NewU University Designs a $0-Tuition Bachelor's Degree in One Year after High School

Collaboration with Proposed Early College Charter School Targets DC’s Youth Unemployment Crisis

WASHINGTON, DC, UNITED STATES, April 24, 2025 /EINPresswire.com/ -- What if our nation’s capital teens could finish a bachelor’s degree for zero tuition just one year after high school?

NewU University and the proposed NewU Early College Public Charter School are collaborating on a trailblazing Early College pathway that lets 11th- and 12th-graders earn up to 80 college credits, then complete the university’s bachelor’s program tuition-free in a single additional year.

“Fewer than two in ten DC public school ninth graders ever earn a college degree, and youth unemployment here is 23 percent – seven times the national average,” said Stratsi Kulinski, founder and president of NewU University, citing 2024 data from the DC College Access Program and the DC Policy Center respectively. “This collaboration offers students the fastest, debt-free route to a credential that can boost their employment prospects and lifetime earnings.”

“This would be the shortest, most affordable path to a bachelor’s degree in the nation, and it is meeting an urgent need head-on. Our plan enjoys extraordinary support from parents, educators, employers, and other members of the community, and it must be enacted right here in DC asap,” added Jonas Rolett, Board Chair of the proposed Early College public charter school. “Conditional approval from the DC Public Charter School will let us open our doors this Fall 2025. We’ve directly surveyed DC parents, and they overwhelmingly want this breakthrough model to enable their families to put children through college and eliminate student loans. We urge the approving authority to greenlight our application so we can respond to the acute community needs asap and transform education and the economy in DC and beyond.”

This innovative Early College model eliminates not only tuition, but student loans, opportunity costs, and other hurdles inherent in the traditional multi-year college programs while reducing unemployment and raising lifetime earnings.

The School’s charter application is in the final stages of review, with a vote of the Washington, DC Public Charter School Board (DC PCSB) expected in May 2025. A conditional DC PCSB approval would enable a Fall 2025 launch and lay the foundation for meaningful school reform and innovation in service to the Washington, DC community of students, parents, and all residents.

About NewU University
NewU University (https://newu.university) is a private, nonprofit 501(c)(3) institution licensed by the DC Higher Education Licensure Commission and a member of the Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE) in the Candidate phase.

About NewU Early College Public Charter School
Although they share a vision in service to the DC community, the University and the School are separate, independent nonprofits. The School’s DC PCSB application can be viewed by the press and the general public at https://dcpcsb.org/sites/default/files/media/file/2025-03-14%20NewU%20Early%20College%20Charter%20Application%20-%20Redacted_0.pdf.

Media Contacts
NewU University – president@newu.university | 202-968-1001
NewU Early College Public Charter School – jmrolett@gmail.com I (202) 550-2303

Forward-Looking Statements
This release contains forward-looking statements regarding regulatory approvals and program launches. Actual outcomes may differ materially based on DC PCSB determinations and other factors.

Stratsi Kulinski
NewU University
+1 202-968-1001
president@newu.university