Member Colleges
Paul Quinn College
Paul Quinn College is a private, faith-based, four-year, liberal arts-inspired institution that was founded on April 4, 1872, by a group of African Methodist Episcopal Church preachers in Austin, Texas. The school’s original purpose was to educate freed slaves and their offspring. Today, the College is recognized as one of the most innovative colleges in the country and proudly educates students of all races and socio-economic backgrounds under the banner of “WE over Me” – the needs of a community supersede the wants of an individual.
Beginning in the fall of 2015, Paul Quinn College adopted a new student financial structure that reduced student tuition and fees and enabled PQC graduates to graduate with less than $10,000 of student loan debt. The centerpiece of this model is Paul Quinn’s creation of a new type of four-year college – the Urban Work College. By doing so, Paul Quinn became the ninth federally designated Work College in the nation and the first: urban Work College; HBCU and Minority Serving Institution to be recognized as a Work College; and Work College in Texas.
FAST FACTS
Paul Quinn College
By the Numbers
84%
37%
87
33
Corporate Work Program partners
UNIFIED BY PURPOSE
OUR WORK COLLEGE MEMBERS
There are currently 11 federally recognized Work Colleges, eight are members of the Work Colleges Consortium. These institutions are small, private, liberal arts colleges with modest enrollments that range from about 150 to approximately 1,600 students. Each school is unique and operates the work program in a slightly different fashion. However, “work-learning-service” is a central component of each work college. Student work, coupled with robust academics and a spirit of service, is the common denominator shared by all the work colleges.
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