In this blog series, higher ed leaders from five states share insights from their human-centered design experience, which can drive systems change and align the fragmented learn+work ecosystem.
The Education Design Lab’s Community College Growth Engine Fellows Program (“CCGE Fellows”) brought together 13 higher education leaders from five states to explore the opportunities for transformation across state and institutional ecosystems through the Lab’s human-centered micro-pathway design process.
The states include Arkansas, Minnesota, Washington, Oklahoma, and North Carolina.
What are micro-pathways? Co-designed with learners and employers, micro-pathways are two or more stackable credentials, including durable skills micro-credentials, that are flexibly delivered to be achieved in less than a year and result in a job at or above the local median wage while putting learner-earners on the path to associate degree completion.
This insights brief will highlight the transformative power of human-centered design in bridging the gap between education and the workforce in North Carolina.
“For too long, community colleges have been seen as an alternative rather than a first choice; we’re changing that by designing programs that deliver immediate value and long-term career growth.” — Renee Harrison, CCGE Fellow
About Forsyth Technical Community College
Forsyth Technical Community College (FTCC, or Forsyth Tech) is a public community college in Winston-Salem, N.C. Founded in 1960, it is part of the North Carolina Community College System, which serves all 100 counties across the state through its 58 colleges.
Forsyth Tech serves more than 11,000 students across Forsyth and Stokes counties, offering over 200 academic programs, including associate degrees, certificates, and diplomas. In addition to credit-bearing programs, the college provides non-credit courses, professional development opportunities, and customized training for businesses. With multiple campus locations and flexible distance learning options, Forsyth Tech is deeply committed to student success and community impact. The college strives to support and value every student, build personal connections to help them achieve their goals, serve as a lifelong learning resource, prepare them for careers, partner with local employers, lead in promoting social mobility and social justice, and contribute to the cultural and economic vitality of the communities it serves.
The North Carolina Fellows are well positioned at Forsyth Tech to create a seamless pathway between education and employment by bridging community college curriculum, workforce development, and regional employers. The diverse perspectives of Renee Harrison, Vice President of Health Sciences; Dr. Shelton Charles, Associate Dean of Science and Engineering; Nancy Miller, Associate Professor; and Cyndi Johnson, Department Chair for Advanced Manufacturing, provided unique insight into this work as they collectively represent both the credit and non-credit programs at Forsyth Tech. With a focus on aligning education with labor market needs and fostering a more responsive and equitable workforce ecosystem, the North Carolina Fellows are leading efforts to ensure smooth transitions from non-credit to credit programs and supporting continuous education and career advancement.
Insight No. 1: Micro-credentials and stackable pathways are key to workforce readiness.
Forsyth Tech and the North Carolina Fellows are leading the way in transforming workforce education by creating a blueprint for implementing stackable programs that drive learner success. These pathways allow learners to earn industry-recognized credentials in high-demand fields, including healthcare, IT, and advanced manufacturing, enabling them to enter the workforce while continuing their education quickly. Through the Fellows program, FTCC is closing the education-to-employment divide by:
- Developing stackable credentials with multiple entry and exit points, allowing learners to advance their careers while pursuing further education.
- Strengthening connections between credit and non-credit programs, ensuring smooth transitions for learners.
- Partnering with employers to validate curriculum relevance and ensure graduates are workforce-ready.
For example, faculty member Nancy Miller integrated industry-recognized certifications and micro-credentials into IT programs, preparing learners for real-world job requirements and improving their employment outcomes.
The insights and experiences gained from this initiative will help Forsyth Tech refine and expand its stackable credential offerings, ensuring these programs remain relevant, adaptable, and aligned with workforce demands.
Insight No. 2: Keep learners at the center of design.
Through the Fellows program, Renee, Shelton, Nancy, and Cyndi saw firsthand how learner personas could help their team better understand the real needs of learners. In collaborative efforts with other projects across the institution, the North Carolina Fellows worked to leverage learner personas that play a central part in designing learner-centered pathways. By focusing on the learners’ experience and recognizing the power of their voice in the design process, the North Carolina Fellows can address real learner challenges, such as balancing work, childcare, and financial constraints.
As North Carolina Fellows explore the role of learners in the process, they have identified key strategies to ensure learners remain at the center of institutional conversations:
- Design holistic, wrap-around services: Retention and completion rates improve when programs align with learners’ realities, such as work schedules, childcare, and financial constraints. Recognizing these barriers is essential, and designing wrap-around services can provide the support needed to remove them.
- Leverage technology to personalize learning: The future of education is personalized. Technology and AI can support tailoring learning experiences to meet learners where they are rather than fitting them into rigid structures.
- Co-design with learners, not for them: We must stop assuming we know what learners need. The best insights come from listening to them directly and analyzing data on their experiences.
- Use data to tell the learner’s story: Early indicators like engagement levels, attendance patterns, and course performance can help identify at-risk learners. By using this data early and often, we can allow for timely interventions to support learner success.
Insight No. 3: Forsyth Tech is redefining education to keep pace with industry through human-centered design and workforce innovation.
While the Fellows program at Forsyth Tech has served as a hub for innovation, the institution remains committed to reimagining its educational model through participation in the Education Design Lab’s Reimagining Community Colleges Design Challenge and by continuing to integrate human-centered design principles throughout the institution. Insights from Shelton, Renee, Cyndi, and Nancy will be key in incorporating new approaches, such as micro-pathways, into this evolving structure. This effort goes beyond simply adding programs — it requires restructuring existing ones, strengthening K-12 partnerships through initiatives like a “13th-year” model, and quickly adapting to industry needs to improve economic mobility, particularly in low-income regions.
By involving learners in designing new programs, North Carolina Fellows ensure their initiatives prepare learners for workforce success. To achieve this, they recognize the importance of using labor market data to align programs with high-demand, high-wage careers that offer real economic mobility. By combining data-driven insights with tools like the T-Profile, institutions can better understand employer and industry needs, ensuring that programs remain relevant and responsive to their communities.
Achieving workforce readiness for learners requires agility in responding to industry needs. As Dr. Shelton Charles said, “We have to move as fast as industry does — our curriculum and credentialing models must be agile, employer-informed, and directly connected to labor market demands.” The ability to quickly adapt to evolving workforce needs is essential to providing learners with education and credentials that lead to immediate employment opportunities.
By rethinking the current educational structure at Forsyth Tech, institutional leaders are transforming the perception of community colleges from an alternative to a first choice for education and career training. Through micro-pathways, employer partnerships, and strategic innovation, the college is positioning itself as a workforce and economic development leader, ensuring learners have access to meaningful and sustainable career opportunities.
Conclusion
By integrating flexible, stackable pathways with continuous feedback and data-driven improvements, Forsyth Tech is building a responsive education model that meets the needs of both learners and employers. Wrap-around services, mentorship, and faculty engagement ensure learner success, creating a seamless bridge between education and employment. As these initiatives evolve, they will strengthen economic mobility and equip learners with the skills needed to thrive in an ever-changing workforce. Through this work, Forsyth Tech is setting a model for innovation across the North Carolina Community College system, demonstrating how strategic collaboration and learner-centered design can drive meaningful change statewide.
Hear more from the North Carolina Fellows during the Community College Growth Engine Fellows Learn+Share Showcase.
This insights brief has been authored by Elizabeth Ham. Elizabeth brings her experience in K-12 education, community college instruction, and design thinking to the Lab as an Education Designer working with the Community College Growth Engine.
This publication was made possible through the generous support of Walmart. The findings, conclusions, and recommendations presented in this publication are those of Education Design Lab alone, and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Walmart.
