This is an honeycombs that are red, green and yellow to represent the connection of colleges for the Reimagining Community Colleges Design Challenge Program
projects

Reimagining Community Colleges Design Challenge

The Reimagining Community Colleges Design Challenge is a multi-year initiative by Education Design Lab that empowers institutions to create and implement strategic transformation plans that advance a future-forward vision. This approach combines the Lab’s tested human-centered design methodology to center those closest to the problem in the process of solving it with the traditional strategic planning construct that higher education institutions are required to develop and therefore very familiar with. In other words, we are meeting institutions where they are to help them meet the demands of an ever-changing skills-based future.

Overview

The Reimagining Community Colleges Design Challenge is the next phase of Education Design Lab’s vision for leveraging America’s community college system. This initiative supports institutions in advancing the future of learning and aligning with the evolving needs of both learners and employers while strengthening talent pipelines that will help to drive regional economic growth.

For the first year, participating colleges will work with the Lab to develop strategic transformation plans that help them realize the vision articulated in the Lab’s Future of Learning Framework. Once colleges have developed their transformation plans, the Lab will support each of them through design challenges, data support, access to resources, and ongoing technical assistance to realize the vision outlined in their respective plans.

The Challenge

Learners and their families are increasingly questioning the value of traditional higher education that has been historically slow to change. Meanwhile, employers are calling out for more skilled workers, pointing to the need for greater alignment between traditional postsecondary education and the emerging needs of a changing economy. As a result, public policy and funding streams are on the brink of unprecedented change as a new learn-to-work paradigm emerges. These converging realities are creating a unique opportunity to reimagine broken systems and redesign them with greater intentionality that better meets the needs of learners, employers, institutions, and communities. 

Fortunately, community colleges are well positioned to meet this moment as they are increasingly looked to given their regional positionality and workforce-oriented focus. 

The Goal

Transform community colleges into future-ready inclusive institutions that adapt to the evolving needs of both their students and regional employers.

  • Increase measurable economic mobility outcomes of all learners
  • Fill critical employer talent shortages and skills gaps in the region while better aligning educators with industry demand
  • Leverage community colleges as regional talent hubs with industry-designed stackable pathways that credential skills 
  • Provide public and private funders with an opportunity to invest in the next scalable innovation that unleashes the potential of America’s community college system

 

Reimagining Community Colleges Design Challenge

Advancing the Future of Learning Community College Model

The Reimagining Community Colleges Design Challenge is a transformative initiative supporting institutions in crafting their strategic transformation plans using Education Design Lab’s human-centered design approach. Guided by the Lab’s Future of Learning Framework and its five critical design questions, the project focuses on advancing learner-centered, skills-based education to align with the future of work and fill regional skills gaps needed to fuel economic prosperity. The five central design questions in the Lab’s framework are:

  1. How might we design stackable pathways that credential skills along the way? 
  2. How might we guarantee applied learning opportunities in all programs, for all learners? 
  3. How might we make skills and competencies visible?
  4. How might we ensure learning is universally flexible with multi-modal options? 
  5. How might we ensure all learners have equitable access to adequate services? 

Through a collaborative design process, institutions will engage stakeholders to co-create innovative, systemic transformation plans that embed career readiness, flexibility, stackable credentials, equitable support, and skills visibility across programs. This effort empowers community colleges to lead the way in designing a future-ready education model while leveraging existing innovations and governance structures needed to drive big and lasting change.

This initiative’s ultimate objective is to position community colleges as drivers of economic growth – by building and strengthening talent pipelines in partnership with employers, more sustainable and relevant program offerings for colleges, by building the innovation muscle to design better and faster pathways for learners, and fueling economic growth in ways that meet the needs of learners and employers. 

The Reimagining Community Colleges Design Challenge will fundamentally transform institutions by positioning community colleges as central hubs for regional talent development in ways that are responsive to learner needs. The Lab’s approach is to learn what it takes to be successful from the first five participating colleges that will inform how we scale transformation across the system.

