WATCH: George Mason University's ADVANCE partnership featured on PBS News Hour
The Mason Virginia Promise is a pathway to a bachelor’s degree or help starting a business for every Virginian who wants one.
The MVP extends Mason’s ADVANCE Partnership with Northern Virginia Community College (NOVA) to select Virginia community colleges – called the Mason Academies. Students who earn their associate’s degree at one of those community colleges would be guaranteed admission to Mason to pursue a bachelor’s degree.
Mason announced the first Mason Academy partnership, with Germanna Community College, in June 2022. The Academy highlights a one-time admissions and financial aid process, significant cost savings and access to additional grant programs, as well as a dedicated advisor for each student through their college journey to ensure success with no loss of credits. As part of financial aid, Mason will also reimburse its tuition and fees for Mason Academy transfer students if they have met other grant-based scholarship and family household income level requirements.
George Mason’s MVP initiative also includes training and financial support for all Virginians who aspire to start a business through Mason Enterprise’s suite of entrepreneur and small business programs, including 27 Small Business Development Centers, Procurement Technical Assistance Centers, five Northern Virginia technology incubators, and other federal, state and local support programs.
In 2021, the Mason Enterprise team advised and supported 11,000 small businesses with 42,000 hours of one-on-one counseling. In addition, 20,000 entrepreneurs took part in 753 no-cost or low-cost training programs. Mason’s entrepreneur and small business programs have made a $1.6 billion impact in the commonwealth.