect education, employment, and community impact.
As Reach University President and CEO Joe Edelheit Ross told Work Shift, “These are the jobs that are available to people that make a difference, not just for one’s own livelihood, but also their community.”

Healthcare Training Fund Executive Director Laura Hopkins said, “There is value in what people learn on the job, and a large portion of their college credit is going to come from what's happening there."

ACH combines the Training Fund’s experience partnering with healthcare employers and building apprenticeship pathways with Reach University’s Apprenticeship Degree, connecting college coursework to learning that happens every day on the job.
Starting with behavioral health in Washington, this shared approach is giving working adults a path to advance their education while helping employers grow talent from within their workplaces and communities.

Read more from Work Shift: https://workshift.org/reach-university-steps-into-healthcare/

After 16 years as a personal chef and assistant, Cory Jackson wanted a career that would let him make a more direct difference in his community. 💜

He began working as a paraprofessional in Shreveport, Louisiana, where his Caddo Parish Public Schools principal recognized his potential and encouraged him to continue his education through Reach University.

Through Reach’s Apprenticeship Degree, Cory earned his bachelor’s degree and completed teacher licensure requirements while continuing to work in a school, without taking on student debt. His daily work became part of his college experience, allowing him to apply coursework directly with students while continuing to serve his school community.

Cory completed the program while navigating significant personal loss, supported by his family, classmates, professors, and advisors.

Today, he teaches third grade and helps his students imagine possibilities beyond what they can see right now. His story shows what can happen when talented school employees have a pathway to earn a degree without stepping away from the work they are already doing.

📚Read Cory's story: https://reach.edu/blog/life-after-reach-cory-jackson-believing-in-yourself-is-just-the-beginning

🍎 Apprenticeship Degrees are back in session! Reach University is proud to welcome its largest incoming fall cohort to date: 1,020 working adults across 10 states and two career pathways. 🚀

Together with our K–12 and behavioral health partners, these newest Reachers are writing a new chapter in their education, careers, and lives. By bringing higher education into the workplace, we're making it possible for working adults to turn their jobs into degrees while continuing to serve their communities and build meaningful careers.

To our newest Reachers: Welcome to Reach! Please know that you’re never alone. You've joined a nationwide community that believes in you and is committed to your success. Your faculty, candidate success advisors, employer, and fellow Reachers will be with you every step of the way. You’ve got this! ✨

Current Reachers: What advice would you give our newest cohort as they begin their Reach journey? Please share in the comments below. 👇

Apprenticeship Degree Leadership Voices: Dean Malekah Morgan on Theory and Application Dean Malekah Morgan discusses how Reach University approaches highe...