Meet the Colleges

Five visionary community colleges have said “yes” to join us on this transformative journey, each committed to shaping the future of education. Through collaboration and design challenges, these institutions are reimagining the learning experience for all students, driving innovation, and meeting the diverse needs of their communities.

Community College Collaborators

Cuyahoga Community College

Co-Lead Designer – India Pierce Lee, Executive Vice President, Chief Strategy Officer
Co-Lead Designer – Gregory Stoup, Vice President, Institutional Progress & Effectiveness
President – Dr. Michael Baston

 

Forsyth Technical Community College

Co Lead – Dr. Paula Dibley, Chief Officer of Student Success and Strategic Innovation
Co Lead – Dr. Sara Singleton
President – Dr. Janet Spriggs

 

Lone Star College-Tomball

Lead – Dr. Jackie Thomas, Vice President of Student Success
President – Dr. Lee Ann Nutt

Rio Salado College

Co-Lead – Heather Tyler, Associate Dean of Instruction and Workforce Partnerships
Co-Lead – Sasha Flores, Project Manager, Strategy and Management
President – Dr. Kate Smith

 

St. Paul College

Lead – Dr. Paula Kinney, Director of Strategic Planning & Effectiveness
President – Dr. Deidra Peaslee

Team

We are motivated to do this work because...

“As a first-generation, low-income college student, born to a teen mom, I feel a deep commitment to pay it forward to make college accessible for all.” – Jess

“Social justice, responsibility, and advocacy are core tenets of my faith tradition and life values.” – Ivan

“I am committed to pushing boundaries and making the impossible seem possible.” – Bryana

“I believe in transforming systems to create lasting opportunities for individuals and communities.” – Asha

Impact

Measuring Multiple Levels of Impact

This project is measuring impact at three levels that include:

  1. Learner Outcomes: a two-pronged approach to measuring learner outcomes focused on traditional measures institutions are already measuring (enrollment, retention, completion) as well as (2) critical measures of learner success aimed at facilitating upward economic mobility (skills gained, credentials earned, job placement, wage gain)
  2. Institutional Transformation: two-pronged approach to measuring institutional transformation that includes (1) outcomes related to realizing the vision outlined in the Future of Learning framework and (2) outcomes related to measuring institutions resilient infrastructure to ensure that transformation efforts are structural and sustainable
  3. Systems Change: measuring the impact of this initiative over the long-term on how well the combination of strategic planning and human-centered design has transformed America’s community college system to realize the vision outlined in the Future of Learning Framework

Access the tools developed to support the Reimagining Community Colleges Design Challenge. These tools help institutions in areas such as strategic planning, designing learner-centered experiences, and aligning with employer needs.

Download the Theory of Change

Resources

Explore a rich collection of resources that underpin the transformation work being done through this project. These include the Lab’s Future of Learning Framework, insights from the Transforming Community Colleges: Five Design Questions to Shape the Future of Learning publication, and other valuable tools designed to support community colleges in their transformation.

Reimagining Community Colleges Design Challenge Deck

The Reimagining Community College Design Challenge, led by Education Design Lab, aims to transform higher education for new majority learners by focusing on affordability, relevance, and inclusivity. This initiative encourages institutions to develop skills-based models that align with student needs and the evolving job market.

Through collaboration and strategic planning, colleges create equitable learning experiences that foster accessible, student-centered education systems. This project ensures that learners are better prepared to succeed in a competitive economy.

View the Design Challenge Deck

5 Design Questions for the Future of Learning

Led by The Community College Growth Engine (CCGE), this innovative project aims to revolutionize the community college experience to serve learners and employers better. Focusing on five essential design questions, it addresses equity, career readiness, flexibility, and skills visibility. The effort ensures that educational pathways are stackable, accessible, and aligned with economic opportunities. Centering learners and integrating applied learning empowers institutions to build inclusive systems that prepare students for lasting success in a fast-changing, skills-based economy.

Learn the 5 Questions Shaping the Future of Learning

Contact

For more information on the Reimagining Community Colleges Design Challenge, or to learn how your institution can get involved, please contact us.

connect@eddesignlab.org

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