Versailles, Ky. (October 18, 2012) – The Kentucky Community and Technical College System (KCTCS) is the latest recipient of a $1 million dollar Gates Foundation grant from the Next Generation Learning Challenges (NGLC), an initiative dedicated to improving college readiness and completion rates.

KCTCS will adapt its existing, competency-based Learn-on-Demand model to a Direct2Degree (D2D) program. The D2D program will allow students to reduce the amount of time it takes to get a degree by allowing them to go online and take a linear, sequential set of courses to earn an associate in Arts/Science-General Studies degree. Each associate degree obtained through this program will be transferable to every Kentucky public university.

“The enhancements made through the new program will increase student performance and success by reducing the number of credits lost due to irrelevant or dropped courses,” said KCTCS Chancellor Jay Box.

The D2D project will accomplish three primary goals:

1. Reorient the flow of courses from the concurrent course model used in KCTCS' existing, competency-based, Learn-on-Demand model to a sequential course model.
   
2. Deploy a new tuition that incentivizes and rewards progress and early completion without penalizing extended learning times.
   
3. Implement an alternative financial aid model to remove traditional schedule barriers and support the reconfigured delivery and tuition models.

Since 2011, NGLC has provided $30 million in support of 78 secondary and postsecondary education innovators across the country. To learn more about NGLC visit www.nextgenlearning.org.