Investing in Economic Mobility: Enova’s Partnership with One Million Degrees

By Jasmine Kent

Financial literacy means little without the stability to act on it. That's why Enova has long supported organizations working at the root of economic mobility. One Million Degrees (OMD) is one of those organizations.

OMD is the only community college student success model in the country to be validated by a randomized controlled trial and backed by research from the University of Chicago Inclusive Economy Lab. The model combines financial support, academic coaching and career development to help students complete their degrees and convert them into stable careers.

The results speak for themselves. OMD scholars are 73% more likely to earn a degree than peers outside the program - a causal finding from the University of Chicago's study. They earn nearly three times as many credits as a comparison group and persist at more than twice the rate. Seven years after graduation, they earn $14,000 more annually than their peers and are 83% more likely to hold stable, full-time employment.

This year, OMD served nearly 3,000 scholars across seven City Colleges of Chicago campuses. Its model is built on a simple premise: students rarely fail because they lack ability. They fail because the financial pressures around them go unaddressed.

That premise is where Enova's commitment to financial access and literacy connects directly to OMD's work. Building healthy financial habits requires a stable foundation first. OMD's milestone-based financial support model - up to $1,000 a year, tied to progress rather than just enrollment - operates on that same logic, addressing the barriers students actually face rather than the ones that are easiest to address.

It's a model that mirrors what we believe at Enova: financial progress should be possible for everyone. OMD builds on that premise by combining financial support with the coaching to make use of it. A student juggling rent, transportation and tuition can't fully engage with budgeting advice if the ground underneath them isn't stable. OMD removes that instability so students can focus on what's in front of them - their coursework, their career path, their future.

Enova's relationship with OMD goes beyond financial support. I've had the privilege of serving on OMD's Executive Advisory Board and our employees volunteer directly as coaches, working with scholars on their path to graduation and beyond. I've also brought my own background in DEI into OMD's Thrive Mentorship program, leading conversations with staff about equity - deepening their understanding of racial equity, strengthening our shared skills and exploring how to embed equity in everyday work at OMD.

Being a coach has shown me firsthand what the data only hints at: the difference a stable foundation and a consistent person in your corner can make. It's one thing to see a 73% completion-rate lift in a report. It's another to watch a scholar work through a setback, stay enrolled and graduate because someone helped them clear a financial hurdle that had nothing to do with their ability or effort.

As OMD expands into new markets beyond Chicago, its growing evidence base continues to reinforce the impact of aligning academic guidance with financial stability. For Enova, this growth is a powerful opportunity to strengthen a long-standing partnership rooted in our shared belief that true economic mobility is achieved by removing circumstantial financial barriers unrelated to an individual's talent or effort.

That is the most meaningful return on investment. I'd be remiss not to mention it: if you are interested in making a difference by becoming an OMD coach, check out the details here .