From Stopped-Out to Capped and Gowned: Re: Degree is Helping Adults Graduate

With one class left to complete in order to graduate, Ashley Turner reached out to Re: Degree for support. Turner earned her degree and finished what she started.

Ashley Turner had just one class left to complete her degree in accounting at USC Upstate. But when she couldn’t pass it after a second attempt, she got discouraged and stopped out.

Stories such as Turner’s are familiar to Debbie Little. Little is Upstate’s Re: Degree advisor, and since she began her job in April 2024, she has made it her goal to contact as many former students as possible and support them in whatever ways they need to finish their degrees. Re: Degree is a postsecondary strategy of Movement 2030, a $220 million, 7.5-year plan to drive economic and life success in Spartanburg County. There are three primary focuses of Movement 2030: early care and education, postsecondary attainment and workforce development and spurring economic mobility in two neighborhoods. Re: Degree was formed to address the 48,000 adults in Spartanburg County with some college but no degree.

USC Upstate’s Re: Degree Advisor Debbie Little

Debbie Little supports adults who wish to finish their college degrees.

 “It’s been a very warm reception,” she says. “They’re really appreciative that somebody’s thinking about them, reaching out to them, willing to help them.”

Little’s work focuses on re-enrolling Spartanburg County students and removing the obstacles that led them to stop out. When she started at Upstate, she researched all the resources available in the community that students might need, such as childcare, housing and school supplies. She also coordinates small grants with the Re: Degree program office at OneSpartanburg, Inc.

Another part of Little’s strategy is conducting a deep dive into the student’s record. In some cases, a student may need fewer classes to graduate due to adjusted requirements in the course catalog. In others, switching to a different major, such as interdisciplinary studies, allows a student to be credited for the classes they’ve already completed while reducing the requirements they have left.

Turner learned about the Re: Degree program when her boyfriend was contacted by Little. She was immediately interested. Though she had been working in accounting since leaving school, her employer had continually encouraged her to go back and finish her degree. Her son’s birth was the final motivation she needed.

“I got some inspiration from having my son,” she says. “You have to finish what you start, and I wanted to be a good role model for him.”

Although it felt strange to be back in a classroom, Turner discovered she was a more effective student this time around. Rather than taking notes on everything the professor said, she listened carefully so she would understand what she was writing down. She became better at time management, fitting in her studying and homework whenever her infant son was asleep. Her boss also gave her time off to study when she had a test the next day.

In December, Turner was one of two Re: Degree students to cross the stage and graduate, though four others from USC Upstate also received degrees after Little discovered they only needed administrative assistance to be eligible to graduate. The six joined one from Converse and one from Spartanburg Community College (SCC) to become the program’s first graduates – ahead of the goal to graduate a student in two years.

While the process of re-engaging stopped-out students is labor intensive – Little has a list of about 1,000 names that she is cold calling – it is also yielding results. By the end of December 2024, Little had contacted 350 former students, and had gone from 14 students readmitted to college in fall 2024 to 30 students enrolled for spring 2025. Of the initial 14, 10 went to USC Upstate; one was a student at Upstate and SCC; one was a dual enrollment student at Upstate and Acadeum, which offers online classes; and two moved to SCC.

Little notes that while she’s Upstate’s advisor, she also helps students from other colleges that are referred to her by OneSpartanburg, Inc. The goal is graduation, and sometimes that’s best achieved by a student enrolling in an online program or switching to a different college that’s a better fit, Little says.

Once a student is re-enrolled, Little keeps in regular contact with them, making sure they’re staying on track and checking if they have any concerns. “I like them to know that I’m here and I’m part of the team that’s rooting for them, and that I’m planning on being at their graduation and celebrating them,” she says. She anticipates 19 students will graduate in May.

For Turner, getting her bachelor’s in accounting was a weight off her shoulders. “I think it’ll give me more confidence to venture out for my job,” she says. “My boss is like, you can always find something at a higher level than this. Your degree can get you more opportunity.”

Anyone interested in learning more about Re: Degree at USC Upstate can contact Debbie Little at 864-503-5826 or debral@uscupstate.edu. You can also connect with her on LinkedIn, linkedin.com/in/debbielittle-uscupstate.