The solution? Metropolitan College – a unique public-private partnership that dramatically increased retention among workers during the wee hours each night. Average tenure of a third-shift worker grew from eight weeks prior to the program’s launch to three years as of fall 2022.

The program also provided more than 22,000 students over the past 25 years the opportunity to earn a college degree 100% debt-free.

Metro College allows students at the University of Louisville or Jefferson Community and Technical College to work at Worldport, earning a weekly paycheck and payment of their tuition, academic bonuses and fee payment assistance. The program receives state support to fund up to 50% of tuition and fees. The company also provides academic bonuses that include semester and graduation bonuses. The program launched in the fall semester of 1998 as a partnership among UofL, JCTC, UPS, Louisville Metro Government and the commonwealth of Kentucky.

“Metropolitan College seemingly has no downside,” said UofL President Kim Schatzel. “Prior to my academic career, I spent 20 years in industry, so I see the value of Metro College across the board. The state of Kentucky, UPS, JCTC and UofL have created a national model of what a combined education-workforce-economic development initiative can and should be.”

“In addition to paying for college, Metro College provides a student with a livelihood while they are in college,” said Ty Handy, JCTC president. “That is crucial for many students who must support themselves either fully or partially while they are in school. And the added value of the career and academic guidance they receive cannot be underestimated.”

“For UPS, the success of Metro College has been integral to our ability to deliver what matters to our customers around the world,” said UPS President Jim Joseph. “In addition to the steady source of talent to help us run our Worldport operation, the program provides student-workers the opportunity to pursue their dreams debt-free, while also receiving competitive pay, benefits and work-life experience and guidance. Our community benefits by growing and enhancing the talent pool within the commonwealth. The program really is a win-win-win for all involved.” 

Thalia Almenares came to Louisville in 2016 from Cuba and began work at UPS in 2017. Through Metro College she started taking classes at JCTC before transferring to UofL where she graduated in May as a dental hygienist.

“UPS was the best bet for my dreams,” she said. “I couldn’t believe it when they told (me) they were going to pay my tuition 100% in full. But also, with the help of the UPS team, I was able to overcome the language barrier and have a job to support my family while earning a great education. The program also provides you with a great work-life balance. I wasn’t sure if it was possible to be a student and work at the same time, but UPS opens that door.”

Another program benefit is the chance to learn leadership skills and to rise in the ranks while still enrolled in college. Just ask graduates Jeff Wafford (2003) and Donovan Neal (2019).

“Coming out of high school, I knew I couldn’t pay for college. I was actually planning to go into the military until a friend of mine told me about UPS two months before the semester started,” Donovan Neal said. “I began in August 2012 in the UPS hub as a package handler and eventually got a role as a supervisor in finance and accounting.”

He graduated from UofL with a degree in finance and today works in human resources for UPS.

Likewise, Jeff Wafford progressed through the ranks of the multinational shipping company. He enrolled in Metro College more than two decades ago and started as a package handler. Now director of public affairs, Wafford continues to tout Metro College. “Today, I not only have the chance to talk about it to our leaders here locally and throughout Kentucky but also to the states I cover, in the Virginias and the Carolinas. They all want to know, ‘What can we do in our states to have a program like this?’ ”

The rigors of overnight work – Metro College students work 11 p.m. to 4 a.m. about 15 hours per week – coupled with college enrollment can be daunting, but Metro College staff advise entering students to enroll as a parttime student to get adjusted to the new routine. And they provide advice on life skills that students may need throughout their time in college.

Yet Wafford notes that working overnight may not be as much of a problem as might be imagined.

“Twenty-three years ago, my then-college roommate and I were up at 3 o’clock in the morning, as college students sometimes are, and we saw this ad for Metro College,” he said. “We said, ‘We should do this. We’re up all night anyway. We have these loans we’re getting ready to take out, and we need some money.’ So the next day, we applied.

“I’ve talked about Metro College now for 23 years and hopefully, I’ll get to talk about it for the next 23 years,” Wafford said “Let’s keep this program going for the future of the commonwealth.”

For more information about Metro College visit metro-college.com.

More students are taking advantage of , a partnership with United Parcel Service that makes it possible for students to earn a degree and graduate debt-free. There also is an upsurge in new students enrolled part-time, many of whom are interested in the university’s growing number of online degree programs, which tend to attract adult students who work full-time. 

