More than 100 students have enrolled at Eastern Kentucky University through Project Graduate, the statewide outreach initiative to attract and graduate adult students returning to college.

Since the project was launched in 2008, 32 students have completed their degrees at EKU, said Lisa Cox, retention coordinator and Project Graduate liaison at Eastern.

“The Project Graduate initiative continues to be overwhelming success,” Cox said. “Many adults are able to graduate in as little as one semester. The opportunity to help someone achieve success this quickly and the associated gratitude is one of the most rewarding parts of my work.”

Project Graduate targets those who have completed at least 90 credit hours toward a baccalaureate degree, regardless of when or where, but never completed their requirements.

Students who enroll at EKU through the program qualify for free application, streamlined records reactivation, course transfer assistance, personal degree audit summary, one-stop individualized consulting services, and flexible degree completion options.

Seventy-six students are currently registered for classes at EKU as part of Project Graduate. Two of these students will finish this summer and at least 20 more are on target to graduate in the fall, Cox noted.

One of the students who plan to graduate from Eastern in December is Julia Simpson of Versailles, who returned to college in Fall 2008 after a nine-year absence.

“Lisa Cox has been a godsend,” Simpson said. “She has advised, counseled and sometimes cajoled to keep me on the right path. I have worked in the legal field for about 13 years now and am ready to make the leap into the professional realm.”

Once she graduates, Simpson hopes to go on to law school or another graduate program.

Simpson and EKU graduate David Lautzenheiser recently spoke about their experiences with Project Graduate at a meeting of the Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education in Frankfort.

State data analyzed by the CPE has indicated that more than 300,000 Kentucky adults between the ages of 25 and 50 have some college credit from a public institution but no degree. More than 11,000 of that number have earned 90 or more credit hours.

For more information about Project Graduate, visit www.advising.eku.edu/projectgrad or to schedule a personal consultation, contact Cox at lisa.cox@eku.edu or 859-622-8340.