February 14, 2023

Purdue Global, UMGC Team with GetSet Learning to Boost Student Persistence and Retention

Sense of belonging in peer community improves students’ outcomes.

Purdue Global and University of Maryland Global Campus (UMGC) announce a new multiyear partnership with GetSet’s new Sponsored Degree™ Platform. Purdue Global and UMGC will help American employers fill key openings in cybersecurity.

According to Cyberseek, there are currently 755,743 cybersecurity job vacancies in the United States, and the demand for cybersecurity workers continues to grow rapidly. The total workforce of cybersecurity talent in the U.S. today is only 1.1 million, meaning a staggering 40.5% of all cybersecurity roles are unfilled today. The Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts that the demand for information security analysts will grow 35%, with a median salary of $102,600 per year.

UMGC, Purdue Global, and GetSet will connect underrepresented and low-income students with major employers who will select students for sponsorship of their last two years of their degree at UMGC and Purdue Global. Students will complete an internship at the employer and have no out-of-pocket cost to complete their bachelor’s degree. In return for the sponsorship, students commit to the employer for two years upon graduation.

UMGC, Purdue Global, and GetSet work closely already to ensure student success. Both institutions currently deploy GetSet’s industry-leading Retention Suite to drive persistence. Sponsored degrees extends that effort into post graduate employment retention.

“Partnerships like this one are increasingly important across higher education,” said Greg Fowler, president of UMGC. “Joining forces with GetSet aligns with our historical mission to reach underserved populations, including minority adult students in the workforce and in the military, with affordable, workforce-relevant programs that can help lift them into the middle class and to career success.”

“This partnership with GetSet allows us to provide our students – working adult learners – with resources that will help them succeed in classes and help advance their careers,” said Frank Dooley, chancellor of Purdue Global. “With Purdue Global being a part of Purdue University, we enable the land-grant mission of expanding opportunity to all, especially by adapting our programs and pathways and providing services that enable student success across all our programs.”

“We’re thrilled to partner with two of the top cybersecurity programs in the country. UMGC and Purdue Global have continually shown a commitment to creating equity and access for learners from all backgrounds, creating flexible degrees which support working adults in elevating their careers,” said Karan Goel, CEO and founder of GetSet.

Interested employers can schedule an intake meeting at https://resources.getset.com/cybersecurity to begin filling their cybersecurity openings while creating career opportunities for America’s deserving, underrepresented students.

###

About Purdue Global

Purdue Global delivers personalized online education tailored to the unique needs of adults who have work or life experience beyond the classroom, enabling them to develop essential academic and professional skills with the support and flexibility they need to achieve their career goals. It offers personalized paths for students to earn an associate, bachelor’s, master’s or doctoral degree, based on their work experience, desired pace, military service, previous college credits and other considerations – no matter where they are in their life journey. Purdue Global is a nonprofit, public university accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. It is affiliated with Purdue University’s flagship institution, a highly ranked public research university located in West Lafayette, Indiana. Purdue University also operates regional campuses in Fort Wayne and Northwest Indiana, as well as serving science, engineering and technology students at the Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) campus. For more information, visit https://stories.purdue.edu/purdue-global/.

About University of Maryland Global Campus

Established in 1947, UMGC serves adults in the workforce and the military, offering bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degree programs, as well as certificates in more than 125 fully online, hybrid and face-to-face programs and specializations.

The university has a long history of innovation in reaching students where they are, including as a pioneer of internet instruction, piloting its first online classes in 1994. The university has received numerous awards for its groundbreaking work in developing fully online degree programs, including in high-demand fields such as cybersecurity, business, data analytics, healthcare, and education.

UMGC now offers classes to military service personnel and their families at some 175+ locations in 20 countries. More than half of UMGC’s students are active-duty military personnel, their families, members of the National Guard, and veterans.

About GetSet:

GetSet’s Sponsored Degree™ Platform connects underrepresented students with employers looking to fill critical job openings. Employers pay for the students’ last two years at high-quality partner HigherEd institutions with a proven commitment to their students’ academic and career success. GetSet also provides an industry leading Retention Suite, including its HigherEd Student Community platform, Sentiment Analytics, and Social Nudging Suite used by the nation’s leading institutions to increase retention and student wellbeing.

Contacts: Matthew Oates

Senior Writer/Editor, Communication Specialist

Purdue Global/Purdue University

Mobile: 765-586-7496

Email: oatesw@purdue.edu

Bob Ludwig

Assistant Vice President for Media Relations

University of Maryland Global Campus

Office: 301-985-7253

Mobile: 301-887-7614

Email: robert.ludwig@umgc.edu

Eva Prokop