Michelle Jones quit her job as a full-time associate professor at Northeast Portland's Concordia University in 2015 on a leap of faith.

For years, Jones had discussed with friends and colleagues her dream of starting a college from scratch. Instead of following an age-old blueprint for higher education - big lecture classes with students forced to pick a major or career path at an early age - Jones envisioned an alternative school that she believed would put students, and their interests, first.

"What if we start with, 'Who are you? What do you want to be?'" Jones said recently in an interview. "What do you want to do with your life and what's the best way to get there?"

Enter the Wayfinding Academy, Oregon's newest college. Jones' creation welcomes its first class Aug. 29.

At least a dozen students will enroll in the program this year, and another cohort will arrive in a year. Jones said most students already had some experience with the traditional higher-ed model and know first-hand "it doesn't work for them." Some already have bachelor's degrees, others already have associate's, Jones said. Most, like 29-year-old Justin Borge, felt something was lacking in their previous college or university experiences.

Fact Box:

- Employees: Three full-time and two part-time staffers. Founder Michelle Jones is taking no salary during the 2016-17 school year and isn't included in that total

- Faculty: Seven faculty members will teach the core curriculum in year one, with professors receiving stipends. Jones plans to transition professors to full-time in coming years

- Open House and Ribbon Cutting: Aug. 21, 5 p.m. - 9 p.m.,

"I want to feel accepted," Borge said, "I want to feel understood." The new school opens hands-on support and an "advocate" who will work with students throughout the program.

The nonprofit two-year school is an outlier in the state's education system. Oregon has seven four-year public universities, 17 state community colleges and 49 private nonprofit institutions approved to award degrees, now including Wayfinding. Another 195 private, for-profit career and trade colleges in the state issue diplomas or certificates.

The state has seven private nonprofit colleges that award associate's degrees, but none of them has a curriculum quite like the Wayfinding Academy's.

Students will take courses with titles like Making Good Choices, The Good Life, Futures and Citizenship and Understanding the World.

There are few, if any, national examples of schools like Wayfinding. Jones cited Rhode Island-based Big Picture Learning, which focuses primarily on alternative high schools but also offers higher-education options.

National groups, like The National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities and Council of Independent Colleges, didn't know what to make of Wayfinding Academy. The American Council of Education cited two potential comparisons -- but one was a one-year program with no degree and the other partners with four-year schools where their students can take courses.

Wayfinding Academy is approved to issue Associate's Degrees in Self and Society. Jones said the students who enrolled aren't pursuing degrees to pad resumes or to transfer to a four-year college, though they could. "Their goal really is figuring out how to live life on purpose and what they want to do with their lives."

In Oregon, all higher education institutions must be approved by the Higher Education Coordinating Commission before issuing degrees or certificates. The agency examines the curriculum, instructor qualifications, faculty and advising ratio and other essentials to ensure the school passes "basic academic and fiduciary standards," according to HECC executive director Ben Cannon said.

The state approved Wayfinding Academy after a lengthy vetting process.

"It seems likely to serve some students very well," Cannon said. "Perhaps better than traditional models of higher education have."

The Wayfinding Academy in St. Johns in North Portland is the newest college in Oregon. The private nonprofit school can award associate's degrees to students and is starting its first class in August, 2016. The library and gathering room is pictured here

About the School

Jones moved to Portland for a job at Concordia in 2010, where she taught organizational behavior and leadership courses. She quickly made connections outside the academy. She became an active member of TEDxMtHood, a local offshoot of the popular speech series. She was also plugged into the World Domination Summit, an annual gathering in Portland of self-described curious thinkers who ask, "How do we live a remarkable life in a conventional world."

When she quit Concordia, Jones spread the word to that network that she was starting something new. She created a crowd-funding campaign and pulled in $206,000 from 800 people.

"That told us this was an idea worth doing," Jones said.

The community support has continued. The college is housed in a former Young Women's Christian Association tucked along a residential street in Portland's St. Johns neighborhood, purchased for $799,000 by a group of Wayfinding board members this summer.

Jones said the board members are giving the school a rent discount for a few years.

She has a cast of donors who support the school on a monthly basis, similar to a public-radio giving model. Some donors chip in $1,500 or more. That's allowed the school to offer scholarships to students this fall, lessening the load of the $11,000 annual tuition.

The school is a partner charity at the Oregon Public House, a Northeast Portland nonprofit brew pub that allows customers to donate to specific charities. It all adds up, Jones said.

"There's no way we could be doing what we're doing without the community."

About the Students

The first Wayfinding cohort ranges in age from 19 to 38.

Clara Burros is one of the younger students. The 20-year-old was homeschooled in Santa Cruz, California, and was accustomed to "a small independent style of learning."

She briefly tried community college, but it didn't work for her. She has anxiety issues, and never felt connected or excited. She first heard about Wayfinding Academy on a podcast.

Nonprofits in Oregon

Here's a list of the nonprofit schools approved to issue two-year degrees in Oregon:

- Wayfinding Academy

- Birthingway College

- Kilns College (also offers 4-yr and Masters)

- NCTI (aka College of Emergency Services)

- New Hope Christian (also offers 4-yr and Masters)

- North Portland Bible

- Pacific Bible

(Source: Oregon Higher Education Coordinating Commission)

She leapt at the opportunity, and is hoping the school can help her find a way to make a career in knitting and "fiber arts."

Burros said she knows what she loves to do, but hasn't discovered how to do it while helping "to better the world."

Borge has dropped out of several universities, most recently the University of Pennsylvania. He said he's been battling the concept of higher education since he was 18.

"I didn't care," he said of the past stops, "and the people around me didn't seem to care."

He's hopeful the tailored approach at Wayfinding Academy will help him pursue his "lofty, perhaps unattainable dreams and goals."

Michelle Jones, Wayfinding Academy's founder, has helped secure scholarships for some of the inaugural cohort who begin classes this fall. The program costs $21,000 in tuition for the two-years

What's Next

Passing the state's regulatory bar is not as stringent a task as winning accreditation from the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities, the accrediting body that approves schools like approves Reed College and the University of Oregon. Schools can't accept federal financial aid, a key revenue stream, until being accredited.

Private, for-profit online colleges and trade schools have separate accrediting bodies. The U.S. Department of Education recommended terminating one such accrediting body this summer, which would threaten federal financial aid access for more than 243 institutions.

Wayfinding Academy must first be operating for one year with students to be considered for its accreditation.

Jones said the school will apply for accreditation in 2017. She understands why few launch new non-profit colleges, saying the process is difficult, expensive and goes against mainstream orthodoxy that governs education.

"You're questioning a lot of the status quo," she said of more traditional colleges and universities, "and a lot of the engrained beliefs that we all grew up with."

"Portland," she said, "is a good place to start this."



-- Andrew Theen

atheen@oregonian.com

503-294-4026

@andrewtheen