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President Jay Gonzalez announced at his Inauguration that Curry College will be the first college in Massachusetts to offer a job guarantee program, called The Curry Commitment, beginning with the current freshmen Class of 2027. Curry College formally installed Gonzalez as its 15th President at the investiture ceremony held Friday, April 12th in the Dr. Eleanor Meyerhoff Katz Gymnasium on the Milton campus.
“Curry is leading the way with this initiative,” said Gonzalez. “Curry is the only college in Massachusetts to make a commitment like this to students, and we are one of only a handful across the country. This is a bold step that differentiates Curry in a meaningful way. And it’s responsive to the number one priority of students and families today—that their investment in college is going to be worth it and result in a job.”
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Watch the Inauguration ceremony
The Curry Commitment is a job guarantee program for full-time undergraduate students. This four-year program prepares students to enter the workforce seamlessly after graduation by integrating career readiness programming and experiential learning opportunities into the undergraduate experience. Through this program, students will receive support and services that prepare them to take the next steps towards their career shortly after graduation.
Students will be required to participate in the program for all four years of their undergraduate experience and commit to certain program requirements. Any student in the program who does not receive a job offer or is not accepted into graduate/professional school within six months after graduation, will be eligible for one of the following options:
- The student will have their federal student loans paid up to 12 months while they continue to work with a career advisor; or
- The student will be provided a paid internship in an organization aligned with their field of study up to 12 months while they continue to work with an advisor; or
- Tuition will be waived for six credits of graduate studies at Curry College for a program for which they have been accepted.
“I commend Curry College for its clear focus on preparing students for careers, for designing a comprehensive, four-year program to achieve that preparation, and, above all, for guaranteeing students a job soon after graduation as long as they participate fully in the learning opportunities that Curry will provide them,” says Richard Freeland, president emeritus at Northeastern University and former state commissioner of higher education. “At a time when vocal critics doubt the effectiveness of higher education, this bold initiative proclaims Curry’s confidence in itself and in its students.”
JD Chesloff, the president and CEO of the Massachusetts Business Roundtable says, “The top issue I hear from employers is their inability to find qualified workers to fill open jobs. For an economy historically based on access to the best talent in the world, this is a direct threat to the state’s economy and competitiveness. Through its new Curry Commitment program, the College is taking an innovative step that both creates a diverse pipeline of college graduates prepared to meet the workforce demands of our businesses and other employers, and to hold themselves accountable to success. By developing partnerships with businesses, creating a robust career readiness infrastructure, and guaranteeing to connect students to jobs or paying their student loans if they don’t, Curry College is an emerging leader in how higher education responds to the needs of students and employers.”