UBS and EVERFI Partner to Launch Innovative, Digital Education Program for Schools and Nonprofits Across the U.S.

• Keys To Your Future: College and Career Readiness will be offered to schools and nonprofits nationwide, free of cost
• The program’s curriculum will help high school students better prepare for post-secondary success
• Program aims to reach more than 150,000 high school students in 1,000 schools and nonprofit organizations nationally by 2021

UBS and EVERFI, a leading social impact education technology company, announced today the launch of Keys To Your Future: College & Career Readiness, a personalized digital curriculum available for low- to moderate-income high school students across the U.S., to better prepare them for college and career. Through the multiyear partnership with EVERFI, UBS has committed $3M to develop the program and implement it in schools and after-school programs nationwide.

Leveraging EVERFI’s nationwide reach, Keys to Your Future will be rolled out across the country with targeted focus in 12 priority markets at launch: Boston, Denver, Detroit, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, Minneapolis, Nashville, New York/Newark, Philadelphia, Seattle, and Washington, D.C. The curriculum combines online lessons with in-person supplemental activities from teachers and from local UBS colleagues who will volunteer their time to help students make informed, goal-oriented decisions that puts them on a path to post-secondary success. Keys to Your Future aims to reach more than 150,000 high school students in 1,000 schools and nonprofit organizations nationally by 2021. The program is a continuation of the firm’s longstanding commitment to education through UBS NextGen Leaders, a $10 million commitment to improve college and career success among under-resourced populations. This includes initiatives that support bachelor’s degree attainment to drive economic opportunity such as UBS-SEO College Scholars, which supported a cohort of 121 young men of color on track to achieve a 90% graduation rate.

“Keys To Your Future represents the latest initiative in UBS’s ongoing commitment to creating pathways that enable the next generation to attain college and career success,” said Tom Naratil, Co-President UBS Global Wealth Management and President UBS Americas. “We’re proud to be leveraging our significant presence in markets across the country to introduce this curriculum and to connect more students with the knowledge and skills they need to succeed.”

Pressures in high schools nationwide are increasing, and many guidance counselors in under-resourced school districts are tasked with serving as many as 450 students per academic year¹. This makes personalized advice almost impossible and as a result, nearly 11 million² high school students across the U.S. have insufficient guidance counseling support. Keys To Your Future is a crucial resource that allows them to navigate the already complex college application process, and gain exposure to different career pathways. With this partnership, UBS and EVERFI want to help close the counselor-student gap, and guide more low- to moderate-income students towards improved college and career outcomes.

“We applaud UBS and their efforts to get behind these critical skills through the Keys To Your Future program,” said Tom Davidson, CEO and President of EVERFI. “Our company tackles a number of challenging issues affecting society, including college readiness. We built this course to provide students with the tools and skills they need to reach their professional goals, empowering them to make informed, goal-oriented decisions about their future. Through UBS’s commitment, students will now have the knowledge they need to successfully pursue their dreams.”

The program offers six, distinct online lessons guiding students through a series of activities that teaches them technical skills, such as how to navigate the financial aid process, to building nonacademic skills, such as time management and study skills that are essential for students to persist to and through both college and career. The curriculum was developed with input from leading education experts, including Eric Waldo from Michelle Obama’s Reach Higher initiative; Kim Cook, the Executive Director of the National College Access Network; Aimee Eubanks Davis, Founder and CEO of Braven, a college and career leadership program; and Richard Wong, Executive Director of the American School Counselor Association.

“Leveraging technology to provide a scalable solution for students across the country was essential in designing Keys to Your Future. The college application process can be overwhelming, especially for students who don’t have sufficient guidance or resources,” said Jamie Sears, Head of Community Affairs & Corporate Responsibility, UBS Americas. “We want to simplify that process by offering high school students exposure to career pathways and the information they need to achieve their goals. We’re also proud to engage our UBS employee volunteers in key markets to bring the skills students are learning to live and ensure they’re on the right trajectory for post-secondary success.”

¹ https://www.jkcf.org/research/opening-doors-how-selective-colleges-and-universities-are-expanding-access-for-high-achieving-low-income-students/
² https://edtrust.org/the-equity-line/why-school-counselors-matter/