Topic: attainment & innovation
Pathways to Community College Transformation
The hurdles for community college students who are first-generation, low-income, and members of other underrepresented groups are often formidable. One model that over 300 community colleges have embraced to support these students is Guided Pathways. ACE Fellow Suzanne Wilson Summers takes a look.
Celebrating the Mavericks: Innovation and Higher Education
While higher education in the 21st century faces a number of challenges, there are a number of innovators changing the sector in a classic American way. Andrew Shean, chief academic officer at National University System Online, looks at five that are leading the way.
The Success of College Unbound
Four higher education leaders look at College Unbound’s learner-centered, student-driven approach to higher education and the institution’s 10-year journey through regional accreditation.
College Unbound and Education Reform
Johan E. Uvin, president of the Institute for Educational Leadership and former acting assistant secretary under the Obama administration for the Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education, writes that College Unbound is likely going to be one of the few innovation breakthroughs in higher education.
A College Unbound
In 2015, Robert L. Carothers joined the board of College Unbound after stepping down from serving as the president at the University of Rhode Island for 18 years. Most of the students came thinking of themselves as having failed, he writes, but College Unbound “taught them to reframe failure and to see that their lives had been about learning, even if they could not see it.”
A Unique Experiment in Serving the Educationally Underserved
David A. Bergeron, senior fellow for postsecondary education policy at the Center for American Progress and formerly of the Department of Education’s Office of Postsecondary Education, considers how College Unbound works to reconcile the goal of greater access for older adults with the lack of meaningful outcomes.
A College Unbound: Cohorts, Educational Trauma, and Micromodels as Catalysts for Innovation
The highly nontraditional model of College Unbound—a unique institution designed for low-income adults who have started college but not finished—presented regional accreditors with a challenge. Louis Soares and Ursula Gross look at the tensions between innovation and accreditation that such institutions present—and how they can be overcome.
Better Teaching, Better Institutions
Teaching and learning aren’t just at the heart of higher education—they drive the institution. ACE Senior Vice President Philip Rogers looks at ACE’s partnership with the Association of College and University Educators, whose courses on comprehensive teaching methods helps faculty become more effective educators.
New Tuition Model at Hiram College Offers Educational, Career, and Financial Benefits
Calls for U.S. colleges and universities to develop more relevant curricula, pave the college-to-career pathway, and offer affordable degrees are growing in strength and number. President Lori Varlotta discusses the latest innovations at Hiram College to respond to these needs.
Erasing the Community College Stigma
ACE’s Jon Turk argues that community colleges are the solution to many of the challenges we face around higher education affordability, access, and success. But how do we convince students and families of their value?
A Dream Pursued, A Dream Fulfilled: How a College Degree Can Transform Lives
As College Signing Day approaches, we cheer on the high school students who have decided to immediately continue on to college. And we also celebrate the millions of adults joining them, whose lives have taken various paths since graduating high school.
ACE at 100: Supporting College Access and Diversity
Achieving equitable access to college for communities of color and recognizing and protecting institutional autonomy and freedom to construct a diverse campus that generates educational benefits for its students have been critical goals for ACE throughout its history.