As we celebrate our 10th anniversary as a college, we explore the ways in which CU is living the values of our Big 10 Transformational Leadership and Change Competencies that serve as the foundation for our single major.
A decade unbound
Ten years ago, College Unbound set out to transform higher education for adult learners—redefining where, when, and how learning happens. We began with a simple belief: that the lived experiences of our students are not barriers to education, but powerful sources of knowledge and strength.
Poet June Jordan reminds us, “We are the ones we have been waiting for.” Jordan’s recognition that real change comes from within ourselves and our communities is exemplified through our students. On these pages you will see how formerly incarcerated students in Chicago are organizing with young people in their communities to create pathways for long term employment. You will learn about our first Washington State graduate who through her project has passed state legislation to provide access to quality medical care for childbirth behind bars. And you will hear about how one South Carolina student has launched a project to make AEDs available in retail and public spaces to save the lives of individuals experiencing cardiac arrest.
We’ve grown from a small, local experiment to a national movement and a model for the future of higher education, with cohorts of learners in Rhode Island, Philadelphia, Chicago, Seattle, and beyond. Our students are parents, workers, organizers, and dreamers. They’ve proven that college can—and should—fit the realities of modern life.
As we celebrate this tenth anniversary, we’re reflecting on how we’ve grown and evolved while staying true to our roots. The Big 10—the core skills and values that define every College Unbound education—remain our compass. They guide how we teach, how we lead, and how we measure success. It’s only fitting that this year’s Impact Report is organized around those same Big 10 principles, showing how each continues to shape the lives of our students, alumni, and partners across the country.
A decade in, our mission remains the same: to learn together, honor lived experience, and build pathways for transformation and imagination. And because impact only matters if it is shared, we know the next decade calls us to something even greater: making this model available to more learners across the country who deserve a college built for them.
As we look ahead, we remain unbound—always learning, always evolving, and always centering community in everything we do. In that work, we see that being unbound also reveals all the ways we are bound together.
Adam Bush
President, College Unbound
A Promise in Practice
We believe accountability is more than a metric; it’s a promise. Every dollar entrusted to us, every hour our students invest, and every partnership we build carries the weight of shared responsibility. We track outcomes not just to prove impact, but to understand where we can grow. Our donors’ investments translate directly into high retention rates (more than 80% year after year) and strong graduation rates that far exceed national averages. Together, we’re building a transparent, data-driven model of higher education where progress is measured in persistence, completion, and the lives changed along the way. In FY25, donors and foundations gave $3.6M to support operations and scholarships. We received an additional 1.2M in federal grant funding for a total of 4.8M in philanthropic funding (55% of total revenue). 12% of revenue supported student scholarships.
Impact Highlights
3-Year Retention or Graduation
Course Completion Rates (Instructional)
Course Completion Rates (Lab)
of students graduate or persist after 3–4 years— double the national average
Spotlight
Voices That Create Change
We believe advocacy and agency extends beyond speaking up. It’s also about building the confidence, connections, and courage to make systems better for everyone. Our students don’t wait for permission to lead; they use their education as a catalyst for change in their communities and beyond.
In Washington, Francia Monet Carter-Mixon, CU’s first graduate from the state, exemplified this spirit. Monet worked with CU faculty and leadership to design a path to graduation in just one year. Along the way, she collaborated with State Senator T’wina Nobles to help pass a groundbreaking bill expanding access to quality medical care for incarcerated birthing people.
Monet’s determination earned her the William F. Clifton Fighting for Justice Award, and she will continue her advocacy when she enrolls in law school—carrying forward the CU mission to use knowledge, persistence, and voice to make lasting change.
Impact Highlights
Partnerships That Multiply Impact
The greatest change happens when we work together. Whether it’s joining forces with the EarlyEdU Alliance to strengthen the early childhood education workforce or partnering with organizations across the Delaware Valley to meet adult learners where they are, collaboration is at the heart of how we grow. Every partnership expands access, aligns resources, and builds bridges between education and opportunity.
Together, with funders like the Ballmer Group and the Bezos Family Foundation, and partners from Jefferson Health to City Year, we’re creating pathways that connect learning, work, and community impact in powerful new ways.
Impact Highlights
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Stories That Connect
Communication is at the core of learning and leadership. It’s how we share ideas, amplify stories, and bridge understanding across communities. CU students learn to speak and listen with purpose, shaping conversations that drive change.
Our official podcast, “WeCU: Stories Unbound,” gives voice to those stories. Hosted by members of the CU community, the show spotlights students, alumni, and partners who are redefining what higher education can be. Through candid conversations and powerful reflections, WeCU captures the heart of CU’s mission—learning that begins with dialogue and leads to transformation.
