How We Got Here

In October 2012, three working college students took a risk and enrolled in college with PelotonU. Since then we’ve learned and grown, and better understood how to serve students in Austin.

Our Vision

Our vision is that any student with the will and drive to graduate from college can earn a degree debt-free, regardless of geography or economics.

Our Mission

Our mission is to provide working students with a pathway and the support to graduate from college on-time and debt-free.

Our Beliefs

• We believe every student should have access to a high-quality college education, but know that a Bachelor’s degree isn’t the only path to a fulfilling life aligned with their goals.
• We believe hard work with the right supports leads to graduation.
• We believe learning best occurs within community.
• We believe our students’ well-being is more important than our organizational outcomes.

 

Along the way, we’ve gotten good at supporting these students. In 2015 –

• 82% of PelotonU students who start PelotonU will finish
  • Compared to 16% for working adults in Austin
• 94% of PelotonU students will graduate on-time
  • Compared to 28% for Texas
• No PelotonU has assumed student loans
  • Compared to a debt average of $25,000 in Texas

 

But what really mattered in 2015, are you and our students. Here’s those numbers:

1 Yelp account suspended in an attempt to recruit students

2 cases of rhabdomyolysis in PelotonU

3 engagements (and one wedding)

8 leftover t-shirts (because I ordered too many XLs)

21 new students

30 feet – length of our new Austin skyline mural

35 seats in our new office

60 applicants in in two years before we hired Samantha

94 applicants in nine months since Sam joined PelotonU

125 donors

438 new email subscribers (811 total)

497 times Sarah played Justin Bieber in the office

507 mentor meetings

516 credit hours earned by PelotonU students

905 square feet in our office (but we pay rent for 1,005)

1,300 SXSWedu panel submission (and they picked our students to speak)

9,063 skills in Khan practiced

15,000 hours students spent studying in the office

 

And most of all in 2015, we’re proud of the first four students to complete our program

1. Justin: working full-time for All-State Insurance in Houston

2. Timothy: graduate of CodeUp, Back end web developer in Austin

3. Jonathan: earned his Associate’s, now studying environmental engineering at Texas State

4. Jared: earned his Associate’s, considering a move to India

 

Each student has a personalized pathway to their college goals.

We’re excited for the paths that unfold in 2016.