The Ayers Foundation Signs on as First Charitable Partner of Modern States Education Alliance

PARSONS, TN--(Marketwired - Oct 3, 2017) - Modern States Education Alliance, a philanthropy dedicated to making a college degree more affordable and accessible, today announced a partnership with The Ayers Foundation, an organization committed to improving the quality of life for the people of Tennessee through education, conservation and social welfare. The partnership will create additional pathways for Tennessee high school students to pursue a college education free from economic burden. The Ayers Foundation will provide an in-kind contribution of approximately $50,000 to support these students through tutoring, mentoring, college counseling and additional support services.

The Ayers Foundation, through the Ayers Scholars Program, will help implement the use of Modern States' courses in high schools within the Henderson, Decatur, Perry and Unicoi county school districts. Modern States recently launched the first-ever catalog of tuition-free online courses for 40+ core freshman subjects, which enables learners to earn traditional academic credits at more than 2,900 major colleges and universities. Taught by professors from leading universities, Modern States courses prepare students for the well-accepted Advanced Placement (AP) and College Level Examination Program (CLEP) exams from the College Board.

Last month, Modern States announced it will pay exam fees to the College Board for the first 10,000 test takers, enabling students anywhere to earn up to a full year's worth of credit for free, and reducing the cost of a traditional four-year college degree by 25 percent. The philanthropy has earmarked up to 250 of the 10,000 CLEP exams for use by the Ayers Foundation in select Tennessee high schools (Lexington High School, Scotts Hill High School, Unicoi County High School, Perry County High School and Riverside High School). The Ayers Foundation will cover the cost of any remaining exams taken by students in these high schools during the 2017-2018 school year.

"Access to affordable higher education is imperative for the students of Tennessee," said Ayers Foundation President Janet Ayers. "Modern States Education Alliance is providing extraordinary quality courses taught by professors at the top of their field. We are pleased to partner with the philanthropy to ensure students in our region have access to college-level courses for real college credits. These money-saving classes and various support services can help brighten the future of many young Tennesseans."

The professors who teach the Modern States courses include faculty from some of the nation's best universities, including Columbia, Purdue, Rutgers, MIT, Johns Hopkins, Tufts, Baruch College, University of Texas, and Cal Berkeley. For example, Paul Schiff Berman, a former dean of the George Washington University Law School, teaches the "Introduction to Business Law" course for Modern States.

"It is great to have The Ayers Foundation join forces with Modern States to help make access to post-secondary education a reality for more students in Tennessee," said Steven Klinsky, founder and CEO of Modern States. "Education has been getting more expensive, with student debt now standing at $1.3 trillion. We value allies who want to create a top quality, tuition free on-ramp to further college education."

Modern States aspires to help over one million learners earn credit at no tuition cost, saving students and taxpayers approximately $1,000 per course and over $1 billion in total, while also creating a practical "on-ramp" into the traditional college system for anyone who seeks it.

About The Ayers Foundation
The Ayers Foundation is dedicated to improving the quality of life for the people of Tennessee. We believe this is best accomplished by positively affecting the fields of Education, Conservation and Social Welfare. The Ayers Foundation provides grant and scholarship money to further its goals and to ensure they are carried out in perpetuity. Learn more at TheAyersFoundation.org.

About Modern States
The Modern States Education Alliance is a NYC-based philanthropy dedicated to making a college degree more affordable and attainable for everyone. Its first initiative is "Freshman Year for Free": more than 40 online college courses available tuition-free for credit, from top university professors available to anyone with an Internet connection. Students can use these courses to earn college credits by preparing for and taking AP and CLEP exams, as offered by the College Board. Learn more at ModernStates.org.