Life doesn't always unfold as planned – including in college. Sometimes, you need to pause, regroup and adjust your path before moving toward your goals.

But what happens when priorities shift once more, and it's time to finish what you started?

University of Arizona students interested in returning to school and completing their undergraduate degree now have another pathway through the Arizona Comeback Initiative. Led by the Arizona Board of Regents and the Helios Foundation, the program enrolls students who have completed some college but have not yet earned a credential.

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Supported by the U of A, Northern Arizona University and Arizona State University, the program will identify and develop evidence-based strategies to reduce barriers to re-enrollment and graduation. Each institution will implement specifically tailored strategies to assist as many of the nearly 770,000 Arizona students who have left college without their degrees.

"This new initiative is a key part of the university's land-grant mission of positively contributing to the state of Arizona," said Caleb Simmons, vice provost for Arizona Online. "Our strategic imperatives include 'success for every student,' and that means helping students be successful – no matter the circumstances life may throw their way – as much as we can. We want people to not only enroll at the University of Arizona, but to graduate and become successful alumni who positively contribute to their own communities."

While fewer than half of working-age adults in Arizona have completed a college degree or certificate, the board of regents estimates that nearly 67% of jobs in Arizona will require college-level education and training beyond high school by 2030.

For its part of the Comeback Initiative, the U of A will draw from the success of its Back2UA program, which enables students who left the institution in good academic standing and missed no more than two consecutive regular semesters to return seamlessly with no application fee or administrative barriers. The university is also launching a more centralized re-engagement initiative that will focus on identifying Arizona residents with some university credits and guiding them toward completing their degrees through Arizona Online.

In addition to eliminating application fees, the U of A will provide individualized success coaching, academic, and financial support to students who qualify for the program. The university will use funds donated by the Helios Foundation for a scholarship, which covers the cost of a returning student's first class.

"We envision that support as a way to reduce some of the possible uncertainty about returning to the university," Simmons said. "Once a student is able to achieve some initial success again in the classroom, they can feel more confident about finishing what is left to complete their degree."

Interested in completing your degree through the Arizona Comeback Initiative at the U of A? Learn more at Arizona Online's comeback page.