Bank of North Dakota has launched a new, unique, low-interest financing option specifically for programs like Emerging Digital Academy. The CEAL Program (Career Education & Alternative Learning) provides funds for North Dakota residents and prospective North Dakota residents pursuing career education through alternative learning training programs and certifications.
This is the first (and only) financing program of its kind in the United States and is currently only available for Emerging Digital Academy through Bank of North Dakota.
The loan covers all of the following student expenses while attending Emerging Digital Academy:
- Tuition & Fees
- Supplies
- Room and Board
- Transportation & Parking
- Other educational expenses authorized by the school or by BND’s Investment Committee
Those applying must be a U.S. citizen, meet all credit and underwriting criteria, not be delinquent or in default on any student loans and must attend an eligible institution in North Dakota. Loan amounts can be between $500 and $25,000. Repayment begins within 6 months of graduation (or from leaving the program), and most loans are placed on a 10-year repayment plan.
For complete details about Bank of North Dakota’s CEAL Program, visit their page here:
https://bnd.nd.gov/studentloans/money-for-college/career-education-alternative-learning/
Liz Campbell, Head of Student Life and Community Engagement for Emerging Digital Academy, is excited to be able to make financing easier for EDA students. “CEAL will make an Emerging Digital Academy education available to a wider audience and ease the financial burden of upgrading their careers. It’s a big win for our students.”
The CEAL Program is unique in that it will bring Emerging Digital Academy’s financing options more inline with those available to students at four-year higher ed institutions, including providing for supplies and room and board–which wasn’t previously available to EDA students.
Each cohort also has a limited number of Income Share Agreement (ISA) slots available for students who are not eligible for traditional financing. With the ISA, students agree to pay back a portion of their income for a fixed period of time only after they get a job after graduation.
Emerging Digital Academy’s mission is to upscale the workforce by graduating 40 qualified software engineers each year. “Ada” (our first cohort that graduated in August) graduated 13 students. Of those first 13, 11 are now employed as Software Engineers and one is continuing their education. We recently celebrated our second cohort’s graduation of seven students. Our third cohort recently began with 13 more future software developers.
Emerging Digital Academy has placed 92% of its graduates with an average salary increase (from their previous career) of 136%. Our graduates starting salaries have averaged $52,000.
Emerging Digital Academy is powered by Grand Farm and Emerging Prairie. To find out more about Emerging Digital Academy, visit us at emergingacademy.org.
