Our partners

We partner with like-minded organizations and companies to find great students, support students to a degree, and help graduates launch their careers.

Are you interested in partnering with Rivet School?

Contact us today

Refer a Riveter

We work with schools, alumni programs, and other community organizations to provide access to a college degree for students who've dropped out of college or who never started.

Meet our Partners

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Support a Riveter

We partner with community-based organizations to help our students access transformative resources like expert financial aid guidance, scholarships, interest-free loans, and more.

Meet our Partners

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Teach a Riveter

We partner with regionally accredited nonprofit universities to enroll Rivet School students in career-focused, competency-based degree programs.
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Hire a Riveter

We partner with companies to build training, hiring, and employee volunteering partnerships. We also partner with companies to help them offer a Rivet School college pathway as an employee benefit.

Meet our Partners

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MANY hands make better communities

Will you help us transform higher education?

Contact us to learn more about partnering with Rivet School

Our Partners

Partner with us to support your staff members on their journey to earning a degree, and help graduates launch their career.

We work with our partner orgs  — K-12 schools, healthcare systems, and other community organizations — to provide access to a college degree for current or potential employees who’ve stopped out of college or who never started.

Are you an employer interested in supporting your staff members to earn an affordable BA while continuing to work full time?

Why partner with Rivet School?

Recruit, retain and advance talent

Our no-cost partnership builds new pipelines for advancement as part of your talent development, retention, and DEI goals. When multiple staff members enroll at Rivet School, we’ll create a community of colleagues who share common goals: earning their degrees and unlocking new opportunities at your organization.
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Flexible schedule for balancing work and school

At Rivet School, Fellows learn asynchronously – which means staff members can enroll without impacting their work schedules. Our Fellows get 1:1 support from a personal coach and design their school schedule around their existing responsibilities. In fact, 80% of our current students work full time.

Provide access to an affordable degree

All-in annual Fellow cost is $7,000, with no extra fees. We facilitate access to federal financial aid, which can reduce monthly out-of-pocket cost to as little as $35. We also connect our Fellows with interest-free loans, scholarships, and other responsible financing solutions. If you’d like to support your team with employer-provided tuition support, we’ll handle the billing and disbursement at no cost to you. We can also support you in crafting a bespoke tuition support policy aligned with your organizational or talent goals and priorities.

Foster a more diverse and equitable workforce

Rivet School can help you build internal pathways within your organization to upskill non-degree holding staff members. Rivet School supports your staff members to access a BA and unlock new job opportunities, allowing you to "grow your own" leaders and invest in folks who have been previously underserved by higher education. Employers can also recruit from Rivet School graduates, 93% of whom are Black, Latino, and AAPI, first-generation college students, and from low-income backgrounds.

What to expect as a Rivet School partner

Employer partners can choose how to collaborate with Rivet School – we provide a suite of resources you can use to introduce Rivet School to your staff members.

Include Rivet School as a professional development experience in your suite of current benefits
By advertising our partnership in job postings and the new employee onboarding process, employers can differentiate themselves in a competitive market.
Invest in internal talent development via tuition assistance.
While not required for partnership with Rivet School, we’ve found that tuition assistance is a competitive benefit that attracts talent and results in better outcomes and better retention. You can add Rivet School as an option to your existing employee tuition assistance or professional development policy, and Rivet School will handle billing and disbursement of funds at no cost.
Nominate staff members to act as liaisons between your organization and Rivet School.
Nominate staff members, host opt-in information sessions, and designate a contact person who can serve as a liaison between Rivet School and your team.
Our ask of employer partners is:
In return, Rivet School will:
Refer non-degree holding staff members to Rivet School
Provide a point of contact to Rivet School to help with outreach and partnership maintenance
Communicate about the opportunity to staff via existing communication channels (e.g. newsletters, employee Intranet) and promote attendance at Rivet School information sessions
Provide your staff members 1:1 support through our application and enrollment process, including financial planning and FAFSA support
Provide staff members a 1:1 college coach who supports them from start to finish in earning their degree
Provide our employer point of contact with staff performance data and progress reports
Connect Rivet School students and graduates with job openings at your organization

Our Partner Process:

STEP 1

Get in touch

Will you help us transform higher education? Contact us to learn more about partnering with Rivet School.

STEP 2

Meet with Rivet School

We’ll meet to share more about Rivet School’s program and how we’ll support your team to earn a flexible and affordable BA. We’ll learn more about your organization’s specific upskilling and talent development needs, and how Rivet School can best help meet them. We’ll align commitments, solidify roles and responsibilities, and develop collateral for you to share with your team.

