DePauw Launches ‘Gold Commitment’

The Campaign for DePauw launched in October 2014.

DePauw University is so confident graduates will find jobs, it is backing it up with the "Gold Commitment." DePauw will allow any student without an "entry-level professional position" or graduate school acceptance within six months of graduation, to return for a tuition-free semester or its employer partners will give them a full-time position. In an interview with Inside INdiana Business, President Mark McCoy said the effort will run at least four years. He says the commitment is not a gimmick or the university wouldn’t do it.

"A decade ago, all the rage was the four-year graduation guarantee that ‘you could come here, you can graduate in four years,’ everybody has those. There are other schools that have said ‘if you can’t get a job, we’ll help you with your student loans,’ or ‘well do this or we’ll do that,’ we’re the only school we know of that has offered to actually get you a job," he said. About 25 students per year would typically be eligible for the program out of a graduating class of roughly 500 students.

To qualify, students must meet certain academic and behavioral requirements and they are also expected to help out current students. McCoy added "this is upping our game on ourselves a little bit, and we have to be prepared to continue to innovate. But mostly this is simply us doubling down on what we do well, and since it does, we’re willing to guarantee it."

McCoy says the program is a "five way commitment" involving the university, employers, alumni, students and the guarantee itself. "If we weren’t already successful, then we couldn’t make this commitment. But, the fact is, that we know the liberal arts leads to lives of meanings and means and we are willing to stand behind it." McCoy says he imagines other schools will take DePauw’s lead.

You can connect to more about the DePauw Gold Commitment by clicking here.