by KYW's Steve Tawa

An anonymous donor is helping Community College of Philadelphia offer city residents a debt-free opportunity to earn a degree.

The pilot program is called "My Degree Now," and it will cover tuition and fees not met by financial aid. Community College president Dr. Stephen Curtis says it's geared toward Philadelphians who began the path to higher education, but it was interrupted, because of family obligations, work, or other reasons:

"In this new program, Community College of Philadelphia wants to focus on those former college or university students who have successfully accomplished at least 30 college credits, which is roughly half of the number of credits required for most of our Associate's degrees."

To be eligible, residents must have been out of college for at least two years, and  complete their Associate's degree requirements in three years or less.

Mayor Nutter says it's a step toward his goal of doubling the city's college degree attainment rate.

Mayor Nutter says it's part of his pledge during his inaugural speech, to double the city's college degree attainment rate, and cut the high school dropout rate in half:

"I'm very serious about education, and educational attainment for our young people."

Because of increased city funding, CCP will not hike tuition or fees this academic year.