Thousands of adults across Southwestern Pennsylvania leave college before earning a credential. While many learners want to return, they face financial challenges, competing work and family responsibilities, and difficulty navigating institutional processes. Some also carry an outstanding balance at a school they previously attended, creating another barrier. The Keystone Comeback, a newly launched regional collaboration, will provide such students with the support they need to return to college and finish what they started.

Starting this fall, the Keystone Comeback is reaching out to former students across Southwestern Pennsylvania. Ithaka S+R is facilitating this initiative in collaboration with Pittsburgh Scholar House and InsideTrack, and with funding from The Heinz Endowments. In concert with nine participating colleges and universities, including Butler County Community College, Carlow University, Chatham University, Community College of Allegheny County, Community College of Beaver County, Duquesne University, Penn State Beaver, Penn State Greater Allegheny, and Point Park University, this innovative program will provide former students with support to continue their education and advance their careers.

Over one million working-age adults in Pennsylvania left college before earning a credential. When these adult learners return and earn a credential, the benefits extend far beyond individual students. Families experience greater economic mobility, colleges and universities increase enrollment and tuition revenue, employers gain access to a stronger talent pipeline, and the Commonwealth is better positioned to meet workforce and educational attainment goals.

Taking a collaborative regional approach, the Keystone Comeback combines coordinated outreach to stopped-out learners, institutional improvements that reduce barriers to re-enrollment, and continuous learning among the participating institutions. Rather than addressing these challenges independently, colleges and universities are working together to improve outcomes for returning adult learners across the region. During a six-month planning period, Ithaka S+R, InsideTrack, Pittsburgh Scholar House, and the nine colleges and universities worked to identify and reduce institutional barriers, strengthen student support strategies, develop shared approaches to outreach, and prepare for coordinated implementation.

Beginning with students who re-enroll in Spring 2027, the Keystone Comeback is providing three primary benefits to help more adults return to college, persist, and complete their credentials while strengthening the regional workforce:

  • Participating institutions are making process improvements to lower barriers to re-enrollment and better connect learners to resources.
  • InsideTrack is proactively reaching out to adult learners to encourage them to re-enroll and will provide individualized coaching to students who do during their first
  • Re-enrolled students will be able to qualify for cancellation of up to $5,000 in eligible past-due balances when they make progress toward their degrees.

By bringing together higher education institutions, nonprofit organizations, and philanthropy around a shared strategy, the initiative also seeks to develop a model for regional collaboration that can inform similar efforts across Pennsylvania and beyond. Building on our experience expanding postsecondary access and helping adult learners return to college and complete credentials, Ithaka S+R is coordinating the Keystone Comeback. Over the past several years, we led a similar initiative in Ohio, facilitated the Pennsylvania Adult Learner Re-Engagement Community of Practice with over 50 colleges and universities, and provided technical assistance to states and institutions, including in Kentucky and New Jersey.

Nonprofit InsideTrack is serving as the Keystone Comeback’s outreach and coaching partner. Using an evidence-based coaching model, InsideTrack will help learners navigate the re-enrollment process and connect with institutional resources. As president of InsideTrack, Ruth Bauer, describes, “Behind every stopped-out student is a story—not of failure, but of competing responsibilities. Many are parents juggling childcare, caregivers looking after loved ones, or adults working multiple jobs to earn a steady paycheck, keep food on the table, and provide a better life for their family. When someone like a coach reaches out to support them on that long journey, believes in their potential, and stays alongside them through the process of coming back, it can change the trajectory of an entire family.”

Pittsburgh Scholar House is serving in an advisory role throughout the initiative. As a nonprofit organization based in the Pittsburgh region, Pittsburgh Scholar House helps families build a cycle of prosperity through a two-generation (2Gen) approach that supports educational attainment, employment, and long-term well-being. The organization brings extensive experience supporting adult learners throughout Southwestern Pennsylvania. “Adult learners do not lack determination,” says Dr. Daren Ellerbee, Chief Executive Officer of Pittsburgh Scholar House. “Too often, they encounter barriers that make returning to college more difficult than it should be. The Keystone Comeback Initiative reflects a shared commitment to removing those barriers so more learners can complete a credential, strengthen their families, and contribute to the economic vitality of Southwestern Pennsylvania.”

Funding from The Heinz Endowments makes this work possible. As a philanthropic organization with deep roots in Southwestern Pennsylvania, The Heinz Endowments is committed to expanding workforce development opportunities that lead to family-sustaining wages, a mission closely aligned with the goals of the Keystone Comeback. “Our region’s young adults often face a multitude of barriers and challenges that get in the way of securing the degrees or credentials that can lead to meaningful, good-paying jobs,” said Kathleen Keating, Program Officer for the Endowments’ Workforce strategy. “We’re honored to work with Keystone Comeback and its partners in addressing those barriers, in building clear pathways to meaningful careers, and investing in the creation of a future in Southwestern Pennsylvania where everyone has the opportunity to prosper and belong.”

The Keystone Comeback reflects a shared commitment to expanding educational opportunity and supporting adult learner success across Southwestern Pennsylvania. We are grateful to the participating institutions, Pittsburgh Scholar House, InsideTrack, and The Heinz Endowments for making this work possible.

For more information about the Keystone Comeback and related access and attainment work at Ithaka S+R, contact Elizabeth Looker at elizabeth.looker@ithaka.org.