We’re designing education toward the future of work
Contact our team to get the conversation started.
The Lab is an Innovation Engine
By centering our learn-and-work solutions on the New Majority Learner, we discover new solutions, design them right, and validate they work before scaling them broadly. And when we scale them within an institution or across an ecosystem, (l)earner centricity equitably aligns the silos and breaks down the barriers that are the root cause of the skills crisis.
Examples of the Lab’s Innovation Engine at Work
Exploration
- Putting single moms at the center of design
- Helping employers move to skills-based hiring
- Designing the equity-based ecosystem with institutional change agents
Validation
- Making all (l)earner skills visible
- Tying together the data through the (l)earner journey
- Understanding the rural ecosystem
- Making transfer pathways seamless
Impact
- Micro-pathways that transform lives and institutions
- Credentialing the ‘soft skills’ employers seek
Explore recent releases and key initiatives
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View StoryXCredit
Validating a learner’s life and working experiences as currency for future opportunities. XCredit blog: Get the most up-to-date information about XCredit. -
View StoryCommunity College Growth Engine Fund
Leading the nation and their regions in creating micro-pathways with employers. -
View StoryBRIDGES Rural
Building Rural Innovation, Designing Educational Strategies (BRIDGES): How might we strengthen the capacity of rural community colleges to serve as critical economic growth engines for…
The Lab works on the ground with 1,040+ colleges and organizations, 560+ employers, 24+ regions, and thousands of learners, who need education programs and pathways that better serve their futures.
It's a time of transformation
Education outcomes are being measured by competencies, not degrees.
The lines between school and work are blurring.
Colleges, and even high schools, are starting to unlock skills from degrees, making them more explicit to learners and employers.
Learners are in the driver’s seat, getting credit and skills from many different providers, and credit for learning wherever it happens.
We call this the Learner Revolution.
Our Areas of Work
Design Shorter and Stackable Pathways
- Lower-cost degrees
- “Earn and learn” programs
- Micro-credentials and pathways
Catalyze the Transition to Skills-based Hiring
- Translate degrees to employer competencies
- Assessments to test and build skills
- Validate micro-credentials with employers
Train for Human-centered Design + Change Management
- Immersive workshops for learning institutions
- User-centered research
- Rapid prototyping tools + training
- Innovation capacity diagnostic + training
Scale Solutions with Equity at the Center
- Communities of practice
- Product laboratory
- Innovator Network
Featured Clients + Partners
Sample Funders
Latest News from Our Innovator Network
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How we move forward after the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade
Like most of America, the Lab has been grappling with the U.S. Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade. It affects us — not only as a national nonprofit with employees working remotely across the…View Story -
Inside Higher Ed: Concrete ways to teach students resilience
In his June 29, 2022, op-ed for Inside Higher Ed, Brian LaDuca writes about the resilience micro-credential the University of Dayton created in collaboration with the Lab.View Story
We are in the field bringing models to life that are more affordable, portable, relevant, and visible for learners.