What Greenway Institute does

Greenway Institute is a private, nonprofit 501(c)(3) undergraduate engineering institution founded in 2024 and headquartered at 39 College Street in Montpelier, Vermont. The company is developing a four-year residential engineering degree structured as two years of immersive, project-based learning on campus followed by two years of paid, work-integrated learning in which students earn academic credit while employed by partner organizations. Co-founders are Mark Somerville (President, with rare prior experience founding innovative programs and universities globally), Troy McBride (entrepreneur), and Rebecca Holcombe (education leader). The institution has achieved Candid Gold Seal transparency status and is raising founding donor funds to support scholarships, faculty recruitment, and campus buildout ahead of its first full-scale cohort in Fall 2027.

The core product is a pedagogical model rather than a software platform. The curriculum replaces lecture-based instruction with hands-on projects, reframes engineering as a process (emphasizing learning to learn, critical thinking, and personal growth), and integrates paid work experience into academic credit with continuous faculty mentorship and structured reflection. Prototypes of both curricular components — the on-campus project-based learning module and the work-integrated learning module — were validated through National Science Foundation grant funding prior to the public launch. Accreditations from NECHE (institutional) and ABET (programmatic) are being pursued, with both four-year processes beginning when the first class enrolls. Two founders have prior experience navigating ABET accreditation at other institutions.

The business model combines three anticipated revenue streams: tuition at a projected sticker price under $25,000 per year, philanthropic contributions from founding donors, and federal student financial aid via the Department of Education. The pricing mechanics — students projected to earn approximately $100,000 over the two paid work-integrated learning years — are designed to deliver $0 net tuition for most students and a debt-free graduation outcome. Go-to-market is community- and direct-to-consumer-led, reaching prospective students through the website (greenwayinstitute.org), segmented email signup, K12 counselor networks, and employer/industry partner placements. The go-to-scale ambition is 20+ campuses serving 10,000 students per year nationwide, anchored by the Vermont founding campus. Greenway is pre-revenue with no current students, employs 1-10 staff, and disclosed the debt-free engineering college launch in March 2026.

Name

Greenway Institute

Legal name

Greenway Institute

Website

https://greenwayinstitute.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2024

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Greenway Institute is a private, nonprofit 501(c)(3) launching a debt-free undergraduate engineering college in Montpelier, Vermont, with a four-year program combining two years of project-based residential learning and two years of paid, work-integrated learning, targeting prospective engineering students and opening its first cohort in Fall 2027.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Higher Education / Engineering Education

NAICS

Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (6113)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

STEM-Focused Research Universities (Engineering & Applied Sciences) (EDAHABAB)

akta.pro secondary industry

STEM, Digital Literacy & Maker Education Nonprofits (BPAGADAG)

Keywords

• Undergraduate engineering education
• Project-based learning
• Work-integrated learning
• Debt-free college
• Higher education reform

Headquarters

HQ city

Montpelier

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Tuition Revenue: Tuition payments from students at a projected sticker price of less than $25k per year. Students offset costs through earnings from work-integrated learning, resulting in minimal or zero net tuition for most students.
2. Donations and Philanthropic Support: Funding from founding donors to support scholarships, faculty recruitment, and campus expansion. Greenway is actively inviting founding donors to support early operations and growth.
3. Federal Financial Aid: As a private nonprofit 501(c)(3) institution, Greenway will likely receive federal student financial aid, representing another revenue stream from the Department of Education.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Greenway Institute is a private nonprofit 501(c)(3) building a new undergraduate engineering education model. Its core offering is a 4-year bachelor's degree in engineering that combines 2 years of residential, hands-on, project-based learning with 2 years of paid, work-integrated learning where students earn academic credit alongside employment. The program is designed to produce debt-free engineering graduates, with a projected sticker price under $25k per year and students earning approximately $100,000 over the two work-integrated years, resulting in $0 net tuition for most.

Product overview

Greenway Institute offers a single, unified educational product: a 4-year undergraduate engineering degree program. The program is structured in two phases—two years of immersive, residential, project-based learning followed by two years of paid, work-integrated learning where students earn academic credit while working with partner organizations. The curriculum replaces traditional lectures with hands-on projects and emphasizes experiential learning. Students graduate debt-free with a bachelor's degree in engineering and practical experience, positioning them to contribute from day one in their careers.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Greenway Engineering Education Program A 4-year undergraduate engineering bachelor's degree program for prospective engineering students, structured in two phases: 2 years of residential, hands-on, project-based learning followed by 2 years of paid, work-integrated learning with partner organizations. Students earn academic credit alongside employment during the work-integrated years, with continuous faculty support and mentorship. Sticker price is projected at under $25,000 per year, and students earn approximately $100,000 over the two work-integrated years, yielding $0 net tuition for most students and a debt-free degree.

Quantifiable outcome

• Students earn approximately $100,000 over two years of work-integrated learning, resulting in $0 net tuition for most students
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Partner Organizations (Work-Integrated Learning)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOrganizations that will host students during the 2-year work-integrated learning period. Students work off-campus with these partner organizations while receiving academic credit, faculty support, and mentorship. These partnerships are central to the Greenway model and provide real-world experience.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Minerva University: Minerva rebuilt undergraduate education around active, project-based learning and rotates students through global cities — a comparable disruptive private higher-ed model pursuing the same category as Greenway.
• Berea College: Berea has run a tuition-free, work-study model for low-income students since 1892, integrating paid labor with academics — a 150-year-old proof point of the debt-free + work-integrated architecture Greenway is adapting for engineering.
• Worcester Polytechnic Institute: WPI's WPI Plan integrates multi-term project work and a required global project experience into STEM degrees — a long-running private STEM university proof point for project-based engineering education comparable to Greenway's first two years.
• Olin College of Engineering: Olin was founded from scratch in 1997 to redesign engineering education around project-based, hands-on learning at a small private institution — the closest structural analog to Greenway's planned model. Both target STEM undergraduates with experiential, non-lecture curricula.
• Harvey Mudd College: Harvey Mudd is a top STEM-focused private residential college renowned for hands-on, interdisciplinary engineering and science coursework. Its emphasis on practical problem-solving mirrors Greenway's curriculum philosophy.
• Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology: Rose-Hulman is a top-ranked private undergraduate engineering college with a small, focused STEM population and applied teaching model — competing for the same high-value engineering undergraduate segment as Greenway.
• College of the Ozarks: Branded 'Hard Work U,' College of the Ozarks requires on-campus work in lieu of tuition, a no-debt model for undergraduates. Comparable mechanism to Greenway's paid-work offset and a comparable rural America positioning.

Emerging players

• Deep Springs College: Two-year small, rural, work-and-leadership program with full scholarships — shares the residential, labor-integrated, and selectively experimental characteristics Greenway is industrializing for STEM.

Broad incumbents

• Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute: Older private STEM research university with established engineering brand and alumni network — a larger, broader incumbent competing for the same STEM talent pool as Greenway graduates.
• Cooper Union: Cooper Union's historic free-tuition mission for art, engineering, and architecture made it a reference point for affordable private STEM higher education, with comparable ethics even though its model is now altered.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Greenway Institute