STEP 3

Refer your team

Rivet School will provide you with collateral that you can use to spread the word about our partnership with your team and community. From email blasts and website content to personal nominations and employer-specific info sessions, we’ll work with you to reach as many staff members as possible.

STEP 4

Enroll your staff

Once your staff members fill out an initial interest form, they’ll receive 1:1 support through our application and enrollment process, including financial planning and FAFSA support. Along the way, we’ll report back to you on your team’s progress through the application process.

STEP 5

Ongoing support and partnership

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We’ll set up ongoing check-ins with your team to celebrate wins and triangulate support for your team. While our college coaches are supporting your staff to earn their degrees, we’ll provide you with staff performance data and progress reports. As your staff members graduate, we’ll invite you to celebrate their achievements at Rivet School graduation!

What our Employer Partners Say

Dr. Emilio Pack
Chief Executive Officer, STEM Prep Schools
“Rivet School is a true mission aligned partner helping us make dreams interrupted a reality. The joy of seeing  our staff members competing for their B.A. is so inspiring and a career highlight.”
Lisa Marcelino
Senior Director of Staff Development, STEM Prep Schools
"Rivet has been an integral part of STEM Prep's new teacher pipeline. Their partnership has made it possible for employees to continue working with us, have families, and earn their degree at the same time. The access that Rivet provides to associates and bachelors degrees is unparalleled."
Cathy Weselby
Alumni Career Coach, JobTrain
“I refer JobTrain alumni to Rivet School because of the convenience of its online and self-paced learning delivery. Many of these alumni work full-time jobs and have families, so this model makes the most sense to fit with their busy lifestyles.”
Becky Owens
Assoc. Director of Talent Development, Rocketship Public Schools
"We appreciate Rivet School’s thoughtful approach…Their entire team has been incredibly helpful and collaborative to create a positive experience for us."

Take the next step

Help us transform higher education

Contact us to learn more about partnering with Rivet School.

Our Current Partner Network

Other Ways to Partner With Rivet School

Support a Riveter

We partner with community-based organizations to help our students access transformative resources like expert financial aid guidance, scholarships, interest-free loans, and more.

Teach a Riveter

We partner with regionally accredited nonprofit universities to enroll Rivet School students in career-focused, competency-based degree programs.

Hire a Riveter

We partner with companies to build training, hiring, and employee volunteering partnerships. We also partner with companies to help them offer a Rivet School college pathway as an employee benefit.

Frequently asked questions

What will a typical week look like for a student?

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Are Rivet School’s degree programs accredited?

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Yes. We only partner with regionally accredited, nonprofit universities. (Regional accreditation is the highest form of accreditation, and credits earned through regionally accredited programs are the most likely to transfer.)

What makes Bridge different from Rivet School’s other programs?

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Rivet School was built to primarily serve working adult students and most of our students are between 25 - 35 years old. Bridge is a more structured, cohort-based version of our core program that we built for younger students. This program includes extra support and tailored opportunities for social connection and career exploration.

How does the Bridge application process work?

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Students will work with their college counselor and the Rivet School Admissions team to submit their application. There are 3 sections to the application: General Information, Financial Planning, and Short Answer Questions. There is no GPA requirement, SAT requirement, or personal statement section. Once a student submits, they will receive an email from our Admissions team on the next steps. Students should expect to hear a decision within 2-3 weeks of the application deadline.

What degrees does Rivet School offer?

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Rivet School partners with Southern New Hampshire University, a regionally accredited nonprofit university to offer an AA in General Studies and three BA degrees in Business, Communications, and Healthcare Management

Within each of these degrees, students can choose specific concentrations such as: Logistics & Operations, Public Administration, Management, Global Perspectives, and more. These degrees provide a broad base of generalizable skills that support students to enter into a variety of careers.

Is Rivet School a nonprofit? Why is this important?

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We believe that college programs should be 100% focused on doing what’s best for students. We also recognize the troubling legacy of for-profit higher education in this country.

For these reasons (and others), Rivet School is a non-profit educational program with one mission: To help you earn a job-relevant degree as efficiently as possible.

Who can I reach out to with additional questions?

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For additional questions, please connect directly with Shelly at shelly@rivetschool.org or with our admissions team at admissions@rivetschool.org.

Learn more

Outcomes
High-level metrics, data, and organizational outcomes
Career
How Rivet School supports our graduate’s economic mobility
Financials
Financial overview, economic model, and development goals
Antiracism & Equity
Our organizational vision for DEI and team experience

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We look forward to getting to know you!
- The Rivet School Team
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