Arizona State University, Uber Celebrate Graduates of Free-Tuition Program
Credit: JOSH EDELSON/AFP via Getty Images- The partnership has almost 700 graduates, including a 73-year-old Army veteran.
- Drivers can transfer their eligibility up to two times to a family member.
- Drivers must be Gold, Platinum, or Diamond status and have over 2,000 lifetime trips.
This graduation season, Arizona State University (ASU) celebrated 160 Uber drivers at the university’s inaugural Uber graduation celebration. All of them took ASU courses tuition-free.
The university honored its online ASU and Uber Education Partnership graduates May 8 in a room full of gold and black balloons, with speaker Carrol Chang, the global head of driver and courier operations, addressing the attendees.
“The world is truly limitless,” Chang said, according to ASU. “With this degree and with the range of people we have in this room, just look around at the diversity in ages, in backgrounds, in fields of study. The world really is your oyster, and it’s up to you what you’re going to do with it. You will do great things.”
AZ Family reported that Paul Spann, a 73-year-old U.S. Army veteran, celebrated his graduation and plans to pursue a Ph.D. in criminology. According to ASU, the program is nearing 700 graduates.
Uber partnered with Arizona State University to give eligible drivers or one of their family members free tuition for an online degree program or skills courses.
Through the partnership launched in 2018, Uber will pay the remaining student tuition after the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) determines federal grants and scholarships.
To qualify for the program, an Uber driver must have Uber Pro Gold, Platinum, or Diamond status and have completed over 2,000 lifetime trips.
The driver can also transfer their ASU free tuition eligibility up to two times to a family member, including a spouse, partner, child, sibling, parent, guardian, or dependent.
Uber allows the eligible driver to transfer tuition eligibility even in the middle of enrollment. Once the current student finishes classes, the next can begin. However, any credits the previous person takes count toward the maximum credits a driver can take through the program.
ASU offers drivers their entire catalog of online undergraduate programs, up to 135 credits, or courses through CareerCatalyst, an online entrepreneurship and English language learning certificate program.
To enroll, a driver or a driver and their family member must fill out an information request form and write which degree program interests them at uber.asu.edu/driver. Afterward, eligible people can connect with an ASU enrollment coach for more information or submit an ASU application for a degree program.
If eligible participants decide to pursue CareerCatalyst courses, they do not need to complete the FAFSA; all they have to do is sign up through Canvas.
According to the website, if a driver loses Gold, Platinum, or Diamond status, they are given a three-month grace period to regain at least Gold status before losing program benefits.
“Uber and ASU are partnering to give drivers or a member of their family the opportunity to reach their goals with access to a high-quality education that fits around their lives,” according to the ASU website.
“Together, we believe that being able to work and learn flexibly is an essential part of unlocking economic opportunities. Our partnership is aimed at helping expand access to lifelong learning to more people and offers a path forward for personal and professional advancement in the 21st century.”