Design Shorter and Stackable Pathways

We help colleges, universities, and employers design programs for working, rural, first-in-family, and parent learners; “Earn and Learn” degrees that make school and work compatible; Micro-credentials and pathways tied to the needs of local employers that can stack to a full degree.

All Projects

  • XCredit

    Validating a learner’s life and working experiences as currency for future opportunities. XCredit blog: Get the most up-to-date information about XCredit.
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  • Community College Growth Engine

    Leading the nation and their regions in creating micro-pathways with employers.
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  • BRIDGES 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 their learners and communities?
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  • Single Moms Success

    How might community colleges dramatically improve completion rates for single mothers by intentionally addressing the unique needs of this population?
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  • UpSkill SA!

    How might we quickly upskill incumbent retail workers to prepare them for careers in Advanced Manufacturing and other growth sectors that can enable their social mobility?
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  • Seamless Transfer Pathways

    How might community colleges and four-year universities dramatically improve transfer and graduation rates by reframing the end-to-end experience from the student’s point of view?
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  • Roanoke Healthcare Pathways

    How might we design employer-driven, stackable pathways that can lead to an AAS degree and prepare students for employment in the high-growth healthcare industry? How might we design a related “One Door” advising model that…
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  • Creativity for COVID: Saving Summer Internships

    A remote internship experience for Washington, D.C. public high school students working in teams on real-world projects to address social and policy issues impacting their city and neighborhoods since the advent of COVID-19.
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  • Rethinking the Four-Year Degree: Tucson, Arizona

    Redesigning the undergraduate experience to serve learner, employer and community needs  How might we build a low-cost, career-focused Catholic University degree offering alongside local employers, students, and learning partners in Tucson?
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  • Apprenticeship Challenge

    How might we build a meaningful apprenticeship that supports curricular and workforce readiness goals into a 4-year degree? Archived Project from 2014
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  • Traditional Model Redesign

    How can growth-oriented public universities develop operating models that capitalize on advances in teaching and learning to expand capacity to serve and graduate more students of color and high-need students? Archived Project from 2015-16
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We’ve spent six years learning from our work with over 135 institutions, 60 employers, and 50 organizations to enable innovation and create models that put learners’ needs at the center.

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