State higher education systems are invited to apply by Dec. 5, 2025, to design dual enrollment pathways to high-wage, high-demand careers.
Education Design Lab (the Lab) invites state higher education systems to apply for participation in the Career Ready by Design: Accelerating Dual Enrollment for the Future of Work, a two-year, state-led initiative to expand equitable, scalable, dual enrollment pathways that connect high school, college, and workforce opportunities.
The selected state will partner with the Lab to demonstrate how cross-sector collaboration, sustainable funding, and strong policy alignment can rapidly increase access to high-quality, career-connected dual enrollment for high school students.
Within the chosen state, up to five two-year colleges will collaborate with one to three high schools each, engaging a minimum of 2,250 learners over 18 to 24 months in aligned, credit-bearing pathways that will be designed to lead to high-wage, high-demand careers and promote social and economic mobility.
Goals
In this design challenge, we will:
- Design equitable, early career pathways that enable students to earn at least 12 transferable college credits before graduation that stack to a credential.
- Develop a state-specific implementation roadmap documenting governance, funding, and policy conditions that enable sustainable dual enrollment growth.
- Foster a statewide community of practice to strengthen collaboration among K–12, postsecondary, workforce, and policy partners.
- Build systemwide capacity to collect and use cross-agency data linking education and workforce outcomes.
- Generate national insights and evidence to inform replication in other states.
Eligibility
The Lab will select one state or system positioned for rapid, equitable scale. Applicants should demonstrate:
- Strong enabling conditions, including supportive policy, existing dual enrollment infrastructure, and potential for sustainable funding.
- Commitment to equity, particularly for learners historically underrepresented in early college programs (e.g., low-income, rural, first-generation, or students of color).
- Active cross-sector partnerships, spanning K–12 districts, two-year colleges, employers, and state or regional workforce agencies.
- Capacity for implementation, including designated leadership and data support teams at both the state and institutional levels.
Participation expectations
The selected state system will:
- Identify up to five participating two-year colleges and 10–15 high schools.
- Establish cross-sector design teams with each college that includes representation from education agencies, colleges, school districts, employers, and learners.
- Participate in regular design sessions with the Lab and state peer institutions.
- Share de-identified annual data on enrollment, persistence, credit attainment, and credential outcomes disaggregated by learner demographics.
- Co-develop a state implementation roadmap focused on sustainable data and funding systems.
- Ensure each college meets the expectations of the design challenge.
Project benefits and funding overview
As part of this project, participating states and institutions will partner with Education Design Lab and national experts in human-centered design to co-create pathways leading to high-wage, high-demand careers that drive social and economic mobility.
Key benefits
- Ongoing technical assistance to help colleges and high schools move from design to action.
- National visibility through publications, convenings, and case studies shared with policymakers and peer systems — positioning participants as leaders in equitable pathway design.
- Actionable tools and frameworks to sustain and scale early career pathways beyond the project period, building long-term capacity and impact.
Funding overview
- $100,000 per year to support a state-level coordinator, ensuring strong leadership, collaboration, and alignment across participating colleges and schools.
- $25,000 per year for each college, supporting design, implementation, and capacity-building efforts.
Up to $15,000 per year for each high school partner to strengthen engagement, coordination, and pathway development. - Stipends for high school students and families to participate in the design challenge, which will center their voices and lived experiences in shaping equitable, high-impact pathways.
Selection process
Applications will be reviewed by the Lab based on:
- Alignment with project goals
- Demonstrated readiness and cross-sector collaboration
- Commitment to equity and learner-centered design
- Capacity for implementation and data sharing
Finalists will be invited for a virtual interview. All applicants will be notified of their status following review.
Project timeline
- Application release: Nov. 6, 2025
- Application deadline: Dec. 5, 2025
- Finalist interviews: Early December
- State selection announced: Mid-December
- Project launch: January 2026
- Implementation period: January 2026 to December 2027
Questions may be directed to Matt Newlin, Senior Education Designer. Interested applicants also have the opportunity to schedule an informational session to learn more: https://career-ready.youcanbook.me/.
Funded by: Walton Family Foundation
The Walton Family Foundation is at its core, a family-led foundation. Three generations of the descendants of our founders, Sam and Helen Walton, and their spouses, work together to lead the foundation and create access to opportunity for people and communities. We work in three areas: improving education, protecting rivers and oceans and the communities they support, and investing in our home region of Northwest Arkansas and the Arkansas-Mississippi Delta. To learn more, visit waltonfamilyfoundation.org.
About Education Design Lab
Education Design Lab (the Lab) is a national nonprofit and intermediary with a mission to co-design an inclusive, skills-based learn+work system that facilitates upward economic mobility and closes opportunity gaps for the New Majority Learner-Earner. Since 2013, the Lab has worked on the ground with over 1,200 colleges + organizations, 1,000 employers, and thousands of learners, who need education programs and pathways that better serve their futures.
