PHILADELPHIA

The mayor’s goal of raising the lowly percentage of residents with bachelor’s degrees received a boost this week when a nonprofit initiative opened an outpost at a downtown mall to help working adults return to college.

Right next to a dollar store and across from a nail salon, Graduate! Philadelphia will help evaluate transcripts, plan programs of study, give advice on financial aid and offer other support, organizers said.

“This center represents our belief in the future of Philadelphia’s economy and the power of our people to take us there,” said initiative co-founder Sallie Glickman.

As Philadelphia seeks to replace manufacturing jobs lost over the past half-century, officials hope a more educated populace will attract employers that pay better wages for skilled workers.

Only about 21 percent of Philadelphia residents have bachelor’s degrees, below the national average of 27 percent and less than half the rate in other major cities. More than 50 percent of residents in Seattle and San Francisco hold such degrees, according to the U.S. Census.

Mayor Michael Nutter drew gasps from the audience during his inauguration speech last month when he spoke of Philadelphia’s low rate, considered especially jarring in a region with more than 80 colleges and universities.

Nutter then set a goal of doubling the bachelor’s degree rate in five to seven years. That would put Philadelphia on equal footing with Boston, where nearly 42 percent of residents have degrees.

The College Access Center at the Gallery mall is a linchpin of the mayor’s effort, said Lori Shorr, the city’s chief education officer.

“There’s nothing more important to him than getting this right,” Shorr said Tuesday at the center’s grand opening.

Many adults who never finished their degrees are discouraged from returning to school because the college process is geared toward 18-year-olds, said Graduate! Philadelphia executive director Hadass Sheffer.