Impact Highlights
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Rethinking What College Can Be
At College Unbound, creativity isn’t confined to art or innovation labs. Instead, it’s the heartbeat of how we approach learning itself. We’ve reimagined higher education from the ground up to center the lives, voices, and experiences of adult learners. Instead of forcing students to fit a system, we’ve built a system that fits them—where lived experience earns credit, and where curiosity and community drive progress.
The results speak volumes. CU graduates are redefining success: creating change in their workplaces, communities, and families. This is creativity in action: education redesigned to unleash potential.
Impact Highlights
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Reflection That Drives Transformation
Now halfway through our 2022–2027 Strategic Plan, we’re taking stock of what’s been achieved and where we’re headed next. Guided by the Big 10, CU has deepened its culture of reflection and assessment, connecting institutional learning directly to student growth. Our approach to institutional storytelling and action research ensures that every voice—students, alumni, faculty, and staff—helps shape the future of the college.
Through continuous assessment and reflection, we capture what truly matters: transformation. From revising the Big 10 to align with current research, to codifying our transformational outcomes toolkit for other colleges to use, CU continues to model what critical thinking looks like in higher education: curious, courageous, and committed to equity.
Impact Highlights
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A Promise in Practice
At College Unbound, equity and justice are not departments or ideals—they are the foundation of how we learn, teach, and build community. For more than a decade, we’ve worked inside prisons and alongside justice-impacted students to ensure that higher education is truly accessible to all who seek it.
From Rhode Island to Chicago, our work proves that when people who have been silenced gain the tools to lead, entire systems shift. In Chicago, our Death Row Scholars and Violence Intervention Cohorts are redefining leadership in the movement to end perpetual incarceration. And this year, we mark the 10th anniversary of our Prison Education Program, awarding diplomas to the first three women to earn a BA inside the Rhode Island Department of Corrections.
To honor this milestone, CU hosted a powerful conversation with legendary activist and scholar Angela Davis and justice-impacted alumni. Together, they explored what “unbound learning” means in the context of justice, freedom, and community transformation.
Impact Highlights
currently enrolled students are earning degrees from inside prison
year-over-year retention among incarcerated and formerly incarcerated students
released graduates have been accepted into graduate programs
women made history this year as the first to earn a BA within the Rhode Island prison system
Spotlight
Learning That Never Ends
At College Unbound, learning doesn’t stop at graduation—it’s a lifelong practice of reflection, reinvention, and impact. This year, we celebrated a historic milestone: the first three incarcerated women in Rhode Island’s history to earn their Bachelor’s Degrees, awarded inside the Gloria McDonald Women’s Facility. Their journeys are powerful reminders that education knows no walls and no limits.
Lieutenant Governor Sabina Matos and leaders from the RI Department of Corrections joined CU to honor these graduates, whose projects address homelessness, support formerly incarcerated artists, and heal communities affected by violence. As CU President Adam Bush shared, “We build upon our decade of work within the ACI to ensure that higher education behind bars is accessible, relevant, and liberatory.”
Impact Highlights
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Strength in Every Story
Impact Highlights
When Hurricane Helene hit Greenville, South Carolina—just weeks after the launch of CU’s inaugural cohort there—students faced sustained power outages, transportation challenges, and barriers to basic resources. But resilience runs deep in the College Unbound community.
As word spread, students, faculty, staff, and supporters across the country came together to help, donating gift cards, office space, and supplies totaling more than $3,000. Every single member of the Greenville cohort stayed enrolled, continuing their studies and community projects in the face of extraordinary challenges.
Today, those same students are entering their second—and for many—final year toward earning their Bachelor’s Degrees, proving that resilience isn’t just surviving adversity; it’s transforming it into action.
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Thriving Together
At College Unbound, wellbeing is more than self-care—it’s community care. We believe people flourish when they feel seen, supported, and celebrated. Our 10th anniversary marked not just a decade of innovation, but ten years of shared growth, resilience, and belonging. Across every campus and cohort, our students, alumni, and partners came together to honor the power of connection—the foundation of lifelong wellbeing.
The celebration captured what makes CU unique: a learning community rooted in trust, joy, and the belief that thriving together is the ultimate measure of success.
Impact Highlights
Spotlight
Unbound Futures
Ten years in, College Unbound continues to evolve—but our purpose has never been clearer. The world needs bold, imaginative models of education that meet people where they are and help them grow into the leaders their communities need. That’s what we do every day.
As we look to the next decade, we’ll keep building on the foundation of the Big 10—the skills and values that power transformation inside for our students and far beyond the classroom. We’ll deepen partnerships, expand pathways in new regions, and continue designing higher education that is accessible, equitable, and unbound.
This work is only possible through collaboration—with our students, alumni, faculty, partners, and supporters who believe that education should change lives, not limit them. Together, we’re shaping a future where learning never stops, opportunity never closes, and every person has the tools to lead change.
