Generations College Featured in Inside Higher Ed for New Bachelor’s Degrees
For many students, the hardest part of continuing after an associate degree is not ambition — it is starting over. New campus. New people. New systems. And the quiet fear that the support that made success possible the first time will not travel with you.
That is the barrier Generations College set out to remove. And that work is now earning national attention.
In a September 1, 2026 feature, Inside Higher Ed highlighted Generations College’s decision to offer bachelor’s degrees for the first time in the institution’s 122-year history — framing the move as an extension of our two-year mission, driven by students who asked to keep going with us.
What we launched
This fall, Generations College is offering four bachelor’s programs:
• Business Administration
• Business Administration with an AI focus
• Entrepreneurship
• Entrepreneurship with an AI focus
These pathways build on strengths students already know. Generations offers the oldest two-year business administration program in Illinois, and a large share of current students are already enrolled in business and entrepreneurship programs. The demand signal was clear.
Bachelor’s programs require 120 credits (compared with 60 for an associate degree). Students pay the same annual tuition rate as associate-degree students and keep access to the supports Generations is known for — flexible scheduling, hybrid and online courses, and financial assistance, including pathways such as our scholarship program for single parents.
The “why” is student voice
Dr. Grace Alexis, Chancellor, has been direct about the motivation: students did not want to leave.
“A lot of them go kicking and screaming. They don’t want to leave because they know that they’re not going to find the experience that they have at Generations at other schools,” Alexis said. “So, because of their many requests to continue their education with us, we felt that we had to remove the barrier.”
And on mission clarity:
“We’re not abandoning our two-year mission. We’re extending it.”
Alexis also cautioned peer institutions against treating bachelor’s expansion primarily as an enrollment strategy. For Generations, the aim is to become a more complete institution for the students we already serve — not simply a larger one.
A student story that says it better than a brochure
Kimberly Newson was 45, married, and a mother of six when she enrolled in an associate program at Generations College. She became her class valedictorian. She also planned to stop there.
“I thought I was done. I even told my husband, ‘Yeah, I have my associate degree. I think I’m finished,’” Newson said.
What changed her mind was the chance to continue at a college where she had already built trust — a place that understands adult learners carry work, family, and a full life alongside school.
This fall, she is enrolled in Generations College’s bachelor’s program in business administration with an AI focus.
“You never know what opening up a bachelor’s program to other people means,” Newson said. “Sometimes people can be complacent with, ‘OK, I was comfortable with this institution, so since they only have an associate degree program, I’m not going to move forward’ … But if you open it up to them, they can achieve so much.”
Why this recognition matters
Coverage from Inside Higher Ed places Generations in a national conversation about accessible bachelor’s pathways and what it takes for students — especially adult learners — not only to enroll, but to continue.
For us, the through-line is simple: keep the relationships, keep the supports, keep the tuition approach familiar, and let students finish what they started without losing the community that helped them begin.
National recognition is meaningful. What matters more is students like Kimberly choosing to continue because trust and support were already here.
What comes next
If you are a Generations graduate ready for the next step — or an adult learner exploring a career-focused bachelor’s pathway — we would love to talk with you.
• Read the full Inside Higher Ed feature:
https://www.insidehighered.com/news/student-success/academic-life/2026/09/01/2-year-college-extends-mission-4-year-degrees
• Start your next step with Admissions:
https://www.generations.edu/apply-now/
Your associate degree was not a finish line unless you wanted it to be. If you are ready to keep going, you can do it here.
Get ready to Live the Legacy with us at Generations College.
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