“UofL strives to be an institution where every student can create their own path to graduation, including traditional, online and part-time students. I’m excited to see continued growth in programs that serve every type of student,” said UofL President Neeli Bendapudi. “This will be my second incoming class, and I’ve been counting down the days until the fall semester begins.”

The increased participation in the Metropolitan College program is most likely attributed to UPS’ boost in the starting wage to $14 for overnight package handlers, effectively drawing a greater number of students who work for the shipping company, which then pays for their full-time undergraduate tuition. Metropolitan College also recently implemented an option for students to begin the program part time during a “transitional” semester, contributing to the university’s uptick in freshmen attending school part time. 

Another factor in the increase of part-time students is the growing number of completely online programs. UofL offers more than 35 online programs including master’s, bachelor’s, certificates and teaching endorsements. Of this fall’s new students, 485 plan to earn their degrees completely online; most of those are adults returning to college. UofL’s current online enrollment for all students is 1,469. 

The increased availability of online programs and strong partnerships with Metropolitan College and Jefferson Community & Technical College have helped UofL attract 77 transfer students for fall semester. JCTC students can participate in the Metropolitan College program.

Of students starting today, nearly 2,600 are freshmen. Here’s a snapshot of the first-time freshman class:

• 56% have some college credits
• 17% are African American or identify as mixed race
• 6% are Hispanic/Latino 
• 72% live on campus 
• 17% are first-generation college students
• 25.6 is the average ACT score, well above the 2018 Kentucky average of 20
• 3.6 is the average high school grade-point average, based on a 4.0 scale
• 22% are from outside Kentucky
• 38 states represented
• 271 part-time incoming freshmen, up 70 from last year
• Psychology, biology, business, education and nursing are the five most popular majors.

The Metropolitan College is the partnership between UofL, JCTC, UPS and the state of Kentucky. Through this partnership, students are expected to work the 3^rd shift at UPS’ World Port Freight Facility, located at Louisville International Airport.  In return for their work, UPS gives each student a paycheck and, more importantly, covers their tuition and fees. 

As part of the deal, students must take on an extremely busy schedule between work and school. UofL sophomore Julie Hummel is enrolled in the Metropolitan College. She admits her schedule is “crazy,” but adds “I feel so free knowing I don’t have to pay debt after college.” 

Check out more about these UofL students’ UPS work below:

The partnership is a win for the schools, company and students involved, said Tim Goral, senior editor at the publication. 

“It illustrates the powerful effects a university can have on its city’s economy,” he adds. 

In 1998, shipping giant UPS considered moving its overnight air hub out of Louisville. In response, UofL, Jefferson Community and Technical College, the city of Louisville and the state of Kentucky developed an innovative education initiative to keep the company in town. The program, named Metropolitan College, aims to to help UPS improve workforce retention while eliminating a financial barrier to higher education for Kentucky residents, says Courtney Abboud, director of workforce and student development for Metropolitan College.

Students in Metropolitan College work approximately 15 hours per week at UPS and attend courses at the university or community college. Approximately 60 percent of Metropolitan’s 2,300 students are enrolled at the university and 40 percent attend the two-year school. If students commit to work through the semester at UPS, the company pays half of the tuition. The balance is covered through federal and state grants and a state tax credit to UPS.

So far, 4,698 students have earned associate’s, bachelor’s and graduate degrees through the program.

Metropolitan College also has built-in career guidance.The Career and Academic Planning Program requires students to complete a career assessment and meet with a counselor regularly. After completing 30 credit hours, they create a resume and set career goals. At 60 credit hours, students complete an online experiential learning module and the counselor helps them obtain related professional experience. Then, at 90 credit hours, students participate in a mock interviews geared toward their career goals.

“The goal of the program was not to create long-term UPS employees, but to provide a temporary workforce and then put credentialed employees back into the workforce” in other companies throughout Kentucky, says Abboud.

Metropolitan College has also been a win for UPS, which initially struggled with a workforce shortage. Before the college launched, the average tenure of an overnight worker was eight weeks. Today, it’s almost three years.

In addition to University of Louisville, Summer 2017 Models of Excellence honorees include: Central Georgia Technical College (Macon, Ga.); Endicott College (Beverly, Mass.); McDaniel College (Westminster, Md.); University of Wyoming (Laramie, Wyo.); and Villanova University (Villanova, Pa.).

According to a press release, Models of Excellence was launched in 2015 as a national recognition program honoring colleges and universities that have implemented innovative, effective and inter-departmental initiatives that are bolstering student success.